13 DECEMBER 1913

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Radical papers have hastily assumed that they have been aimed

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solely at the Ulster Unionists. They conveniently over- look the rapid growth in the last couple of months of various Volunteer movements among Irish Nationalists. We learn from...

No settlement or alteration in the Bill is worth considering

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that does not avoid the horrors of civil war ; nor can there be any general agreement to do anything unless as a result civil war is guarded against. Do not these undeniable...

Before we leave the subject we should like to express

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a hope that the Opposition leaders will state in set terms exactly what they could agree to in the matter of the ex- clusion of Ulster. But even if they do not see their way to...

Mr. Bonar Law's speech at Carnarvon on Thursday night, which

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was considerably interrupted, may be paraphrased as follows : Either the Goiernment have a moral right to do what they purpose, or they have not. If they have that right, then...

We deal elsewhere at length with Mr. Asquith's Manchester speech

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and his renewed offer to treat apparently on the basis of pseudo - Federalism or " Home Rule all round." It is clear that such a vast rearrangement of our system of government...

The Gazette of yesterday week contained two Proclamations signed by

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the King at the Council held at Sandringham on the previous day. The first forbids the importation into Ireland of arms and ammunition, except such as are intended solely for...

*** The Editors cannot undertake to return Manuscript in any

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case.

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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T HE important announcement was made in the Times of Friday that definite negotiations have been going on during the past few days between the Government and the Opposition as...

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The new French Ministry which M. Doumergue has formed experienced

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a stormy debate at their first meeting with the Chamber on Thursday. In the decisive division, however, they gained a majority of 161. The most important point in the Government...

In the Reichstag on Tuesday Herr von Bethmann Hollweg made

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a statement of some importance on foreign affairs. Germany accepted absolutely the British policy with regard to Turkey—the security of Turkish possessions upon the basis of...

The German crisis caused by the relations between soldiers and

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civilians in Alsace has come to an end very much in the manner we expected. The offending regiment has been removed from Zabern, but the Chancellor has formally main- tained his...

We deal in our leading columns with the speech delivered

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by Mr. Asquith at the National Liberal Club dinner, in which he set the seal of Cabinet approval on the "land-bursting" campaign. Mr. Lloyd George, who also spoke, paid a...

The whole of the Left rallied to the support of

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the Govern- ment, in spite of the fact that the policy of the "gradual return to two years' service "—the policy adopted by the Pau Radical Congress—was for all practical...

But as regards the rest of Germany we cannot see

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that any- thing noteworthy has been accomplished. Last Saturday official statements were issued to the effect that the Imperial Chancellor when he spoke in the Reichstag had...

We are glad to be able to record that a

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Commission has been appointed in South Africa by the Union Government to inquire into the recent strike of Indians in Natal, the use of force, and the allegations as to...

The Times correspondent, writing from Mexico City on November 18th,

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sends a very instructive article on the state of affairs in the capital. He gives a vivid picture of the state of nervous tension of Mexicans and foreigners alike. The wildest...

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The Times of Tuesday announced that Lord Murray is expected

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to arrive in England in a few weeks. No doubt when he returns he will not fail to see the propriety of answering (whether by means of a libel action or otherwise) the charges...

The National Labour Convention specially convened to discuss the trade

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deadlock in Dublin was held at the Memorial Hall, Farringdon Street, on Tuesday. Mr. Henderson, M.P., who presented the report of the trade union delegation to Dublin, defended...

An interesting after-dinner discussion on the Channel Tunnel schemes took

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place at a meeting of the Imperial Industries Club on Wednesday night, and is recorded in the Daily Chronicle of Thursday. Mr. Stanley Machin, Vice- President of the London...

The result of the by-election in the Wick Burghs, due

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to the appointment of Mr. Munro as Lord Advocate, was announced on Tuesday evening as follows: Mr. R. Munro (L.). 1,577; Mr. A. G. MacKenzie, (U.) 1,134. Liberal majority, 443....

Admiral Seymour declared that, though thirty years ago be was

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against the tunnel, he had changed his mind. He was quite certain that our end of the tunnel could be made impregnable. Sir Francis Fox, speaking on the engineering aspect of...

M. Anatole France, who was entertained at a banquet at

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the Savoy Hotel on Wednesday, presided over by Lord Redesdale and attended by a large gathering of men and women of letters, made an admirable speech in responding to the toast...

On Thursday Mr. Samuel received another deputation from the postal

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unions on the question of the increase of wages by 15 per cent. all round which has been demanded. The Government, Mr. Samuel said, had again reviewed the facts, and they still...

Bank Rate,5 per cent., changed from 41 per cent. Oct.

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2nd. Consols (21) were on Friday 72—Friday week 728.

