THE MAGAZINES.

THE new Nineteenth Century reprints the admirable paper by Lord Cromer on "Free-Trade in its Relation to Peace and War," which was read before the International Free-Trade Con-

gress held at Antwerp early last month. The main conclusion is stated in two brief sentences Free Trade mitigates, though it is powerless to remove, international animosities. Exclusive trade stimulates and aggravates those animosities." The moderation of Lord Cromer's mind is further shown in the comments with which he fortifies and illuminates these propositions:—

"I entertain a strong opinion that if Great Britain continues to maintain her present policy of Free Trade—as I trust will be the case—her means of defence should, within the limits of human foresight, be such as to render her Empire impregnable ; and, further, that should that policy unfortunately be reversed, it will be a wise precaution that those means of defence should, if possible, be still further strengthened. But I also entertain an squally strong opinion that an Imperial nation should seek to fortify its position and to provide guarantees for the durability of its Empire, not merely by rendering itself, so far as is possible, impregnable, but also by using its vast world-power in such a manner as to secure in some degree the moral acquiescence of other nations in its imperium, and thus provide an antidote —albeit it may only be a partial antidote—against the jealousy and emulation which its extensive dominions are calculated to incite. I am aware that an argument of this sort is singularly liable to misrepresentation. Militant patriotism rejects it with scorn. It is said to involve an ignoble degree of truckling to foreign nations. It „invelves nothing of the kind. I should certainly be the last to recommend anything approaching to pusillanimity in the conduct of the foreign affairs of my country. If I thought that the introduction of a policy of Protection was really demanded in the interests of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom, I should warmly advocate it, what- aver might be the effect produced on the public opinion of other countries. British Free Traders do not advocate the cause which they have at heart in order to benefit the countries which send their goods to Great Britain, but because they think it advantageous to their own country to procure certain foreign products without any artificial enhancement of prices. If they are right in coming to this conclusion, it is surely an incidental advantage of much importance that a policy of Free Trade, besides being advantageous to the United Kingdom, tends to give an additional element of stability to the British Empire and to preserve the peace of the world."

—Dr. Janet Lane-Claypon has an interesting paper on ." Poor Law Babies—in London and Berlin," in which, after comparing the Kinderasyl at Berlin and the method of boarding-out adopted by the German authorities with the workhouse nurseries in England, she concludes that they manage these things much better in Germany. Dr. Lane- Claypon makes a good point, we may add, by emphasising the agreement of the Majority and Minority Reports of the Poor Law Commission in condemning the existing system of work- house nurseries.—Sir Harry Johnston writes on the Liberian problem. The best solution of the difficulties—financial and otherwise—of the Liberian Government is, he holds, in the expert advice of the United States alone. Failing that, and if the assistance takes an international form—Germany, Holland, and Great Britain have all considerable trade with Liberia—he expresses the hope that the ruling-caste Liberians will abide by the advice given, and take in future more interest in the countries behind them and the peoples they profess to govern than in the lands across the sea.—Professor Inge supports the proposals of the Educational Settlement Com- mittee in a temperate and well-reasoned article. The danger of secularisation, he notes in conclusion, is far greater than most religious persons imagine, but it may still be averted if the silent majority of Christians in England make themselves

heard.---The author of a singularly inept paper on "The Centenary of Mrs. Gaskell," Mr. Lewis Melville, maintains that her title to immortality rests solely on Cranford. He dismisses Wives and Daughters as dull, and pronounces her an indifferent novelist. Mr. Melville observes that Mrs.

Gaskell forbade any authorised biography of herself to be written, "a wish that has been piously respected by her children and grandchildren." Such piety, however, does not restrain the outsider, as the case of Thackeray has shown.

