T HE latest news in regard to South Africa is undecisive. Friday's telegrams report that Mr. Chamberlain's despatch is still under consideration at Pretoria. That is, his...

al!iance between Japan and China, which have been so angrily denied, rest upon a solid foundation. The Russian Government does not act upon rumour, and M. de Giers, the Foreign...

it is so wonderful that after four years of such im- prisonment as he endured on the Ile du Diable he should have retained not only his life, but his fall reasoning power. The...

recently made by the German Emperor which, if correctly reported, as we fancy they are, are well worth studying. The Emperor was talking at Kiel to Mr. Foss, an American Member...

one day's sharp examination of the accused was inter- rupted by a closed session to examine the secret dossier. This will not end till to-day, and it is calculated that a...

case.

criticisms passed on his Department, dealt chiefly with the Hut-tax and the alleged withholding of the Report of Sir David Chalmers. He showed that, in fact, it was only with-...

by Sir W. Wedderburn, who repeated his usual statements as to the "starveling" condition of the ryota, statements which we believe are made in sincerity, but are true only thus...

House of Commons was busy passing the second reading of the Appropriation Bill. The discussion on such an occa- sion, though it reads like a kind of Parliamentary nightmare, and...

The regular business of a Secretary of State for India when introducing his Budget is to apologise for it, to show that the deficit was due to exchange, or war, or famine, to...

a very careful consideration of the main issue—i.e., the Hut-tax in the hinterland of Sierra Leone—was to convince him that that imposition was neither unfair nor impolitic. If...

a sensation. He states, on authority which he has frequently found accurate, that the real motive of M. Delcasse's hurried visit to St. Petersburg is to prevent the abdication...

in answer to a question by Sir Wilfrid Lawson, announced that an addition (three regiments in all) had been made to the military force in Natal. The troops were sent out in...

Speech at the end of the Session is purely formal, but the Speech of Wednesday contained one paragraph of real importance. After reciting the facts as to the petition, the...

his business to bring the resolution before his colleagues at the next oppor- tunity. In our opinion, if the Government are well advised, they will announce their intention of...

in the Channel have led to a regrettable incident, which occurred off Dungeness on Tuesday night. The gunboat 'Leda,' discovering a French trawler within the three miles limit,...

people signed by one hundred and twenty-six Members of the House of Commons, and sent to Mr. Balfour. The letter asks for a definite statement as" soon as possible" of the views...

they were marked by some instructive episodes, notably the admirable exploit of one of the Castle- town coastguards. Five vessels of the "B" Fleet having entered Bantry Bay, the...

($ that India ought never to be a party question, made a really remarkable speech in defence of the home administration of Indian affairs. He mentioned, what most men have for-...

New Consolb (2i) were on Friday 1054

THE SITUATION IN SOUTH AFRICA. T HOUGH we still believe that President Kruger will end by yielding, it is impossible not to recognise the fact that the situation in South Africa...

W E do not quite see why everybody rejects M. de Blowitz's news. It is sensational, no doubt ; but earthquakes do occur sometimes in the political, as in the natural, world, and...

W E have no criticism to make on the conduct of the Opposition during the Session which ended on Wednesday. In one respect, indeed, it compares favour- ably with its action in...

Lord Curzon for the manage- ment of the North-West Frontier mark an im- portant change in the policy of the Government of India. The Forward school, who have governed the Empire...

trust and believe that all but a very few of the extremists among the Ritualists will obey the decision of the Archbishops, and so prove to the world that their loyalty to the...

T T is reported that the people of Rennes are apparently for the most part as uninterested in the Dreyfus trial as though it were taking place on another planet. Here is an...

T HE conductors of the Daily Telegraph have this year hardly been so well advised as usual in their choice of a holiday subject. There is no genuine difference of opinion among...

N OW, if ever, is the time in which to sing the song of "the open road," and thus very timely is Mr. E. V. Lucas's charming little anthology of outdoor holiday poems entitled...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Your article, "The Future of Hodge," in the Spectator of July 29th, encourages me to hope that you may find room for a story told,...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—In your article on the above rumour of an offensive and defensive alliance between China and Japan you state that the rumour is...

lab PERMANENT PROBLEM IN SOUTH AFRICA. [TO THE EDITOR OF THR Elpscrvrolt.") SIR,—Your article in the Spectator of Jane 24th, "The Permanent Problem in South Africa," just...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Agricultural labour is scarce in most parts of the country ; but the writer of "The Future of Hodge" exagge- rates enormously when he...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—I agree with the whole of your interesting article on "The Dying of Death." But is the fear of death, or its absence, a safe test of a...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sin,—Sir W. E. Bowen writes in the Spectator of August 5th that it is "a matter of notoriety," a phrase apparently equiva- lent to "an open...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.] Siii,—May I call the attention of your readers to an appeal made by Mr. Sidney Lee on behalf of the funds of our Society, which was published...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In the Spectator of July 29th a correspondent signing himself George M. Drought sent you a quotation from some one whom he describes as...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] note that in your interesting review of "Memoirs of the Sidney Family," in the Spectator of August 5th, your critic has himself made a...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:1 Bullen's letter in the Spectator of July 22nd on " Sea-Superstitions " has a slight mistake which it may not be uninteresting to have...

