from Tripoli. The Turks and Arabs, three thousand strong, attacked three battalions of Italians on Tuesday at Bir Tobras, ten hours from Ain Zara. The fighting was evidently...

T HE most interesting foreign news of the week comes from Persia. For many days the Cabinet was anxious to treat with Russia, but was quite unable to obtain the consent of the...

Wednesday, February 14th. Among the Bills which received the Royal Assent earlier on the same day were the Finance Bill, the Copyright Bill, and the Insurance Bill. The King's...

continued in the French Chamber. We need not summarize ;the main facts as to the new Franco-German Agreement, for they are already well known. M. Caillaux's statement was...

any case.

defeat of the Government. If Sir Joseph Ward should be unable to form a new Ministry there will be an end to the Liberal-Labour alliance which has ruled New Zealand for twenty...

of Baroda addressed to the Viceroy in answer to a complaint as to the Gaekwar's indifferent bearing at the Durbar. When the Gaekwar was rendering homage with the other feudatory...

of Tuesday and Wednesday some information about the forth- coming German Estimates. The estimates are still being discussed by the Federal Council, and it appears that some of...

Sir Edward Grey." Turning to the Insurance Bill, he asked, why, if women were unfit to vote, should they be regarded as fit to be Insurance Commissioners ? He pleaded for unity,...

in regard to our unreadiness for war. Lord Roberts contends that the army raised on Lord Haldane's principle is not able to ensure the safety of these islands. As to the Regular...

things are necessary to the soldier. He must have discipline ) and he must be able to shoot with precision. How can these essentials be acquired under Territorial training P...

and daughter a heavy leather dispatch box was thrown through the open window of the motor car, narrowly missing the ladies and striking the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the...

bad now been created. He had been prepared to support the Conciliation Bill though he recognized its defects and draw- backs. But he believed that the introduction of the...

however, that all the arguments used for the application of the Referendum in this instance apply to other matters of great importance upon which the decision of the electors is...

in its leader of Wednesday last suggests that the best and easiest way of deciding whether the electors really meant to authorize their representatives to settle the question of...

ing of Liberal women held at the Horticultural Hall last Saturday " to inaugurate the women's suffrage campaign." It had been stipulated that no questions were to be asked, and...

signed by 244 members of the House of Commons, urging the establishment of a Standing Committee on the Estimates. The proposal has the approval of Lord Welby and Sir Francis...

reached in the case of the railwaymen and postal servants, the in- dustrial situation is still gravely unsettled. On Wednesday evening the union workmen in an Accrington cotton...

Territorials, we are at one with the general tone .of his letter. We are mad, in view of the condition of Europe, not to take the precautions which the Swiss take of training...

men carried out by The Practitioner whereby upwards of 20,000 out of 29,000 doctors have declared against the Insur- ance Act. To this may be added the protest of the Roya...

of the new Scottish Solicitor-General, Mr. A. M. Anderson, who sought re-election, the seat being captured for the Unionists by Captain Campbell. In January 1910 there was a...

Sept. 21st. Consols (21) were on Friday 77i—Friday week 77i.

the recent collision between the ' Olympic' and H.M.S. Hawke.' The Court found that the Olympic' was solely to blame, as the Hawke' was never an overtaking vesseL The vessels...

it must have a discouraging effect upon the competi- tion for the command of the sea. To put the matter quite plainly, Germany is tempted, and very naturally tempted, to make a...

THE POSITION OF THE GOVERNMENT. T HERE could be no greater contrast than that between the apparent and the real position of the Govern- ment. Judged by the surface look of...

uncertain situations to puzzle the observer throughout the world, but there is none, we think, in which hopefulness is not justifiable. Let us - consider first the case of...

trouble is they won't stay bought." Such was the reflection of a disillusioned political Boss. In the same way it is often easy enough to " do " men. The trouble is they won't...

I N what we have written in the article which precedes this we have regarded the matter purely from the doctors' point of view, but that is not because there is not a great deal...

y EAR by year for nigh on two millenniums the Christmas message of " Peace on earth, goodwill towards man " has sounded in the ears of Christendom. For nigh on two millenniums...

A_ N- injury, it is said, is sooner forgotten than an insult. We all know this to be true, nor is the reason obscure ; the human mind resents most powerfully that kind of...