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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MR. ASQUITH'S ULSTER SPEECH. I N our opinion, Mr. Asquith's speech at the Manchester Reform Club on Friday, December 5th, marks a very real advance towards a solution, we will...

THE INTERPRETATION.

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ri 0 IV are we to interpret this speech ? What is its practical bearing on the question of the avoidance• of civil war, for that is the only way in which we care to consider it,...

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THE NEW FRENCH MINISTRY.

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O NLY a short time ago we were told that a New France had arisen from the ashes of the innumerable factions which have marked the progress of the Third Republic. It was a New...

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LAND STERILIZATION.

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M R. ASQUITH'S speech at the National Liberal Club represents the formal endorsement by the Cabinet of the land campaign which Mr. Lloyd George has worked up and already...

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TWENTY-SIX YEARS' FINANCE.

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[BY THE EARL OF CROMER.] " N ATIONS," Mr. Lecky said, " seldom realize till too .111 late how prominent a place a sound system of finance holds among the vital elements of...

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EUCKEN MADE EASY.

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W HEN Cabanis said that "thought is a secretion of the brain " he put materialism in a nutshell. Materialism is capable of such compression, but unfortunately the more spiritual...

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THE " FURIA. FRANCESE."

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O N Monday our English heavy-weight boxing champion went down in a few seconds before the Elan of the clever and confident Frenchman's assault, and many news- papers proceeded...

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THE NEW INSECT HOUSE AT THE ZOO.

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F OR years the Zoo has lacked an insect house worthy of the name, and now at last the need seems likely to be fulfilled. In December last year Sir James Caird presented the...

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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CIVIL WAR AND THE ARMY. [To THZ EDITOR OF THE " 81.13CTATOR..1 SIR,—In your issue of November 22nd " Discipline" wrote that the Army was a weapon with which the Government...

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THE COERCION OF ULSTER.

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[To TIM ED/TOR OF THY " SPROTATOR.".1 Sin,—With the greatest respect I venture to question the wisdom of the advice you give in the leading article under the above heading in...

ULSTER AND HOME RULE.

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[To THY EDITOR Of THZ "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—One of the strangest of the delusions under which English Radicals labour is the idea that if the Ulster diffi- culty is got over, the...

" ABSIT OMEN ! "

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[To Tax EDITOR OF THZ "SPECTATOR.1 SIR,—In your article of last week entitled "The Army in Ulster" you point out that the Liberal Party cling to the delusion that there can be...

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THE MONROE DOCTRINE AND MEXICO.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] Srn,—Americans who have studied the origin and development of the famous doctrine which owes its name to the President who gave it form in...

THE GERMAN MILITARY DESPOTISM.

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[To THE EDITOR 07 THE "SPECTATOR. "] Sin, — In your "News of the Week" of December 6th, after reporting that the motions of censure on the Imperial Chan- cellor were carried by...

THE OPPOSITION AND THE ARMY.

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[To THY EDITOR or THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The passage in Mr. Gardiner's book to which I referred as hysterical (Spectator, November 29th) spoke of the Con- servatives as being...

PAYMENT OF MEMBERS.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR, --At the Scottish Unionist Conference in Glasgow on December 3rd the following resolution was submitted by me _on behalf of the Glasgow...

MR. KEIR HARDIE AND NATIONAL DEFENCE.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIR,—The National Service League and the Navy League have good reason to feel grateful to the Independent Labour Party for the services...

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR, — You have always shown

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such just appreciation of Scotsmen and their character that it is surprising to read in the article on " The Secret of the Scot " that Scotsmen are not pioneers, and do not...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—A reference to Whitaker's

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Almanack seems to reveal one of " the secrets of the Scot." May let was the date of the Union of 1707. One wonders whether an annual holiday in Ireland commemorating their Union...

THE LATE MR. SPENCER LYTTELTON.

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR. "] Sin,—When Mr. Spencer Lyttelton died last week after a short illness, to the abiding grief of his many friends, most of the newspapers...

WARREN HASTINGS.

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR, — In the Spectator of December 6th, p. 970, is this amazing statement, " Warren Hastings was a Herefordshire man." Permit me as a member...

THE LATE DR. ALFRED RUSSEL WALLACE.

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iTo THE EDITOR 07 THE "SPECTATOR.") Sin, — The family of the late Dr. Alfred Russel Wallace having invited me to arrange and edit a volume of letters and reminiscences, they...

THE SECRET OF THE SCOT.

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR."1 SIR, — The ubiquitous Scot and the Imperialistic Englishman must already, six hundred years ago, have been familiar figures in the world,...

THE CHEAP COTTAGE QUESTION.

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[To THE EDITOR 01 THE "SPECTATOE.") Sin,—I have followed with interest the various articles and letters appearing in the Spectator on the cheap cottage ques- tion. In an article...