• We comment elsewhere on Lord Esher's article in the National Review on the imminent breakdown of the voluntary

principle: he is clearly inclined to believe that the limit of the nation's yield for the Territorial Force has already been reached. —In "An Island Fortress" Mr. Jesse Collings accumulates evidence of the dangers of our dependence on overseas supplies before unfolding his remedy,—the production of more food at home by intensive cultivation under a reformed system of land tenure which should multiply ownerships large and small. Mr. Jesse Collings further advocates the grant of a bounty of four or five shillings a quarter to yeoman farmers, on the ground that "wheat as a general crop cannot now be grown at a profit."—Lord Willoughby de Broke utters a trumpet- call to Unionists to gird themselves for the coming cam- paign. He is clearly sceptical as to the prospect of any settlement being arrived at by the Conference, but what- ever its result, "there remain the fundamental differ- ences of tradition, temperament, and principle between Unionists and Radicals that no compromise can ever settle." There is a good deal in Lord Willoughby de Broke's article with which we find ourselves in agreement, but the tone is quite needlessly blatant, and it is unjust as well as inaccurate to maintain that Unionists have a monopoly of patriotism. Nothing could be more absurd than for a Tariff Reformer to maintain that "the Radical's worship of Cobdenism has driven him into the arms of the Socialist." The spirit of the article may be gauged from the following characteristic passage :-

"Hit the enemy both in and out of Parliament whenever you can, and hit him hard. Everybody knows that organisation is necessary, money is necessary, argument is necessary, but none of these things can win alone. We must have enthusiasm, keenness, courage, something even of the Dervish."

Perhaps ; but the dancing Dervish is out of place in political warfare.—Mr. Maurice Low in "American Affairs" discusses

the chaotic condition of American party politics. Apropos of the dissatisfaction of the Insurgent Republicans with Mr. Roosevelt's silence, he makes the characteristic remark : "It

would be cynically amusing if Mr. Roosevelt, who did so much to give insurgency its impetus, should in the end be its victim."

It is interesting to learn that the methods of the English police in dealing with Dr. Crippen and his companion have lent impetus to the agitation for police reform in the States :—

" Commenting on Inspector Dew's warning to his prisoner and the action of the Quebec judicial authorities in holding the suspects for the fifteen days allowed by law in which they can lodge an appeal, the Washington Post says : ' In the observance of these formalities, so essential to a true administration of justice, England teaches a lesson not only to the public officials of America but to those of the entire world.'

—Mr. W. Roberts calls attention to the excellent work

recently done by directors of German art-museums, notably by Dr. Bode in Berlin, in recognising the claims of the Early

English school of painters ; and "Alberta "—a lady settled for fourteen years in that province—puts in a good word for the Englishman in Canada.—The study in which Mr.

Gilbert Watson gives us the autobiography of "A Dog of

Constantinople" is an extraordinary, if somewhat gruesome, tour de force, rendered specially opportune by the recent

decision of the municipal authorities.

The crisis in English education is dealt with fully in the Contemporary. Professor Sadler, admitting the imminence of secular education, points out with great force the

divergence of its advocates, who "are only agreed in so far as they propose an administrative negation. They are at sixes and sevens among themselves as to what shall take the place of Christian teaching." Convinced as he is of the necessity of an administrative resettlement, Professor Sadler describes the four courses of policy between which choice must be made : secularism, universal Cowper-Templeism, the

policy of absolute equality for all forms of religious belief, and, lastly, the plan put forth by the Educational Settlement Committee. Readers of the Spectator do not need to be

informed of the principles on which the Educational Settle. ment Committee rest their plan. They are restated with lucidity and moderation by Professor Sadler, who concludes his able article with a strong appeal to the High Church party to throw in their lot with the majority of the other Christian communities rather than with the secularists in dealing with a difficult and dangerous situation. As be puts it :—" Can we agree to fight together in the next engagement, or are we to be divided before the forces of the secularist enemy ? That is the real question. And the religious future of England depends in great measure upon the answer which the High Church party now gives to it."—The Educational Settlement Committee's plan finds another powerful supporter in the Rev. J. H. Shakespeare, who presents the case for their proposals from a Liberal and Nonconformist point of view. Mr. Shakespeare particularly emphasises two aspects of the scheme which should strongly recommend it to Liberalism. It would remove the single-school area grievanoe, and it would not provide for right of entry into the Council schooL As for the secular solution, he observes most truly that "ethics divorced from religion are of no value, and may be even a public danger." Another serious aspect of the question is dealt with by Mr. Shakespeare in a passage of remarkable force and eloquence :— "We are not specially concerned in the State school for the children of religious parents, who not only give them the blessing of a Christian home, but also bring them under the influence of

• the Church and the Sunday schooL It is with the children of the irreligious that we are chiefly concerned. These make up the vast

majority The irreligious are mainly those whose life is entirely secular, for whom existence is a sordid and grinding struggle unlit by the gleams of heavenly truth. There are also the lost, depraved, and criminal classes. Shall the child of the thief, the profligate, and the outcast never hear the name of Jesus except in blasphemy ? If to-morrow, by an act of madness, the Bible were struck out of the hand of the little child in the Council schools, there are countless homes in which children would grow up in darkness like that of heathendom. All the suggestions that the Church should instruct in the schools those who desire its ministries just fail here, that they inevitably miss the very class which it is most important to reach."

