On Thursday evening at the Grafton Galleries M. Yves Guyot,
the distinguished French economist and man of letters, delivered a very striking lecture to the Alliance Franco-Britannique on the intellectual relations between France and England. Unfortunately we have only space to notice the interesting conclusions in which M. Guyot sums up the intellectual influence of the English on the French. "Englishmen have taught us the importance and the utility of competition in trade, in government, and in the evolution
of all the living organisms They have taught us to subordinate our subjective conceptions to the objective method. In the ancient Republics, with still more reason in absolute Governments, parties were looked upon as factions to be crushed and destroyed. England has shown the world a system based upon the co-existence and the open rivalry of parties ; and however badly adapted the Parliamentary system may be to the different countries that have adopted it, in the majority of cases it has put an end to conspiracies, pronuncia- taientos, and revolutions." This apology for the party system is, we believe, as true as it is fresh and striking in expression. We sincerely hope that some English publicist may be able to point out as clearly and ably, and with as much charm of language, the influence of the French upon the English intellect.
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