T friendships of great men are always interesting, and especially so when diversity of achievement makes the ground covered by those in close relationship with each other wide...

A T the end of every year a number of hardy annuals. well able to stand various kinds of frosts, make their appearance. Two of them, " Zadkiers Almanac and Ephemeris" and " Old...

SECRET SERVICE. [To TIP EDITOZ OP rus "erscravos."J Six, — Comments made by the German Press on the results of the recent espionage trial at Leipzig and the findings of the...

Srit,—In your article of December 16th on " The New Capital of India " you say : " We could never have accomplished our work in India or maintained our position if our presence...

[To THE EDITOE 07 TUE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—During the last few years the Press at home, and par- ticularly the Radical section of it, has acquired the unfor- tunate habit of...

an Englishwoman in Italy in your last, issue is interesting, and may represent what the state of mind is in some of the country districts ; but let me place before your readers...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " EPECTLTOR."] SIR,—In your interesting article of December 16th on " The New Capital of India " it is stated that " Clive entered Delhi to receive the...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. ") Sin,—In your article upon the Insurance Bill in your last week's issue you write truly—" The Lords have been frightened out of doing their...

[To THE Evrron OF THE "SrEctreron,"1 Sus,—Your reviewer of " Seems Sol " demurs to the state- ment that the working classes are opposed to compulsory military training. Is it...

[To THY EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."f SIR,—When reading the "Cambridge Modern History" the other day I came across a passage dealing with Napoleon's Civil Code and the Tribunate,...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—As a soldier I have been very much interested in your articles on "A Soldier's General Paper." I cannot help thinking that the...

Sxn,—The facts in the " Soldier's General Paper " in your issue of the 16th inst. make melancholy reading for whole- hearted believers in democratic government and the "vox...

Sin,—The answers elicited by the examination papers set to French and English recruits are curious and interesting, but it may be doubted whether they are a trustworthy index of...

Sir,—We forward the accompanying answers to your general knowledge paper published in your issue of December 2nd, as we think they may prove of interest. In this case the class...

failure of so many to pass the simple examinations in the test cases of the Spectator a reflec- tion upon our present expensive system of education in the elementary schools ?...

this subject, may I refer your readers who have children that are appreciative of poetry, and who like poetry being read to them, to " Jack and the Beanstalk" in English...

[To TER EDITOR OF THR "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—It might possibly remove some of the Chancellor's difficulties in the appointment of magistrates and solve Mr. Neil Primrose's...

[To TIM EDITOR Or TIER " SPECTATOR...1 SIR,—Whenever this discussion arises—as it does from time to time—the illustrative lines fall somewhat sharply into two divisions, the...

[To TER EDITOR OF TRR "SPECTATOR." I Sin,—It is with the greatest diffidence I cross swords with Major Bruce over a subject with which he has so eminently identified himself,...

[To TEE ETITTOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] Srn,—A correspondent writes in your issue of December 9th: " The appointment of any Churchman to the head master- ship of an intermediate...

[To Tax EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR. " ] SIR, —Is it too late to enter a protest against the frequent misspelling weigh for way in the phrase to " get under way " P I notice it in...

[To SKR EDITOR OF TIPS " SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—A New York publishing firm, whose premises occupy the sixth and seventh Aeon; of one of the city's "skyscrapers," has two black cats...

[To TES EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR "] SIR,—Your correspondent's proof that the word " altar " has been used in unauthorized manuals from the Reformation downwards has not much...

[To THB EDITOR or THE "SPECTATOR."] Sra,—On Friday, December 8th, 1911, Colonel Seely, Under Secre- tary of State for War, speaking at the Caxton Hall, Westminster, on the...

am grateful to Major G. E. Bruce for directing my attention to Mr. Boulenger's article in the August number of the Annals and Magazine of Natural History. But Major Bruce's...

To THE EDITOR OD THE " SPECTATOR...3 Sin,—About eighteen months ago you were kind enough to insert a letter about the Boys' Country Work Society from Miss Iles, its Honorary...

THE CHRISTMAS GUEST. (IRELAND.) IF Mary came to the door to-night, In the bitter wind and soaking rain; If she came to me in her sorry plight To plead as one woman pleads...

WE have been requested by the President of Magdalen Csllege, Oxford, to give publicity to the following statement with regard to the position of the Rev. J. M. Thompson, Dean of...

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...

