THE MAGAZINES.

THE Contemporary Review publishes two political articles this month, which, like the revelations of the fat boy in Pick- wick, are intended to "make your flesh creep." The first )ne, on " France, Russia, and the Nile," is a statement that France has for fonr years carried on a plot the object of which was to throw a barrier across the Upper Nile which would prevent England from joining Egypt with her lominion in Uganda and the Cape. The sanction of Russia had been obtained, and extreme efforts were made to induce Menelek to lend the aid of his army. This " plot " was devised by M. Hanotanx, and is not altogether dead even yet. The writer proves, we think, that some such plot was really devised, probably by the Colonial party, and known to and supported by a large section of the Press, but we do not see that he proves Menelek's complicity, or that the plot had much material force at its back. If it existed it has failed, as we all know, and we doubt the prudence of making a dream of the kind the basis of a denunciation of France, which when matters came to a crisis showed great prudence and common-sense. We must expect that our expansion will cause irritation in our neighbours, and that they will not be at the pains of thwarting little efforts by quasi-private adven- turers to place obstacles in our way. The other article, styled "The Arch-Enemy of England," is a furious denunciation of the German Emperor, who has devised a scheme under which in about four years France, Germany, and Russia are, in combination, to have a Fleet superior to that of Great Britain, and, dragging Austria and Italy after them, are to dictate terms to the British Empire. The Emperor, in fact, who seized Kiao-chow merely to hold it for the Czar, is determined to make Germany the first of commercial Powers, holds that the destruction of England is essential to this ambition, and therefore projects " the revival of the Continental alliance against England in a far more perilous and insidious form than was conceived by Napoleon." The adhesion of America to British policy in the Far East greatly disconcerted him, but he still hoped that a league would enable him to acquire the Philippines,—a project which has failed. It remains to unite the whole Continent against the Anglo. Saxon Power, which that Continent dreads exceedingly. We think it very probable that the German Emperor is annoyed by the expansion of Great Britain, which is constantly in his way ; but we distrust all this talk of huge plots to be carried out a few years hence. We doubt the solidarite of the Con- tinent as to any projeot whatever, and specially disbelieve in projects that take time. So much happens in a week, and so many men pass away.—Professor James Orr's complaint of "the Archbishop's recent charge" is that it is almost silent upon the idea of the Mass, or rather favours it by admitting con- substantiation as a possible Anglicantheory, and sacerdotalism. The article is well written and temperate, but we should like him to say why he thinks that a Romeward drift among the clergy "would undo the work of the Reformation." Surely to undo that great revolution the laity must go Romeward as well as the clergy, and where are the signs of that? Suppose the whole of the clergy to believe in the Mass—and we beg their pardon for such a supposition—but none of the laity, where would be the imminence of danger ? Time is not altered because the hands of any watch have slipped back. —Lord Farrer denies point blank that trade follows the flag, and gives the following remarkable table of the percen. tages of British trade in quinquennial periods from 1855-59: Quinquennial Periods. Tradeontiltrtreign Trade with British

Posaessions.

1855-59 734 26'6 1860 64 694 30'6 1865-69

74.7

25'3 1870-74 76'6 23.4 1875-79

74.0

26.0 1880.84

72.4

27'6 1885-89

72.6

27'4 1890 94

73.4

26'6

The deduction is that together with the immense expansion of the Empire trade has expanded with States which are not ours. Tested by the shipping returns this deduction is greatly strengthened, the percentage of entries and clear- ances from foreign countries having greatly increased, while those from British possessions have positively diminished. These figures will seem to many of our readers almost in- credible, but Lord Farrer follows them up with others even more decisive, and with this general summary:—" The final result of our inquiry is, that if the maxim, Trade follows the flag,' means that our trade depends on our dominion, it is refuted by the events of the last half-century. Trade,' as has been well said, 'does not follow the flag; it follows the price-list.' The success of our trade depends, not on the nationality of our purchasers, but on the efficiency and economy of our industrial production." Provided always, we should add, that we have sufficient strength to prevent unjust boycotting. Lord Ferrer does not, of course, mean to say that if every country placed a differential duty of 100 per cent. upon British goods, British trade would not decline, but only that conquest for the sake of trade produces no advantage. " It follows from the above facts that it is not necessary to extend our Empire in order to maintain our trade, and that extension of Empire is not necessarily followed by increase of trade. Each separate extension must be judged on its own merits. No extension will be valuable to us unless we get 'value received' for our outlay, a point which in the case of some of our recent exten- sions is extremely doubtful. It follows, further, that jealousy of the extension of other civilised nations into the waste places of the world is altogether out of place."—" The Night after San Juan" is an inspiriting account of the courage of American soldiers, and a positively horrible account of the occasional mismanagement of the wounded and of that necessary but heartbreaking function, the separation of the wounded whom nothing can cure from the hopeful cases. The former are only enabled to die quietly, it being con- sidered wrong to waste the invaluable time of the hospital surgeons over them,—rather a ghastly detail of war.—Mr. Jenks gives us a curious view of the origin of political representation. He thinks it sprung entirely from the habit of imposing duties upon prominent citizens, and was systema- tised in order to avoid collisions between the majority and minority. Would it not be simpler to say that representation arose from one of the oldest of human practices,—that of sending Ambassadors clothed with the power of representa- tion? A Member is the Ambassador of a community, bound to represent it, and not merely the majority in it.