—Colonel Pilkington, under the heading "Nationalism and Nationality in Ireland," supports the policy of Home-rule all round, with the proviso that Ireland should be dealt with independently and in advance. Colonel Pilkington defines his conception of Home-rule as self-government with federal limitations ; the control of armed forces, the regulation of external relations, import-duties, shipping laws, posts and telegraphs, coinage, and everything affecting the Crown being reserved to superior authority. But the ultimate ideal can only be achieved gradually, since, as he candidly admits, "it would pass the wit of man to devise any scheme of Home-rule at once final and to be applied at a single step which would not either ruin Ireland financially or involve monetary sacrifices on the part of the Kingdom too stupendous to be considered seriously."—Mr. Adolphe Smith has an interesting paper on "A Spiritist Revival." (The "spiritist," he reminds us, is a spiritualist who believes that we can communicate with the spirits of the dead.) The mis- fortune connected with investigations into this subject is that "most persons who deal with the question do so from the point of view of absolute believers or absolute sceptics." Mr. Smith's attitude is defined in the concluding paragraph, in which be says that after a careful study of the literature of the subject, supplemented by experiments carried on with mediums through several years, he is driven to the conclusion that "we obtain no trustworthy information as to what there may be beyond the grave ; but for all that relates to the affairs of this world, there are finer forces of nature -waiting to be developed, and this promises to be the next and the most fruitful phase of human evolution."--Miss

Geraldine Hodgson contributes an enthusiastic appreciation of the poetry of Mr. Yeats, "A. E.," J. M. Synge, and other

Irish writers ; and Mrs. Putnam continues her interesting series of studies of types of womanhood, the subject chosen in this case being "The Lady of the Salon."—Dr. Dillon's review of foreign affairs gives prominence to the relations of Spain and the Vatican, and lays stress on the Germanophil tendency of Turkey's foreign policy.

The poem "Creation," by Mr. Noyes, which opens the Fortnightly Review, has all its author's facility, with some- thing more than usually interesting in the thought. The Creator, speaking of man, says :— "And oft forget Me as he plays

With swords and childish merchandise, Or with his elfin balance weighs, Or with his foot-rule metes, the skies; Or builds his castles by the deep,

Or tunnels through the rocks, and then . . .

Turn to Me as he falls asleep, And, in his dreams, feel for My hand again."

Mr. Garvin in his review of events devotes himself almost entirely to giving an abstract of the remarkable articles on Indian unrest appearing in the Times.—An article entitled

"What Does India Want Politically ? " by Mr. Saint Nihal Singh, puts the case from the point of view of the moderate Indian reformer. Here we are told that what is wanted is to bring British India up to the level of such progressive native States as Baroda. This State is given as an argument to

show that the native is capable of governing in an en- lightened and efficient manner, a special point being made of the superior educational advantages which the inhabi- tants of this State enjoy. Mr. Singh does not make any answer to the charge that the present state of things has come about through the attempt of the Brahmans to regain ascendency Nor does he explain what would be the effect of native government upon the classes despised by the Brahmans and considered unclean by them, but who number a fifth of the whole population. Though regretting these omissions, we can appreciate the moderation of tone and the ability of Mr. Singh's article.—Mr. Pelham Edgar writes of the present condition of Egypt, and gives an excellent summary of the things we have done to bring that country from bankruptcy and oppression to prosperity and good government. Mr. Edgar's prophetic description of the result of our leaving Egypt should be pondered by those who fancy that every country can best govern itself. He says :—" The alternative to our withdrawal from Egypt is emphatically not the estab- lishment of free institutions there, but a brief reign of cor- ruption to empty the Treasury, of oppression to fill it, and the Turk sitting cross-legged on the throne at the end of the carnival."—Ms. Bremner's account of the Garden City at Letchworth brings a ray of hope to those who look with horror on the prospect presented at the approach to every big city. The new plan does not allow factories and houses to be jumbled up together, but separates them and plants trees between them. The company which controls the enterprise refuses to build more than twelve cottages on one acre of ground, so that over- crowding is impossible. This company is the landlord, and has the last word in all the arrangements. It is not Socialist in its ideas, but practical and individualist in action, though at the same time careful of the interests of its tenants as a whole.—Miss K. L. Montgomery writes a sympathetic study of Mrs. Gaskell, that fine spirit who began her life's work of writing late, and who did not live to be old, yet who accom- plished so much. It is sad to think that the controversies which raged over the noble monument she raised to the memory of Charlotte Broiate caused Mrs. Gaskell to leave directions that her own letters were to be destroyed so that no biography could be written.

