NEWS OF THE WEEK.

-"NATE must offer the Government a word of warning as to

a serious danger in its path. The country has assented, with reluctance and shame, but still has assented, to a policy of inaction as against Turkey ; but we do not believe it will consent for one instant to any action on the Turkish side. Interference with Greece in its righteous and decided coarse will be a defence of the Sultan, and will rouse here an excitement which even the present Government with its overwhelming majority may find itself unable to resist. We do not ourselves believe there is any danger with Lord Salisbury, but his agents may be carried away by in- structions to act with the other Powers of Europe. In any case, the British people will not enter on a course of crime even to preserve either the European Concert or the European peace. A horror of the Silken has gone into their very spills.

Something like a genuine " crisis " has been reached in Eastern Europe this week. Instigated, it is believed, by letters from Yildiz Kiosk, the Mussulman population of the towns of Crete, Canea, Candia, Retimo, and Heraklion com- menced about the 4th inst. an attack on the Christians, which was promptly answered, and fighting began again all over the island. The Christians in Canes were defeated, and fearing a general massacre, sought refuge to the number of five thousand in the ships in the harbour, which promptly conveyed them to places of safety, generally in Greece. The fate of the other towns is not yet accurately known, but from the rumours current the worst is apprehended; while in the villages the Christians taking arms are killing and expelling the Mahommedans. The Consuls, aided in Canea by the new gendarmerie under Major Bor, are restoring a kind of order, but a third of the city has been destroyed by fire, and it may be said broadly that the island is given up to civil war. The Christian Governor has fled to the Greek Consulate, and in- surrectionary parties are trying to form a Provisional Govern- ment, and loudly demanding union with Greece. The most unscrupulous falsehoods are published on both sides, but the balance of evidence, supported by the flight of the respectable classes, seems to prove that the Sultan's soldiers either fired upon the Christians, as is believed in Athens, or refused to protect them against the Mussnlman mob. At all events, it is fully admitted that "anarchy reigns in Crete," and that the Sultan wishes to forward a fresh garrison from Salonica, which would reduce the island to order by a general massacre. The Ambassadors as yet prohibit this.

The news created furious excitement in Greece, where the Kuig, after a moment's hesitation, decided to stake his throne on the defence of the Cretans. The Greek Fleet, including three powerful cruisers, was at once sent to Crete with orders to insist on the authorities permitting all Christians to depart, and the torpedo fleet under Prince George, the heir to the Monarchy, was despatched to Canea with in- structions to prevent at any hazard the landing of Turkish reinforcements. Athens has gone mad with enthusiasm, and there seems no doubt whatever that if that course is in- dispensable to prevent massacre the King and his son will, by firing on the Turks, throw a spark into the European magazine. It is rumoured that the fleets of the Powers will in that contingency fire on the Greek ships ; but it may be taken as certain that the British men-of-war will do nothing of the kind ; it is most improbable that the Russians will fire upon Prince George, who saved the Czar's life ; and the French will be slow to move before the Russians do ; while the Austrians and Italians will not begin such a contest. It is more probable that a sort of momentary order will be re- stored in Crete under promises from the Consuls, and that the Powers will then be required to give an emergent decision as to the effective government of the island.

There can be but one end to such a scene. Europe will not permit the Sultan and his Asiatic hordes to threaten its peace every minute, and as Crete cannot be left to itself it must be handed over to Greece all interim, the arrangement to be afterwards ratified by a European Conference. That will pacify the island, as the Mueenlmans will either submit or fly to Asia Minor ; but then the gravest of all dangers will arise. The Mussulman mob of Constantinople may endeavour to take vengeance upon the Greeks of the capital, and it is doubtful whether Abd-nl-Hamid has either the power or the wish to restrain their ferocity. The Greeks of Constantinople, however, exceed two hundred thousand in number, they have been arming for months, and it is exceedingly doubtful if they can be summarily suppressed. They are not like the Armenians in temper, and if driven to desperation they would raise a formidable civil war, which would in a very few days compel the Powers to occupy Constantinople,—the precise danger which they have all been dreading. Matters may go differently, because the Sultan and a few of his advisers must be aware that a massacre of the Greeks would be the beginning of the end for Ottoman rule, but the danger is undoubtedly great and imminent. It is not made less by the fact that the Macedonians, who are only waiting their opportunity, will probably seize this one, and by a simul- taneous rising will compel the States of Eastern Europe to show their hands, and decide whether they are for or against Asiatic rule in Europe. These statements may be considered sensational, but we take it to be certain that the horror of Abd-nl-Hamid has entered too deeply into the souls of the Christian population of European Turkey to allow any palliative to be effectual, and that if he continues to reign no lull of a week or a month can in any degree remove the danger of an explosion.

