no attempt to disguise the very serious character of the proposals that he had to make, and dealt with absolute candour and honesty on the disagreeable facts of the national...

so far as it goes. General Plumer's rapid northward advance on Pietersburg not only took the Boers by surprise, but entirely upset the preparations for another invasion of Cape...

O N Thursday Sir Michael Hicks-Beach introduced the most momentous Budget of modern times. Its chief feature is the proposal to increase greatly, our indirect taxa- tion. There...

after praising, no doubt quite sincerely, the candour of the opener of the Budget, went on to play, legitimately enough, the role of Opposition critic, and declared himself very...

case.

of the Ashanti Expedition was remarkable for the interest of the speeches delivered by the chairman, Sir James Willcocks, and the guests of the evening. Perhaps the best was the...

China, in South Africa, in Ashanti, and in Somaliland which we have been fighting all at once, and said "there surely never was an Army which had to fight so much and talked so...

make the war with Prussia, and said that he made it with "a light heart," has indulged himself in a furious outburst against Italy, whose ingratitude, he declares, amounts to...

made a very imprudent speech. He received on Wednesday a deputation from a Catholic School Society, and told them not only that the Empire was Catholic, which is true, and that...

at all. They may mean nothing, for the lying and the ignorance on the spot are both superb, but they look as if the Court were preparing to renew the war. We hear of troops in...

for the moment the most prominent, are evi- dently growing furious. The Papal election cannot be far off, and as the aged Pope complains, " several States separated by stretches...

stated semi-officially that Great Britain and Germany have agreed upon a plan, but even the totals are not settled. According to the Americans, the total is just under sixty-two...

stituents at Tryddyn, Flintshire, on Monday evening. While utterly opposed to conscription for the Army, he saw no insuperable objection to requiring all able-bodied men to...

Lord .Roberts to the Secretary of State for War drawing attention to the excellent work done by the various Depart- ments of the Army up to November 29th, 1900. We cannot...

" in the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, Cheapside, on Wednesday. After the Litany had been said by the rector, the Vicar- General, Sir J. Parker Deane, K.C., opened his Court, and...

other interesting matter, a long and states- manlike review of the situation by Sir Alfred Milner dated February 6th. The High Commissioner frankly admits that the last...

the field transport in South Africa which will take high rank in the literature of war. It is in fact an essay on transport, one of its mottoes being that "the regimental...

boast that while he was in chief com- mand in South Africa " no mishaps occurred, nor had any military operation to be postponed or aban- doned, owing to the transport being...

New Consols (21) were on Friday 944.

THE BUDGET. W E cannot profess to be pleased with the new taxes on sugar and coal. As our readers know, we think sugar too important an article of food and too much of a raw...

I T is quite evident that there is something behind the festivities at Toulon which has gratified and, so to speak, soothed governing men in France, Italy, and Spain. It is not...

I N writing last week of Colonel Henderson's introduc- tion to Count Sternberg's book (Loogmans and Co.), we noticed that he incidentally gave some very strong arguments against...

Admiral Count Canevaro at Toulon to the representative of the Figaro which has not attracted in this country the atten- tion it deserved. After telling his interviewer that the...

M R. ALFRED KINNEAR, in the New Liberal Review, mourns over the decay of Parliamentary oratory. That the House of Commons especially has fallen upon evil times, when compared...

T HERE are people in England—we have met them our- selves—who have in their natures a profound inherent dislike of the Roman character. They cannot endure its underlying...

F E W people can have read Wordsworth's great ode on the " intimations of immortality arising from the recol- lections of early childhood " without wondering what it exactly was...

M ONDAY'S telegrams from South Africa brought the unpleasant news that " plague rats " had been found dead at Port Elizabeth. As it is now known that these animals are more...

HOW TO CONQUER SOUTH AFRICA IN ITS SCHOOLS. [TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.1 SIR,-It will be well to utilise the time which must elapse before any of the works of peace can...