The first three articles in the Nineteenth Century are devoted

to Egypt, Mr. E. Dicey writing on "our hampered trusteeship," and advising that we should claim the powers which France

obtained in Tunis,—that is, in fact, the protectorate ; Mr. H. Birchenougb suggesting that no lease be given to France which would give her "an open door" on to the Nile; and Master Macdonell arguing, from the legal point of view, in favour of Mr. Dicey's conclusions. He says the usual protectorate would not be sufficient; it must be a protectorate as in Tunis. All three papers are well worth reading, though they will not, to those familiar with the subject, suggest

many new ideas.—Miss A. Lambert puts in an interesting form the eternal complaint that British merchants neglect their customers—that is, do not take trouble enough to secure foreign markets—to which the answer is that merchants know their own business, and that twopence-halfpenny is not gain if it costs half an hour ; and Count von Liitzow sends an interesting paper on "The Bohemian Question," from which we can quote only his conclusions. He thinks that Bohemia will become a Slav country, but that Austria will he uninjured, all the nationalities relying on the Emperor.

That view is, we think, sound, provided the Germans do not revolt, but that is a large proviso. Minorities have ruled great countries very often. How many aristocrats are there in Austria, yet they rule.—The remainder of the articles in this number are a little "stodgy," with the ex- ception, perhaps, of Mr. Bradley Martin's defence of mil- lionaires from the inside, which is only the old argument that luxury is good for trade ; and the paper by General Maurice, intended to prove that Omdurman was at least as much a Commander's as a soldier's battle. He says, and we think proves, that the Dervishes intended a night attack, that this attack might have destroyed us, and that Lord Kitchener prevented it by skilful strategy. He induced the Khalifa to believe that the attack by night would come from the British side, and thus spoiled the Dervishes' scheme. For the rest, the fact that the slaughter rose to the propor- tions of a massacre no more reduces the "battle " of Omdur- man to an " affair " than it reduces the battle of .Agincourt, which also was a massacre.

In the National Review Lord Northbrook, in a most able and striking article, discussing the alternatives

before the Indian Government in regard to the cur- rency question, holds that it would be wrong to revert to silver, and " can see no sound alternative but to bring the gold standard into full operation." The chief steps which he recommends to secure this end are as follows :—

" The first step, then, to be taken is to make the sovereign legal tender in India, and to open the Indian mints to the coinage of gold into sovereigns of the standard weight and fineness, which would also be legal tender throughout the British Empire. The rate at which sovereigns shall be interchangeable with rupees must be fixed at the same time, and the rate of one sovereign to fifteen rupees—or in other words the 16d. rate of exchange— appears to be the proper rate to fix. The exchange has now been maintained for some time, and is likely to remain, at that rate ; and the evidence taken before the Committee shows that its adoption is generally expected. The Government of India have the command of the situation, and might force up the rupee still higher, but they have, rightly in my opinion, declared that they do not desire to do this. If it should be suggested that a lower rate would be better than 16d., it seems to me that the onus pro- bandi rests upon those who recommend it. Gold having been declared the standard of value, what should be the position of the rupee token currency ? At first it must remain legal tender to any amount, but, although this system is that which exists in France and the United States, I think that the English, and, I believe, the sounder, system may ultimately be adopted, and a limit put upon the amount for which the rupee should be legal tender ; this, however, would require very careful con- sideration and much regard for the interests and feelings of the people. In any case the action in this direction must be gradual."

The Rev. Gilbert Reid, an American missionary, de- nounces the policy of "spheres of influence," asserting that for the British public to give up " the open door" is suicidal. Mr. Reid is a little incoherent, but he supports his contention with an amusing illustration :-

" When I was a student in the States, a classmate was asked by the Professor of Law what was legitimate homicide, his reply was, ' Legitimate homicide is when a man kills himself in self-defence.' This will be the condition of the croakers against government negligence, who now claim that the only Way to maintain British interests in China is to retire from even the thought of an open door all over China."