The British, by daring and good luck in about equal pro- portions, have achieved success in another little war. The Chartered Company of the Niger resolved that the reign of the Foulahs in the dependent kingdom of Nape must be ended; and on January 26th a small force of Roussel!, commanded by Major Arnold and accompanied by Sir George Goldie, Governor of the Company, threatened the Foulab capital, Bida. The Foulabs fought very well. Their Emir, collecting from twenty to thirty thousand men, principally cavalry, occupied a ridge in front of Bida, and also attacked the little force guarding the guns in the rear. Major Arnold cleared the ridge with his Maxims, bat, finding himself enveloped, fell back, formed square, and waited for his guns. The Foulahs charged bravely again and again, but the Rousse fire was as heavy as the English would have been ; the Foulahs suffered terribly from the Maxims, and, when the heavy guns got up through a swamp, retreated in

disorder. They even abandoned their city, and on January 29th it was occupied by the Company's troops, after a second engagement, in which the invading force again owed its safety to the artillery. We have pointed out elsewhere some serious consequences which must flow from this adventure ; but the capture of the city itself must rank among the most heroic of British enterprises, and bears emphatic testimony, like the capture of Dongola, to the capacity of British officers for organising black troops. It does not bear equal testimony to their foresight in corre- lating means with ends.

On Friday, February 5th, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, in asking the House of Commons to vote £798,802 as a grant in aid of expenditure connected with the Dongola Expedition, made several most important statements. The decision of the Mixed Tribunal, that money could not be granted out of a reserve fund of £2,750,000, seemed to him "almost absurd," and he significantly drew attention to the fact that next year "the constitution and powers of the Mixed Courts" will have to be reconsidered. The money is to be advanced to the Egyptian Government at 21 per cent., and repayment by instalments is to be arranged between the two Governments as may be found convenient. It was per- fectly true that there was no technical security, "but we have the word of the Egyptian Government, which we trust, and we have this further fact, that we are in occupation of Egypt." The fact that we have been compelled to make this advance "is, I think," continued Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, "rather likely to prolong that occupation." The reason why that occupation had already been so prolonged was that France had never allowed us a free hand. We adopted the policy of advancing into the Soudan because we believed that Egypt could never be safe while the Upper Nile Valley and Khartoum were in the hands of a hostile Power. Then followed the most noteworthy and significant phrase in the speech. "If we believe any policy to be right with reference to Egypt this country will not be worried out of it by hindrances and difficulties such as the refusal of this money." There is to be no sensational advance this year on a great scale, but the policy will be continued "in the coming season,"—first of all by an Egyptian advance to Abu Hamed—the place where what is practically open water begins—and "afterwards possibly beyond." This stiff-backed speech was exceedingly well received. When did an English assembly not appreciate a plain, downright utterance ?