• [TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Sig,—The Duke of Bedford's admirable letter on this subject in the Spectator of April 13th invites discussion. I venture to make a comment...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—In your article upon this subject in the Spectator of March 30th, you omit to mention a very excellent manner of teaching people to see,...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Snt,—It is painful to read in the columns of a paper with the traditions of the Spectator a letter like " C. M.'s" (Apri113th) on the terms...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] Sin,—It is announced that a South African cricket team is about to visit this country. The statement would be in- credible were it not that...

[TO THE EDITOR . OP THE "SPECTATOR:I SJA, — In connection with tharecent visit of the Italian fleet to Toulon, there have been many references in the European Press to a renewal...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR:'] SIR, —As one who has studied the above question with some care, will you allow me a word in reply to the letter of Mr. Godfrey Wedgwood...

(TO TILE EDITOR OF THE “srscrAron..1 Sln, — Some of our trade authorities who are pessimistic as to the future course of the leading industries in this country base their...

SIR, I have just read your very able article on national re- trenchment in the Spectator of April 13th, and should as a trader and with your permission like to say that the need...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. "] must own that I am surprised that the intolerance of Roman Catholicism, whatever may be said on that subject, should be thought any...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sra,—A propos of apples, there are two old English saws which confirm Mr. Radcliffe Cooke's praise of apples (Spectator, April 13th) :— " An...

THE CHARM OF THE QUARTET. TUE advent of the Joachim quartet, and the opportunity now happily afforded of hearing that matchless combination— literally TErpievayo; otrw 4,67ov...

THE CARRIER DOG OF BERLIN. HE goes between the shafts all day, Dear, patient, burden-bearing fellow ; In every street I pass him—grey, Or brown, or black, or ugly yellow. He...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR,"1 SIE,—While in town some time ago, I went with a friend to see an exhibition of pictures. The gallery was very empty, as it was after 5...

DR. HARNACK ON CHRISTIANITY.* MANY people who think of modern German criticism as a merely negative thing will be above measure astonished if chance leads them to take up this...

THE Conference which met at the Hague in 1899 was not watched with great enthusiasm while in progress, and later events have tended to drive its mild pronouncements from • The...

" THE Earl of Oxford was removed on Tuesday," wrote Bolingbroke to Swift on August 3rd, 1714, " the Queen died on Sunday. What a world it is, and how does fortune banter us."...

KRunls'AN, or Khorassan as it is popularly written, is a singularly interesting country to students of Persian history. Without going so far back as Alexander's conquests and...

nECENT Scandinavian fiction has shown a marked tendency towards the harshest and most uncompromising realism, partly, no doubt, as the result of a literary revulsion against the...

Alfred the G'eat. By Warwick H. Draper, M.A. (Elliot Stock. 584—This is a sketch—so, indeed, the author designates it—rather than a history. Thus it is specially adapted for its...

Muter this heading we notice such Books of the reek as have not been reserred for review in other forms.] Queen Victoria, 1819-1901. By Richard IL Holmes. (Longmans and Co 5s....

HISTORY OF ENGLISH LITERATURE. History of English, Literature. By E. J. Mathew. (Macmillan and Co. 4a. Cal.)—Mr. Mathew takes a rapid survey of the literary activities and...

(Longmans and Co. 218.)—The contributions to this volume are as various and as interesting as usual. On the side of social history we have Miss Frances G. Davenport's paper on...

York.)—The writer of this notice owns that he did not go beyond the first chapter, which treats of Aquarius and those who are born under his influence (January 20th to February...

Robert S. Bait. (Blackie and Son. 5s. net.)—This volume con- tains the Stanhope Prize Essay (1899), and will doubtless take its place as the standard authority on its subject....

P. Putnam's Sons. 6s )—Mr. Taylor brings out various points in New England history which are not always emphasised as they should be. All the founders of the new State were not...

W. Broomhall. (16 Cockspur Street, Pall Mall, ss. Gd.)- This volume, the ninth issue, gives the usual abundance of information as to estate management, agriculture, and horti-...

(Universities' Mission to Central Africa. 2s. Gd. net.)—It is easy enough to see the Arab strain which probably gives the Swahili race its best qualities. Any one of these five...