FRENCH POETRY.* Nosufficiently complete anthology of French verse has ever been published in England. Two volumes, Professor Saintsbury's French Lyrics and The Oxford Book of...

IN his Sailing Ships and their Story Mr. Chatterton gave us the results of some admirable research, prosecuted in the right spirit and in the right direction by one who is...

is sorely needed, and we can well understand bow William James, with his keen instinct for practical values, should have projected such a work. He did not live to complete it or...

account of his boyhood and extreme youth written by a skilled workman who has risen from the unskilled class. At the end of the book he is still very young—still, we gather, not...

WE do not mean to imply by the title given to this notice that there was in the Athens of Aristophanes an agitation for the rights of woman such as that which is now forcing...

Ma. JUDD has unquestionably the gift of laughter, and, what is more, he shows occasionally that rarest thing in the world, a touch of originality in his method of provoking our...

about the Peninsular War; the operations of the British Army elsewhere during the long struggle with Napoleon are commonly passed over, the brief Egyptian campaign under Sir...

SAINTS, SINNERS, AND THE USUAL PEOPLE.• Ma. ST. JOHN LUCAS bids fair to compete in versatility with his namesake. Readers of the Spectator have learned to acknowledge his gifts...

as far as we know, a new series. If so, it begins well with The Epistles to the Corinthians, by J. E. McFadyen, D.D., 6s. Dr. McFadyen prints the text of the Authorized Version,...

6s.)—A very pretty picture of life on a Virginian plantation.—The Belle of Santiago. By G. B. Burgin. (Hutchinson and Co. 6s.)—A dramatic, even melodramatic, tale, turning on...

[Tinder this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] Dr. McLaren of Manchester. By E. T. McLaren. (Hodder and Stoughton....

Salisbury Plain. (Sifton, Praed and Co., Ltd., The Map House, 67 St. James's Street. Price £2 10s.)—The map, which is modelled and embossed by Mr. Henry F. Brion, is to a...

i.e., the Book of Numbers and Deuteronomy. Nothing could be more painstaking than the critical apparatus. The foundation text is that of the Codex Vatieanus. Another serial...

net.)—In this slim volume Mrs. Wharton outlines as grim a tragedy as can be found in the pages of contemporary fiction. The situation, indeed, which her story illustrates is...

3s. 6d.)—It is a great refreshment to come after a course of present-day novels upon this "story of an American farm," so natural, so true, so fresh and wholesome is it. Mrs....

G. Walpole Sayer, B.D. (Cambridge 'University Press. 3s.)— So far as this book, which is evidently a work of much learning and industry, is an eirenicon, we welcome it. If the...

is plenty of stirring incident in the story of John Theme's captivity, and the vicissitudes of the pursuit of the gang in the Bad Lands will appeal to every boy. It is spun out...

" All Hail": Simple Teachings on the Bible. By Baroness Freda de Knoop. (A. L. Humphreys. 21s. net.)—We cannot do better than quote some words from the Preface: "The book, at...

R. Chambers. 5s.)—We must own that we are not well acquainted with the ways and customs of such institutions as Merton College, Castlobridge. It is possible that the girls may...

which is supplementary to the Financial Review of Reviews, is best described by its own sub-title as giving "full information respecting the 6,000 principal stocks quoted in the...

a com- paratively new addition to the annuals for children, but we are sure that it will be very welcome. It really deserves its title. The coloured illustrations are...

—The search for hidden treasure is a subject of which readers seem never to tire. No one knows how to tell a story of this kind better than Mr. Hutchinson, and here he is equal...

(H. Greenwood and Co., Is. net) contains the information which the photographer wants, besides that common to almanacs. The vast popularity of this art is indicated by the bulk...

Troutbeck. (Mills and Boon. 5s. net.)—Miss Troutbeck begins with the invasion of Italy by Attila, and takes occasion to relate something of .the story of Venice. Attila...

and Calendars. Of the former the most convenient and amply furnished with pockets and similar receptacles—it has seven in all—has no distinguishing mark or price. It is an "...

and Son. 3s. 6d.)—The " Wild Irish Girl," who comes to school for the first time in her life at the age of fifteen, is a character capable of being turned to good account, and...

R. Chambers. 6s.)—Mr. Aflalo humorously apologizes for his title, which may seem a little odd when it is found to include such creatures as lions, rattlesnakes, and tarantula...