Mr. Morley, who followed on the Opposition side, pointed out the seriousness of Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's words, and, in fact, dotted all the "i's." There was, however, a note of timorousness in his speech which robbed it of its effect. The Opposition case was to question the expediency of an in- definitely prolonged occupation. No one had ever made out "the precise gains which the people of Great Britain get out of Egypt." The Dongola Expedition was now admitted to be "the first step of a large, prolonged, costly, and dangerous set of operations which it is nothing short of madness in the present position of the world for the Government gratuitously and without any active occasion to plunge into." As for the grant, he wondered if "money had ever been advanced on security so childish as this," which is surely an exaggeration. Men often get advances from their bankers on what is techni- cally no security at all. Sir William Harcourt endorsed all Mr. Morley had to say, and only spoke because he wished to make a public protest against "the language of menace and defiance which had been used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer." It was, of course, quite legitimate for Sir William Harcourt to take this line; but when Mr. Morley preaches evacuation as he does, it is impossible to forget the fact that he re- mained for three years in a Cabinet which not only did not take the slightest step towards evacuation, but considerably increased our hold over Egypt. Mr. Morley did not even insist upon making a treaty with France to evacuate, say, ten years hence at latest. Personally, we know Mr. Morley to be quite honest in the matter; but we do not wonder that there is much indignation when his language now is contrasted with the actions of the Cabinet from 1892 to 1895,—a Cabinet of which he was one of the chief members.

Mr. Courtney's attitude in regard to Egypt has always been perfectly clear and straightforward, and his view—that of evacuating as soon as possible, and meantime doing nothing which can postpone 'evacuation—he urged in in impressive speech. "He had some reason," he said, "to believe that Lord Salisbury was no more fond of this forward policy than he himself." Mr. Labonchere followed with a most amusing speech, in which he declared that there were -only two strong Little Englanders in this country,— Lord Salisbury and himself. After a very proper reminder from Mr. Arnold-Forster, that if we mean to keep Egypt in the teeth of French opposition, we must make due preparation, and a strong objection to the grant from Mr. Dillon quite in the orthodox Opposition style, the vote was passed by a majority of 112 (169 to 57).

On Monday M. Hanotaux, in reply to an interpellation by M. Deloncle, made a statement dealing with the Dongola Expedition and Sir Michael Hick-Beach's speech. Though anxious not to enter into a controversy "between Parliament and Parliament," he must, he said, declare that words pro- nounced by one of the parties cannot be considered a useful stepping-stone towards the solution of an international dis- pute. In regard to the Mixed Tribunals, it was going too fast to predict their early end. Speaking of the Dongola Cam- paign, M. Hanotaux drew a lurid picture of the evils which had always flowed to Egypt from attempts to conquer the Soudan and Abyssinia. Hence it behoved Europe and the bondholders themselves to protest against a renewal of this policy. M. Hanotaux's addition of Abyssinia when be speaks- of the danger of a forward policy is curious. Is it a hint that France, owing to her influence in Abyssinia, can make things disagreeable ? M. Hanotaux ended his speech, which was suave and in excellent temper all through, by a common form of declaration, that nothing was altered in the inter- national situation. If " nominally " is placed before "altered that is true. M. Hanotaux went on to declare that France would "consent to no infringement of rights based on public documents, on reiterated promises, on the well-understood interests of Egypt herself, and above all, on the accord of the Powers." On the whole, M. Hanotaux's speech was perfectly satisfactory to England, and, as we have argued elsewhere,- shows that France, in spite of our new departure, does not mean to show us any hostility. We have, in effect, told her that we are in Egypt as she is in Tunis, and she has accepted the statement. That is the situation in a nutshell.

Monday night was chiefly occupied by a debate raised by Sir Charles Dilke on the condition of the Army, which he painted in very gloomy colours. There -was a good Army in India, but it was kept up by gutting the battalions at home of their trained men, so that the Home Army is composed mainly of half-trained recruits. There are, it is true, the Reserves, who would be called out to strengthen and stiffen the regiments if necessity arose ; but Sir Charles Dilke expressed doubts as to the efficiency of that force, which was untried. His remedy would be to have two Armies,—a short- service (three years) Army at home and a long-service (nine years) Army for India. The speech was an able one, though its statements, particularly as to the Reserves, were ex- aggerated; but for reasons given elsewhere the proposal will not do. We cannot retrace our steps, and fall back upon a system which in 1859 stood condemned. Mr. Brodrick had no difficulty in showing that, or in defending the Reserves as competent fighting men. What he failed to show was that the regiments at home were not, under the present system, dangerously depleted. As we do not believe that an Army will ever be created or reformed by talk in the House of Commons we are not greatly interested in the debate, but the public should remember the weak place which Sir Charles Nike pointed out. The real -way to remedy it is to pay the soldiers like other labourers, and after the compulsory three years', let them stay or leave, as officers do, when they see fit.