Blackwood contains several excellent papers of the kind which are to be found nowhere else except in this magazine. South Africa, China, and the frontier of India are all brought before us by men who have done soldier's work in those countries, and with a simplicity and directness hardly possible to professional writers. Major MacMunn describes the silence and secrecy which preceded Lord Roberts's great strategical move for the relief of Kimberley. We are given a picture of Colonel Henderson sitting in a goods-van at headquarters working out the movement and putting inquirers off the scent by his speculations as to the likelihood of tinned sausages for lunch.—" Spoiling the Egyptians" is a tragic account, given by an officer commanding a post, of the difficulties of a missionary in China at the time of the outbreak of the "Boxers." How was it possible for the shepherd to get compensation for his plundered Christian flock without robbing Peter to pay Paul P—Another excellent sketch is "From the Outposts: the English Mail," a vivid picture of one of the roads which run from the north-west frontier of India into the wild region of the tribes ; while "Cranes and Cracks- men" is a spirited account of a chase which began with a search for cranes and ended in one for thieves. Such stories as these are of the greatest help to the imagination of the stay-at- home Englishman who desires to realise the lives of those who guard and rule the Empire.—Miss Gertrude Bell has been making valuable researches among the remains of early Christian buildings—churches still in use—that are to be found on the lofty plateau known as the Tar Abdin, which lies on the northern limits of Mesopotamia. Miss Bell describes the process of taking measurements of the buildings, and it is to be hoped that she will give to the world a detailed and illustrated account of some most interesting and unstudied pieces of architecture, which, as she says, throw light on the origins of Byzantine building.—Colonel è, Court Repington writes an answer to the various critics on his articles "New Wars for Old," in which he gave his belief that submarines and dirigible balloons are altering completely the conditions under which battleships can be effective.

The _English Review publishes a Memorandum on prison

reform by Mr. Wilfrid Blunt, which was forwarded by him to the Home Secretary last February. After describing his own feelings in prison during his confinement in Ireland for a contravention of the Crimes Act, Mr. Blunt goes on to the consideration of general principles. He advocates the dividing

