18 JULY 1908

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NEWS OF THE WEEK T HE Times of Wednesday publishes a message from its special correspondent at Tabriz, who reports the situation to be as follows. The Shah has placed Rakhim...

On the same day in the Lords Lord Lansdowne complained

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that insufficient opportunity would be given to the House to examine the Bills which were to come before it. No doubt the abuse was of long standing, but it bad never been so...

The Morning Post of Tuesday publishes a most interesting message

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from its special correspondent in Morocco, Mr. Ashmead-Bartlett, who has succeeded in reaching Fez. He says that the news of the French occupation of Asemmur was received with...

On Monday in the House of Lords Lord Onslow asked

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the President of the Board of Agriculture about the action taken by County Councils under the Small Holdings Acts. He remarked that considerable expectations had been aroused in...

On Monday the King opened the Olympic Games in the

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Stadium at the Franco-British Exhibition. The Queen, the Prince and Princess of Wales, the Crown Prince and Princess of Greece, the Crown Prince and Princess of Sweden, the Duke...

• * The Editors cannot undertake to return Manuscript, in

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any case.

NOTICE.—With this week's number of the "SPECTATOR" is issued, gratis,

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an Eight-Page Supplement, containing the Half-Yearly Index and Title-Page,—i.e., from January 4th to June 27th, 1908, inclusive.

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No doubt we might be able to prevent a rival

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purchasin the Brazilian ships while they were still in our dockyards. but it would be impossible to forbid the sale after they had reached Brazilian waters. Might it not be...

Before dealing with the body of Mr. McKenna's speech, we

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may point out that he expressed want of any special informa- tion about the Brazilian ships ; but he assured Mr. Lee that the Government would watch the career of the ships with...

In comparing our naval force with that of Germany, Mr.

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Lee declared that in his opinion the end of 1911 was not the period of extreme significance. That period would be early in 1912. How should we stand at that date ? Germany would...

Mr. Lee turned next to what we cannot help feeling

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is a very serious question. There were, he declared, at present building in private yards in this country three vessels of the 'Dread- nought' class for Brazil. Past experience...

The Report by Mr. Ernest Ayes on Colonial labour legisla-

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tion has been published this week. Mr. Ayes, who writes of Wages Boards and Conciliation and Arbitration Boards, utters a wholesome warning against arguing from the particular...

As regards torpedo craft, Mr. McKenna taxed Mr. Arthur Lee

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with having forgotten the eight 'Scouts,' which were better than destroyers. These eight 'Scouts' had no corresponding vessels among the torpedo craft of either France or...

In the Commons on Monday Mr. Arthur Lee opened the

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debate on the Navy Estimates. Our building Programme, he declared, was inadequate and indefensible from the point of view of the enormous financial burden it threw on succeeding...

We have dealt elsewhere with Mr. McKenna's enunciation of the

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general principle that though the essential for thiS country is security, "absolute and complete security," it is mere waste to go one inch beyond it. We may note, however, his...

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But though we detest the Convention, and should like to

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see it denounced, we are bound to admit that in dealing with their friends and neighbours the British Government are obliged to preserve a certain continuity of action, and that...

On Monday Mr. Balfour addressed the Parents' League on religious

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education. The League, which was created nine months ago, has a membership of over seventy thousand, and its principle is "the right of the parent to determine the religious...

We note with no small satisfaction that Lord Derby has

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withdrawn his resignation of the chairmanship of the West Lancashire Territorial Army Association. In resigning as he did when Lord Shuttleworth was appointed Lord-Lieutenant of...

On Tuesday Mr. Asquith received a large and influential deputation

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of Members of Parliament in regard to the Sugar Convention,—a deputation which represented two hundred of his supporters. Mr. Villiers, who introduced the deputation, spoke...

On Friday week Mr. Asquith was entertained at dinner by

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the Bar of England in the Inner Temple Hall. Mr. Asquith, although not the first "practising barrister" who has become Prime Minister, is the first who has combined great...

The papers of Thursday published a correspondence between Black Rod

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in the House of Lords and Mr. Hazleton, an Irish Member of Parliament, who complained that a friend of his had been required to leave the House of Lords because he was wearing...

Bank Rate, 21 per cent., changed from 8 per cent.

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May 28th. Consols (2f) were on Friday 87f—on Friday week 871.

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TOPICS OF THE DAY • HALF-TRUTHS AND THE NAVY.

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W E have never been among those who think, or, we should prefer to say, profess to think, that the Liberal Party and the Liberal Government have any but the best intentions in...

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TARIFF REFORM AND HOPS.

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T HE Report of the Select Committee on the hop industry is a document well worth studying by those people who hastily assume that an import-duty is a sovereign remedy for every...

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THE SINEWS OF WAR. T HERE is nothing truer in the

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realm of political science than the often-made statement that money provides. the sinews of war, and that therefore a financial system which can easily and quickly raise large...

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DRUNKENNESS AND THE LAW.