On Tuesday Mr. S. Smith moved a resolution in favour of Disestablishment. His speech, though clearly inspired by an earnest and sincere spirit, contained the quaintest jumble of arguments. The Church ought to be disestablished (1) because it was an anachronism in the nineteenth century' (2) because it was under the control of the State,—Parliament settled its formularies and its Bishops were appointed by the Prime Minister ; (3) because the Prime Minister might be an atheist, and possibly appoint Broad Church Bishops ; (4) because the presentations to livings were bought and sold ; (5) because the Bishops opposed the anti-slavery movement in its earlier stages; (6) because the Church had been unfavourable to civil liberty in the past ; (7) because it was becoming anti-Protestant ; and (8) because it got immense prestige from its connection with the State. Mr. S. Smith con- -eluded by saying that the Church must either be mended or ended. But it was impossible that a body like Parlia- meat could mend it. Therefore it must be ended. We have stated most of Mr. Smith's arguments, but it is not necessary to discuss them in detail. Mr. Morton, who spoke as a Churchman, took up a far stronger position, and one which is perfectly arguable, though we do not agree with it. Disestablishment, he declared, would be of immense advan- tage to the Church, and he advocated her separation from all State control in her own interests.

Mr. Balfour very properly took the line that the:whole debate was a sham, and that it was absurd to discuss the question under the conditions prevailing. The mover of the motion had spent the greater part of his speech in one of two occupations. "He was either making an inaccurate survey of the past, or he was hazarding the most perilous prophecies for the future." Mr. Balfour met the plea that the Church was to be disestablished because of her past exceedingly well. "Because the Church of England has been less zealous some- times for the spiritual welfare of the people of England than we should wish, because some members of the Church have sometimes advocated causes of which we disapprove, are we to rake up all those ancient occurrences and say, because they at one time happened, therefore we are now to deprive the Church of a large part of the machinery by which she does her work among the people of this country ? " Mr. Balfour might have gone on to ask, Is the House of Commons to be abolished because in the past it has committed plenty of evil and foolish things P' In the end the House rejected the motion by 118 votes (204 to 86). Perhaps the most striking thing about the debate was its unreality. If any proof is needed that Disestablishment is, for the time, an absolutely dead issue, it is to be found in last Tuesday's debate.

On Thursday Mr. Balfour claimed the whole time of the House for the Education Bill, or rather nearly the whole time, for if the House is reasonable and finishes a stage on Tuesday night the private Member will still have Wednesday afternoon in which to "cavort,"—an ingenious example of dangling the carrot in front of the donkey's nose. After this had been carried by a majority of 138 (255 to 117) the House entered on the second reading of the Bill. Lord Cranborne, as the chief advocate of the voluntary schools, accepted the Bill, if not as a permanent measure, at any rate as one admirably drawn. Mr. Morley, who spoke for the Opposition Front Bench, made an old-fashioned secularist speech, and pretended —a perfectly fair House of Commons artifice—considerable scepticism as to the promised Government Bill to aid the poor Board-schools. After some reflections on Mr. Chamberlain for his change of view in regard to the Education question, and a declaration that the Bill created "unknown bodies "—i.e., the Associations—and gave the Education Department vast powers, he asserted that there was in the Bill no true recognition of the great principle of civil equality. The House adjourned without dividing, but on the whole it was obvious that the Government Bill had greatly gained ground. Ministers have not in the least changed their attitude, which was always a perfectly fair and reasonable one, but that attitude having become better understood, now gets the support it always deserved. The croakers of ten days ago were croaking from what Dr. Johnson called "a muddy mixture of pride and ignorance."