WHAT IS A LITTLE-NAVYITE

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[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIc, — I see that you apply to me among others the nickname of " Little-Navyite." But as a matter of fact I (and probably all the others you...

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POETRY.

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DACTYLS. OVER a bright blue sea White gulls are lazily soaring, Out of a bright blue sky Is a light, that is heavenly, pouring; High in the air tall cliff, Sheer crag, sharp...

A CORRECTION.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SFECTAT011.1 SIR,—I read in your review of Oxford and Cambridge collec- tions of modern verse the following sentence : "It always surprises us that the...

A MINIMUM WAGE.

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—You condemn the intolerance of the advocates of a minimum or living wage on page 963 of your• last issue. Is it not of the first...

LEASEHOLD ENFRANCHISEMENT.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Six,—As your paper is always so accurate, may I draw your attention to a slight inaccuracy upon this matter in attributing leasehold...

BOOKS.

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LORD CROMER'S ESSAYS.* IN his paper on Antigonos Gonatas Lord Cromer notes that the career of that royal philosopher is an illustration of the truth that a man of action can be...

LINKS WITH THE PAST.

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[To THE EDIT013 OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 Six,—My grandfather was present at the battle of Culloden in 1746. Being a boy of seven years old, he was not in the fighting line with his...

NOTICE.—When "Correspondence" or Articles are signed with the writer's name

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or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are marked "Communicated," the Editor must not necessarily be held to be in agreement with the views therein erpressed or with the mode of...

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BAR, BAT AND BIT.• SIR EDWARD CHANDOB LEIGH has given

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us a volume of reminiscences such as is characteristic, and we think we might say peculiar, to the literature of the English-speaking peoples. The reminiscences are random and...

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HIGHWAYS AND BYWAYS IN THE BORDER.* FEW, probably, meeting the

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late Mr. Andrew Lang casually and hearing him talk after the "Oxford manner," with a delicate, allusive, and cynical wit all his own, on all things whether in heaven or earth,...

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THE VOCATION OF WOMAN.*

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TEE question whether the Parliamentary franchise should or should not be granted to women occupies a very secondary place in Mrs. Archibald Colquhoun's thoughtful and acutely...

RUSTIC SPEECH AND FOLK-LORE.* IT is almost as difficult to

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make the fascination of philology intelligible to the lay mind as it is to write a "popular " book on mathematics. Dr. Johnson himself found no better way " to intersperse with...

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AUTUMN AND WINTER.*

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Means. THOMAS AND COLLETT make excellent collaborators. In a book planned on so comprehensive a scale as this, which is a survey of English birds and beasts and flowers and...

CHARLES CONDER."

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IN these days of diffuse biography of artists it is a pleasure to find a volume like Mr. Gibson's work on Charles Conder. In it we are given just a few pages of the artist's...

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The Mountain Apart. By James Prosper. (William Heinemann. 6s.)—Mr. Prosper's

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book reminds us of the dinner-party in The Adored One, to which, if we remember right, there were invited a woman with no sense of humour and one who had too much, a militant...

FICTION.

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THE RACE OF CASTLEBAR.• No record of Irish letters in the last thirty years will be complete or adequate which does not take into account the contributions in prose and verse...

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The Goddess of Stone. By R. W. Wright Henderson. Methuen

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and Co. 6s.)—All good adventure stories, whether they be concerned with history or with lands of imagination, belong to one of two schools : either they are dependent for their...

READABLE NOVELS.—The Chaps of Harlon. By Desmond Coke. (Chapman and

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Hall. 2s. 6d.)—Mr. Coke's comic parody of a school story is occasionally relieved by touches of real humour, which are worthy of a finer setting.—A Way- faring Soul. By Walter...

GIFT-BOOK S,

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SOME MORE OS' BOOKS. AN early selection of new boys' stories appeared in our columns last month, but we have received many more from the publishers during the last weeks. The...

The Hat Shop. By Mrs. C. S. Peel. (John Lane.

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6s.)—Under the cover of fiction Mrs.Peel supplies a great deal of information as to the business side of carrying on a fashionable modiste's establishment. Women who make a...

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SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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[Under this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not bee% reserved for review in other forms.] A History of Housing Reform. (The National Unionist Association, St....

BOOBS OF REFERENCE.—Who's Who, 1914. (A. and C. Black. 15s.

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net.)—There is never any diminution in the annual pleasure with which we open the most fascinating of all reference-books. New treasures are constantly starting to our eyes from...

TWO NOVELISTS' STORIES.

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FROM two popular writers of fiction come new stories, which are published with coloured illustrations and all the appear- ance of " gift-books." Mr. de Vera Stacpoole's Bird Cay...

" Squaring the Circle" : a History of the Problem.

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By E. W. Hobson. (Cambridge University Press. 3s. net.)— Others besides mathematicians will find interest in Professor Hobson's history of a problem which puzzled humanity for...