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A LETTER from Sir Andrew Reed which appeared in the Times of Monday explains in very clear lauguage why the statistics of drunkenness are more unfavourable for Scotland than for...

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THE CONQUEST OF THE AIR.

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G ERMANY is emulating France in the construction of steerable balloons for military purposes, and no one can remain seriously in doubt as to their practical uses. We need not...

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OARSMANSHIP AND THE OLYMPIC GAMES.

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R OWING as a sport is common to all nations, and English oarsmen have been engaged in many more international contests than cricketers or football-players. Americans, Frenchmen,...

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NIGHT EN' 'UMBRIA.

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T O him who goes by train nothing could be more un- interesting than one of the flat rich Italian plains. Field after field passes in wearying succession, each a perfect square,...

KEW GARDENS AT MIDSUMMER,

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T HE best of Kew Gardens, as of all others, belongs to the days of promise. No light in any garden shines with the same clearness of rain-washed skies as that of April and May,—...

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CORRESPONDENCE.

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RECENT NAVAL DEBATES. [To ms EDITOR OF THR "EDECTATOR."] Sin,—The debate upon Mr. Barnes's Motion for a Committee of Inquiry into the training of engineer officers of the...

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FREE-TRADE AND PREFERENTIAL RAILWAY RATES.

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150 THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR:1 SIR,—It is worthy of note that in none of the articles recently appearing in the Spectator on railway nationalisation has any serious attempt...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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THE TURMOIL IN PERSIA. 150 THE EDITOR OF THB °SPECTATOR:1 SIR,—In your article of July 4th under the above heading you say all the Persian people are "of the same blood " ;...

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[TO THY EDITOR OF THZ "SPECTATOR:1

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SIR,—I have no desire to champion the professional money- lender, but observations made among the working classes of London have led me to the conclusion that the amateur usurer...

[TO THE EDITOR OF IRS "SPECTATOR."]

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SIn, — My attention has been called to letters in your last two issues dealing with the problem of cheap credit and the pro- vision of banking facilities for the working...

SMALL LOANS FOR POOR PEOPLE.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR." J Sin,—As you attached sufficient importance to Mr. Batty's letter and to the article in the Economist on the popularisation of Consols to...

STATE RAILWAYS IN ITALY.

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[TO THY EDITOR Or TEM "SPECTATOR." . 1 SIR,—In your article on "State Railways" in last week's issue I notice the following amazing statement :—" In Italy the State acquisition...

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EMPIRE DAY.

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To THY EDITOR OF TEE " SPECTATOR.l SIR,—Noiing your references to Canada, home of Empire Day, in your issue of May 30th, also to Lord Meath's share in its introduction to other...

SIR THOMAS MOFFETT.

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(To THE EDITOR. OF THE "SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I hope you will find space for a few words in com- memoration of one who, though he bad nearly attained his ninetieth year, yet leaves...

IRISH TOURIST DEVELOPMENT. (To THE EDITOR OF TIM "SPECTATOR.' I

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SIR, — I am again able to draw attention to improvements in the railway services which connect London with Dublin. Business men have long been able to leave London at 9 p.m.,...

TICKET BUREAU FOR THE BLIND. ore THE EDITOR OF THE

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"SPECTATOR."] SIE,"—Some years ago a Bureau was founded in New York for distributing free tickets for concerts and plays to suitable blind people. It sent out over six thousand...

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UNTRODDEN PATHS.

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[TO THN EDITOR OIF TFIN "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Might I, in anticipation of the holiday season, when but for the exorbitant hotel prices many persons of quite modest means would...

THE SPEED OF MOTOR-CARS AT HINDHEAD.

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[TO TEN EDITOR OF THE "EPECTATOR." . 1 Srn,—The district of Hindbead, in the south-western highlands of Surrey, has during recent years become quite a fashionable health resort,...

GOETHE AND TAINE ON MILTON.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Sbortly before reading the suggestive article on Milton in the Spectator of July 4th I came across Goethe's not over- friendly comment...

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[TO THI EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR"] STR,—Referring to Mr. A.

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C. Benson's letter in your last issue, may I say that I have noticed much the same kind of behaviour in a canary which was allowed to fly about the room at mealtimes ? He would...

A SQUIRREL AND CAT STORY.

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['To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."' SIR,—Can you find room for one more squirrel-cat story, an old story as to date, but at the same time new (in print) and quite true ? Twenty...

AN IMPERIAL PRESS CONFERENCE.

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[To THE EDITOR OF TEl SPECTATOR-] Sig,—Will you allow me to call the attention of your readers to a proposal which I feel confident will engage their unreserved sympathy P...

AS VAIN AS A PEACOCK.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.'J SIR,—We have read your correspondent's letter about his peacock in last week's Spectator with much interest. Our favourite and much-petted...

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POETRY.

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DAWN. LISTEN, I know this garden at the dawn When day is breaking and the world is new, When all the cobwebs drenched upon the lawn Are silver meshes that have caught the dew....