In conclusion, he declares that " the United States will help the Mother-country in an open door policy, but not in a policy of spheres of influence, whence the United States commer- cially, as well as politically, will be kindly invited to stay

out have already commented on Mr. Conybeare's indictment of the French War Office, and may add that the editor endorses the sensational account given a month ago in the Daily Chronicle of the assassination movement organised against the leading advocates of Revision.—From Mr. A. Maurice Low's article on " The Month in America " we may extract the following points. The lesson of the elections, in his opinion, is that silver is much weaker to-day in the States than it was two years ago, and that the chances of its recrudescence in 1900 are almost nil. As regards the com- mercial and economical prospects of the States generally, he predicts better material conditions, a greater volume of trade, and more contentment than have been known for the past two decades. " The United States is standing at the gate- way of prosperity with the door wide open." He sees in Colonel Roosevelt a " logical Presidential candidate," but holds that, though he may develop dangerous qualities, the friends of Mr. McKinley are unduly alarmed. Touching on the anti-negro riots in North Carolina, Mr. Low thinks that Congress will have to intervene. "Either the negro must be protected at the ballot-box, by the strong arm of the Federal Government if necessary, or else universal suffrage in America becomes a farce." Apropos of the Nicaragua Canal, he expresses the hope that, as America intends to build it, British rights under the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty will not be surrendered without some adequate compensation. In conclusion, he pays a handsome tribute to Colonel Hay, who since his return to Washington has increased the reputation which he made as Ambassador in London.—Miss Catherine Dodd's " Study of Town and Country Children," illustrated by practical tests of their powers of observation, leads her to the somewhat obvious conclusion that "children do appreciate beauty when their surroundings are beautiful, and that children brought up amid ugly sights and sounds have little stimulus for the awakening of their mathetic interest." The children's answers certainly bear out her conviction of the futility of the attempt to impart knowledge by pictures when there are no concrete ideas corresponding to the picture in the children's minds.

Mr. J. T. Wills's paper, "New Light on the Bahr-Gazal Frontier," which is given the place of honour in the Fort- nightly, resolves itself mainly into a eulogy of the Zandebs, whom the author believes we shall have to use to organise the whole negro Soudan. "They are," he says, "the finest military material we have in Africa," while as to their habits of honesty, loyalty, and discipline, he adduces the testimony of Dr. Junker, Dr. Schweinfnrth, Caeati, and others. Mr. Wills, who declares that all his previous predictions have come true, adds a final prophecy : " We shall be jockeyed in any of these many future boundary delimitations unless the Government employs a proper African expert ; and if we do not keep the Zandehe we shall repent it."—M. Gaston Donnet's article on " The French Colonial Craze," translated from the Revue Blew of September 24th, contains some hard sayings at the expense of his compatriots : " We collect colonies as connoisseurs collect brit-h-brat or tapestry." And again, "Had we borne in mind that a colony is not necessarily a place for the display of military heroism, nor a vague territory over which to unfurl the tricolour, with shouts of 'Long live France ! ' and beating of drums, but a centre of production, ' a warehouse for a wholesale and retail sale and purchase,' French Africa, French Asia, and French America would long ago have revelled in pros- perity." His conclusion is that France would show her wisdom by "staying at home peaceably and developing what really belongs to her."—Mr. Louis Garvin's paper on "Parnell and his Power" bristles with epigrams, some of them worth quoting. He calls the Irish leader "the lock- mouthed master of loose-lipped men," and notes that he was "exempt from the passion of replies," whereas Mr. Healy "ie possessed by the genius of retaliation. Whatever becomes of his salvation he will shoot his arrow." He concludes bi observing that " Parnell was as much more important tc Ireland than Home-rule as Napoleon was more important to France than a Constitution. The possession of Parnell was more important than the hypothesis of a Parliament. It was because of the enormous and characteristic failure to appre- ciate that fact in the moment of a crisis that Ireland has no Parliament and no Parnell."—Mr. Laird-Clowes, a propos

of American expansion, makes the following striking sugges- tion :—

" It appears to me that at this juncture Great Britain could render no greater service to the United States, and to the common race, than by letting it be understood, firstly, that she would feel greatly complimented if the United States would allow thirty or forty youne, Americans of good education and character to enter the British Colonial Service for a stipulated period ; and, secondly, that she would be glad to place at the disposal of the President of the United States, for a similar period, an equal or less number of tried British colonial administrators of various ranks to assist American governors in the organisation and management of the new possessions. The Americans would, for the time, become civil servants of Great Britain ; the Britons would, for the time, become civil servants of the United States ; but there would be no transfer of allegiance ; and, save as concerned their pay- masters, and the authority under which they were temporarily serving, the Americans would be little different, as regards status, from the young engineering students who, from time to time, have been sent to Glasgow, and other British engineering centres, to study their profession, under the supervision of the United States Naval Attachd in London."