[To TIIE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:] SIE,—In reading Mr. Tollemache's letter on "A Conservative Parrot" in the Spectator of July 8th, I was reminded of the ease of a linguistic...

[To TUE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Six,—In your comment on the Duke of Argyll's letter you ignore the essential fact that since the repeal of the Test and Corporations Act the...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SrR,—Is there not an error on this subject in your second leading article in the Spectator of August 5th ? You say that if France and...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The interesting letters which have appeared in your last and previous issues on the above subject induce me to observe that while from...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Perhaps some of your readers may be interested in the story of Buff,' a Canadian beaver. 'Buff' was caught in a trap at Lovesick Lake,...

WANDERING WISHES. I LONG to leave city and book and pen, The square-built house, the streets of men, The pent-up gardens, the decorous dress, The long-drawn crisis, the patriot...

WORDS FOR MUSICAL SETTING. A vmoRous letter of protest recently reached the present writer from a correspondent who attended a concert at which a setting of Mr. Rudyard...

"CitosimonA tlicebat, si quando commoda vellet Dicere, et binsidlas Arrius Inoidlao : Et tuns mirIfice sperabat as ease locutum, Cum quantum poterat dixerat hinsIdias. Credo,...

AN AMERICAN'S RECOLLECTIONS OF WORDS WORTH.* COLERIDGE declared to an American visitor that, while he was only a poor poet in England, he was "a great philosopher in America";...

MANY have been the attempts to account for the fascination of mountaineering as a sport, and many have been the failures. No doubt this fascination is due in different natures...

KR. LEACH gives to the first chapter of his history of Win- chester the title of "The First Public SohooL" He thus suggests a question which has been often asked and never...

to appearing in print in her lifetime, but, to quote the introduction to this book, one of her objections, "a fear that her peace of mind might be disturbed by the criticisms of...

physician, is already well known to English readers by his excellent historical romances, two of which, Hugh Wynne and The Adventures of Francois, have already been noticed in...

With M. Zola in England. (Chatto & Windus. 3s. Cd.)—The chief characteristic of this book is its perfect simplicity. We know not which are the more ingenuous, M. Zola's...

collected a goodly number of lapidary inscriptions. But the book is of no great value, since its compiler has been led away by an irrelevant jocosity. Now, many an excellent man...

the part of patient editor, which he plays best, and collects together a mass of irrelevant facts and indiscreet opinions. He has pierced the mystery of Pepys's banking account...

Rostand. Translated from the French by G. A. Raper. With 55 Illustrations. (Chapman and Hall. 6s.)—The beat things in this book are the illustrations and two pages and a half of...

of the few living books published in recent years. We have already applauded the French original, and since so fine a masterpiece cannot find too many readers, we are glad to...

the Mayor of Winchester, whose Christian name we observe is "Alfred " ; it has a charming introduction by Sir Walter Besant, a frontispiece poem by the Poet-Laureate, and a...

ls.)—The special object of this little volume, which is generally a sequel to the author's "Story of the Solar System" and "$tory of the Stars," is to give an account of the...

S. Small, Jedburgh.)—" The Borderers have long been noted," says the author of this book, perhaps quite unnecessarily, "for a clannish tenacity which they carry with them into...

Magazine may plume itself on receiving the most un- equivocal marks of approval from a great many quarters. It was the first of the new type of "popular" magazine which has...

Rhodes James, Litt.D. (Deighton, Bell, and Co.)— Dr. James has set himself to solve a difficult problem. He has to repair, so to speak, the injuries inflicted by the neglect, or...

[Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] Britain On and Beyond the Sea. By Cecil H. Crofts, M.A. (W. and A. K....

Arthur W. A'Beckett. (Hurst and Blackett. 3s. 6d.)—Under the title of The Modern Adam Mr. A'Beckett publishes a series of sketches satirising the machinery of contemporary life....

(Crosby Lockwood and Son. 7s. 6d. net.)—" A concise yet comprehensive manual of rules, formulas, tables, Ise.," is what the author has given to persons professionally interested...

is the half-yearly volume of a journal that appeals to "all interested in country life and country pursuits." It is quite im- possible to give any adequate account of its...

and Leopold Sndre. Edited by Alphonse Hartog. (Macmillan and Co. 12s. 6d.)—We cannot pretend to give here an adequate appreciation of this admirable book. It must suffice to...

6d. net.)—This is the story of an old locomotive steam-engine, beginning with its recollection of being inspected by the two Stephensons, father and son, the latter pronouncing...

(J. M. Dent and Co. is. net.)—This issue, Part V., takes in Sheffield, Lower Airedale, and Leeds (this last being unfinished). It is scarcely fair to criticise omissions where...

and Co. 13.)—We have here some eleven stories of the gaming-tables of Monte Carlo, supposed to be told by the "General Director of the Surveillance Department." There is a...