On Thursday Mr. Balfour announced the terms of the reference for the proposed Commission for further inquiry into the financial relations between Great Britain and Ireland. The essential part of the reference is to order to inquire "whether, when regard is had to the nature of the taxes now in force, to the existing exemptions, and to the amount of expenditure by the State on local services, the provision in the Act of Union between Great Britain and Ireland with regard to particular exemptions or abatements calls for any modification in the financial system )f the United Kingdom." Let us hope the Commission will stick to plain figures and common-sense, and not wander off into fancy statistics and hypothetical history. We want facts, and not what Mr. Grattan thought Lord Castlereagh meant when he kept silent.

The Prince of Wales has issued an address to the people, dated February 5th, asking them to celebrate the national com- memoration of the length of the Queen's reign by a "scheme of permanent beneficence," an endowment of the London hospitals with an income that will meet their deficit, which may now be taken roughly at £100,000 a year. The Prince observes that the contributors to hospitals are not one in a hundred of the population, four hundred and fifty thousand not indigent households in London alone giving absolutely nothing. The Prince believes that an annual subscrip- tion of ten shillings a year from one-half of these house- holds would suffice, and asks, therefore, for subscriptions of one shilling and upwards to be sent to "The Prince of Wales's Hospital Fund," Bank of England. The Prince adds, in his very grave and well-written letter, that if the hospitals "are to be saved from State or parochial aid their financial condition must be secured." We have discussed this benevolent scheme elsewhere, pointing out that the only objection to it is that it may interfere with collections for the Indian Famine, but may add here that we think it unwise to press so strongly for promises of future aid. The classes which cannot give more than five or ten shillings will not bind themselves to give anything for more than one year. The appeal to them is, however, a novel one, and philanthropists will watch the result with acute interest. They can give in the aggregate much more than the rich, and they are at least equally generous ; but will they take the trouble to send money ? They cannot draw cheques, and are most reluctant to write formal letters, which they do not know how to word. Our own belief is that if success is to be even assured the choice lies between a house-to-house collection and the issue of Post Office stamps marked "CHARITY," the price of which would be paid by the General Post Office to the Prince of Wales's Fund.

The Famine in India spreads, as we expected, terribly fast, the number of persons on the relief works leaping up in one week by half a million. It now exceeds two million five hundred and fifty thousand, and the worst strain is still far off. We are afraid, too, that in some great divi- sions, notably the Central Provinces, the distress has over- taxed the strength of Government, and that the people will perish by scores of thousands. The Plague, too, shows no signs of abatement, and will in the end inflict a heavier blow on the prosperity of India than the Famine itself. The cities of Southern Europe are wild with alarm, and if the disease makes its appearance in Calcutta, which is always exposed to infection from Hong Kong, the export trade of India will be everywhere boycotted, and the value of all Indian textiles will sink, as we note the price of Indian carpets has already sunk. The Governments are only too glad of an excuse for hurting Great Britain, but they are hardly to blame, for the current of popular feeling is irresistible. The ordinary Frenchman or Italian, having little faith in a future state, simply will not tolerate a chance of sudden death from an epidemic. The financial consequences to India will be terrible, definitely worse than those of a first-class war.

The air this week has been full of rumours as to the forms in which the nation is to commemorate the longest reign. Many of them are excellent, but we desire to put in a strong plea for some commemoration which shall be pure rejoicing, and shall have no utilitarian or goody element in it whatever. In our opinion, one of the best, and certainly the most striking and picturesque, of al! commemorations is that afforded by lighting bonfires on the hills of Great Britain. Those who at the Jubilee saw how "like volcanoes flared to Heaven the stormy hills of Wales," how "Lincoln sped the message on o'er the wide Vale of Trent," or how the ridges of Surrey handed on the message of fire, will never forget the sight, and would be delighted to see it once again. Whatever else we do, let us have bonfires. That is a thoroughly English, and also a thoroughly Scotch, Irish, and Welsh, form of commemoration, and one which all classes can join in, appreciate, and enjoy.

Bank Rate, 3 per cent.

New Consols (21) were on Friday, 112i.