LORD WEMYSS AND THE OLD-AGE PENSIONS PETITION.

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[TO TM{ EDITOn OP TUB " sescraroan Sza,—The petitions re old-age pensions that are now being signed Were to be presented by me to the House of Lords. I regret that I am unable...

THE THEATRE.

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" COMUS " AT CAMBRIDGE. IT is always interesting—though it is not always equally pleasant—to see the performance on the stage of a piece of dramatic writing with which we have...

NOTICE.—When Articles or "Correspondence" 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 expressed or with the mode of...

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BOOKS.

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DR. ADAM SMITH'S "JERUSALEM."* JEnuseXam—the popular form is sufficiently correct if we pronounce it " Yerusiilem "—first comes into history about 7 the year 1440 B.C. It was...

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A SCRAP-BOOK.*

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NEVER in any age have so many unpublished documents been brought to light as in this age of ours. If in the past we have been guilty of neglect, we have more than atoned for our...

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"PROFITABLE WONDERS."* "I RAVE a mind," says the author in

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his first Meditation, "to fill this book with profitable wonders." Two years ago we wrote on the poetry of Thomas Traherne, and told the story • Centuries of Meditations. By...

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PLANT STUDY IN SCHOOL, FIELD, AND GARDEN.*

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THE authors of this text-book are respectively Principal and Head of the Natural Science Department of the Walthamstow Technical Institute. It is a great pleasure to bestow un-...

THE FREEDOM OF WOMEN.*

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This well-reasoned pamphlet against female suffrage by Mrs. Frederic Harrison comes opportunely. It is always more difficult in political matters to arouse enthusiasm for a...

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GEORGE JACOB HOLYOAKE.*

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WITH Sixty Years of an Agitator's life still fresh in our memory, we find it difficult to see the precise justification for these two closely packed volumes. In that work the...

NOVELS.

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CAPTAIN MARGARET.* THIS is, we believe, the longest sea-story Mr. Masefield has written, and although we recognise in him powers of description which are in the best sense...

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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 been reserved for reciew in other forms.] Annals of Cambridge. By Charles Henry Cooper. Edited by John William...

The Angel and the Author — and Others. By Jerome K. Jerome.

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(Hurst and Blackett. 3s. 6d.)—There is plenty of humour and plenty of good sense in this volume, Mr. Jerome can make fun in a pleasant fashion of oddities among others and...

Shropshire, Hereford, and Monmouth. By A. G. Bradley. (A. Constable

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and Co. 5s. net.)—Glamorgan and Gower. By the same. (Same publishers. 38. 6d. net.)—These two volumes are constituent parts of a book published some little time ago under the...

The Little Brown Brother. By Stanley Portal Hyatt. (A. Constable

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and Co. 6s.)—This is a "problem novel," but the problem is not of the usual kind ; it is of race. The scene is laid in the Philippines and the time is of the American...

READABLE NOVELS — Leroux. By the Hon. Mrs. Walter Forbes. (Greening

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and Co. 6s.)—A tale of the French Revolution, with General Bonaparte for one of the dramatis personae. — Green at Greyhouse. By R. S. Warren Bell. (Chapman and Hall. 6s.) —An...

Lincoln College, Oxford. By Stephen A. Warner, B.A. (Arnold Fairbairns

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and Co. 6s. net.)—We already possess a perfectly satisfactory history of Lincoln College in Mr. Andrew Clark's book, published in the "College Histories" Series of Mr. Robinson....

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Hertslet's China Treaties. By Godfrey E. P. Hertslet, with the

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Assistance of Edward Parkes. 2 vols. (H.M. Stationery Office. 35s.)—This is a third edition. The first, quite a small volume, appeared in 1877, and was the work of Sir Edward...

The third volume of Gardens Old and New, Edited by

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H. Avray Tipping, M.A. (Country Life, 42s. net), contains accounts, amply illustrated, of thirty-four gardens, all more or less famous. The best known among them are Hatfield...

The Geographical Journal : January—June, 1908 (Royal Geographical Society), begins

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with Sir Clements Markbam's Memoir of Admiral Sir Leopold McClintock. McClintock's first Arctic experience was in 1848—he was then twenty-nine—as Second Lieutenant of the...

In the series of "Heath's English Classics" (D. C. Heath

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and Co., 1s), we have Macaulay's Lays of Ancient Rome, Edited by M. Hall Shackford, Ph.D. (The notes are brief and to the point. The preliminary account of the Roman...

Dickens's Dictionary of London (C. J. La.rby, Is. net) appears

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in "a new edition, thoroughly revised and brought up to date." It is arranged in alphabetical order, and is furnished with a map in fifteen sections. It is a pity that this...

The Kingdom of Canada. By John S. Ewart, K.C. (Morang

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and Co., Toronto.)—There is much that is enlightening in this volume. Mr. Ewart speaks the thoughts of many Canadians, and speaks them in perfectly frank language. If England...