The Honours List for the Queen's eightieth birthday is in
no sense sensational. There are no new Peers, and only six Baronets. Of these the most distinguished are Sir Samuel Way, the Chief Justice of South Australia, and Professor Burdon Sanderson. In the latter—Professor Burden Sander- son—science is worthily honoured ; and, we may add, Oxford also, for his influence in the University for the last twenty years has been strong and honourable. Mr. H. M. Stanley, the African explorer, gets the Grand Cross of the Bath ; and Mr. George Murray, now of the Post Office, one of the most efficient of the younger Civil servants, is made a K.C.B., as is also Pro- fessor Michael Forster. Among the Knights-Bachelor appear the names of Mr. Alma Tadema and of Mr. Armstrong, the director of the Irish National Gallery. The List, as a whole, has been a good deal criticised, and we cannot profess to think its composition very brilliant or original ; but no doubt the distribution of honours is the most difficult task a Premier has to perform. Lord Salisbury has probably this extra diffi- culty. He sets so little value upon titles and decorations himself that he finds it hard to take them very seriously. That is not the state of mind out of which ideal honour lists emerge, but we cannot help sympathising with the point of view.
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