of prisoners into classes according to their offences, making a great difference between crimes with violence and those without it, such as theft, and also political offences. In the case of the first he has no objection to severity of treatment. For the second class, which is considered the most important, the warders should be also schoolmasters. "These should control the working shops by day and preside over the common midday meal, and the common recreation hour in the evening." With regard to the hour of recreation, Mr. Blunt urges that here is a field in which philanthropists might do a vast amount of good by going to prisons and lecturing, thus bringing a moral force to bear on the prisoners. We believe, as a matter of fact, something of this kind is already done for certain classes of prisoners. Political offences the writer would recognise as such, and treat these law-breakers more like prisoners of war. Mr. Blunt is greatly impressed by his own experience of the inhumanity of the iron, machinelike discipline of the prison, where the prisoner may not see the sky from his window or hold any conversation with the warder. He would, in fact, go upon the principle that for the majority of prisoners loss of liberty is a sufficient deterrent, and the time of their imprisonment could be profitably used for compulsory education and training.—Mr. F. E. Green con- trasts the methods of the Board of Agriculture with its Irish equivalent, greatly to the disadvantage of the former. We are to believe that the thirst for small holdings is deliberately quenched by the official attitude, and a very unfair insinuation is made that some of those responsible Itre opposed to the spirit of the Small Holdings Act of 1907. The reason why Mr. Green prefers Irish methods is that the initiative comes from the officials, and that land purchase practically results in land nationalisation. Of the advantages of a system of land credit-banks a great deal no doubt can be said. When Mr. Green says that the absence of these retards the development of small holdings he is nearer the mark than when he accuses Lord Carrington's Board of hostility to what he calls the "earth hunger" of "thousands of English artisans and labourers." —It might be said that when the gods wish to make a man of letters appear mad they cause him to publish new theories about Shakespeare. Certainly this would appear to be the case with Mr. Frank Harris and his "Women of Shakespeare." We are asked to believe that the dramatist wrote most of his greatest plays merely to portray an episode in his own life. Thus Rosaline, Juliet, Cressida, and Cleo- patra are the same person, and merely versions of the dark lady of the Sonnets who is spoken of as Mary Fitton, as if there were no doubt as to her identity whatever. Indeed, Mr. Harris goes so far as to talk about " Troilus-Shakespeare " and "Shakespeare-Antony," and when he finds that Pandar describes Cressida as dark-haired, he exclaims :—" The identity is unmistakable. Cressida is a dark beauty with astonishing wit ; every touch is of Shakespeare's cunning Mistress Rosaline-Fitton." Thus pages are filled with argu- -raents of no more weight than this, no notice being taken of the well-authenticated family portraits of the real Mary Fitton which show light brown hair and grey eyes. It will not be long, we imagine, before this last discovery will take its place in the limbo of vanities together with the Baconian cipher and the Pyramid inch.---Dr. Otto Most, the Director of the Statistical Bureau of Dusseldorf, writes about the unemployment question in Germany. The present article deals with statistics, and describes the extreme difficulty of arriving at any figures which can be relied upon. In a further paper the writer proposes to consider the question of remedies.

The United Service Magazine contains some outspoken criticism on the Special Reserve and the Territorials by "A Rifleman," who has personally served in both forces. With regard to the former, he maintains that the physical standard is far inferior to that of the old Militia. •" It is a force poor in numbers, physique and military acquirements, much inferior to the old militia, and incapable of doing the. I work allotted to it." On the other "hand, "the spirit'

animating the Special Reservists is better than that of

the Territorials " ; the men were keen to learn their work, and quickly assimilated esprit de corps. "If it were not for their poor physique, and with a better system, they could be turned

into excellent soldiers during their six months' recruit course." Of the Territorials "A Rifleman" speaks in a pessimistic strain :—

" No educated man who has served in the ranks of the Territorials can retain any illusions as to the actual value of the force. Not half its members could pass a medical examina- tion, and any severe marching would send the majority of the young lads who compose its battalions straight to the hospital. The annual training is a mere farce so far as the men are con-. cerned. Four hours' training are done per day in drill order, after which the men return to standing camps. Yet even this, accom- panied by good pay and ample, nay luxurious, rations, mused more 'grousing' in my battalion than I heard during the whole time I was in the Special Reserve. It never seemed to occur to the men that they were soldiers training for war. On the contrary, there was an entire absence of any genuine military spirit, and the slightest pretext was seized upon for grumbling. If any of the worthy people who, although enthusiastic advocates of voluntary service, have never served personally in the Territorials are inclined to doubt these statements, I can only advise them to join the Territorials, go to camp, and see for themselves. The Territorial Force does not attract the best type of working man ; young lads and clerks caught by the glamour of music-hall patriotism form the bulk of its members, and it can hardly be seriously considered as a fighting force."

The needs of national defence, in the writer's view, can only be met by a system of compulsory service on a democratic basis: "the rich must not serve as officers, but shoulder a rifle in the ranks—in fact, a law must be made that no man shall be an officer who has not served six months in the ranks."—Colonel W.

Hill-Climo, M.D., renders useful service in his article on "Heart Disease in the Home Army." The notion that military training tends to produce heart disease is widely spread and has done harm to recruiting. The tables taken from the Army Medical Department Report show that this notion is without foundation. What is more, the armies of France and Germany, the two countries which have adopted universal military service for the longest period, have, of all armies, the lowest admission and death-rates for cardiac affections. Colonel Hill-Climo suggests that a full inquiry into the subject should be made by the Army Medical Department in association with the General Staff, and the results made public for the enlightenment and reassurance of the nation.