—Mr. J. D. Bourchier, writing on " Montenegro and its Prince," expresses the conviction that if the union of the Serb race is to take place in our time, it will be realised under the present ruler, Nicholas L, whom he pronounces to be "the most picturesque and remarkable figure in the South Slavonic world a warrior and a bard a cautious though courageous statesman, a diploma t st of no mean order, a capable administrator, and a thoughtful reformer." The article may be commended to enterprising tourists as well as to students of politics.—In "The Pro- gress of Zionism" Mr. Herbert Bentwich describes the

remarkable movement to which impetus was lent by Bismarck, and which culminated in the demand of Dr.

Theodor Herzl; and replies at length to the criticisms of Mr. Oswald J. Simon. Mr. Bentwich, who writes with eloquence

and enthusiasm, notes amongst the favourable signs of the times " the struggle for liberty, equality, and fraternity of a man against the nations who proclaimed themselves the apostles of those principles."—Mr. Andrew Lang's essay on Dickens, contributed to the " Gadshill Edition " of Messrs. Chapman and Hall, though disfigured by some needless "pin-pricks," is excellent reading. Mr. Lang ends by observing :—" He has bequeathed to us an almost insupportable burden of gratitude, and while I have played the devil's

advocate, when the part seemed called for, in this study, it has been contre-occur, and from an odd sense of duty which

seemed half undutifnl."—" Diplomaticus," after a careful study of the French and British State papers, declares that Fashoda " synthetizes all the puzzling manifestations of Lord Salisbury's foreign policy during the last three years," and admits that the Premier has grappled well with an exceedingly difficult situation. It is no slight achievement to earn the praise of a pseudonymous magazine critic.

Captain Lawley gives in Blackwood a graphic account of his mission to King Lewanika, whom he met by appointment at the Victoria Falls on June 1st, with a view to obtaining a more

accurate definition of the British South African Company's rights, and readjusting certain conditions in the concession that were unpalatable to the King and his people. Captain Lawley gives a melancholy account of the Batoka, "a nation of slaves," whose country for years has been the happy [P] hunting ground alternatively of the Matabele and the Barotse• King Lewanika's dignity, we are told, is quite remarkable : "He never unbends or allows anything approaching familiarity. He is a deft needleman, and even when repairing his pantaloons with the assistance of the Commander-in-Chief or Prime Minister he retains his dignity and his cane-bottomed chair, while they squat humbly on their hams below the board." Part of the festivities consisted of sports, including a footrace for natives. " The Barotse, I regret to say, com- pletely defeated the Matabele ; but Sikobokobo, my induna,

gravely informed me that this was only because I had fed the Matabeles so much better than the King fed the Barotses,

that they were far too fat to run."—Colonel Henderson's Life of Stonewall Jackson and Dr. Garnett's memoir of Edward Gibbon Wakefield are made the subjects of two excellent book articles. Mr. Andrew Lang, magnanimously forgetful of the acid allusion to him in last month's " Maga," writes on a " Creelful of Celtic Stories," and an anonymous critic, dis- cussing " Penny Fiction," arrives at the conclusion that penny novelettes are not, by a long way, so bad as they might be. "It is infinitely better," he continues, " that the wives and

sisters and daughters of •ur shopmen and our mechanics should spend their spare coppers upon them [the penny stories] than that, like their betters,' they should dabble in, and profess to admire, the pedantic obscenities of an Ibsen, the unintelligible nonsense of a Maeterlinck, or the dubious rodomontade of a Ruskin." Blndyer is evidently still in the land of the living.—Mr. Stephen Crane in " The Price of the Harness " brings home to his readers the seamy side of the war in Cuba with amazing force and pathos. — The heroine of " The Autobiography of a Child," who has now, in the third instalment, reached the mature age of seven, continues the distressingly con- scientious record of " the loneliest and most tragic of childhoods." Her " patient martyrdom " is now ended, and we enter on a period of "five years of perpetual passion and frantic unhappiness." The readers of penny fiction are certainly spared a good deal.—" The Looker-on," who is decidedly pessimistic this month, insists on the Ministerial obligations to the country at large. Our diplomacy, he con- tends, has been resuscitated simply because Lord Salisbury held a trump card in our Navy, the creation of which had been forced on the Government by the "superior wisdom and fore- thought of the country."