It was announced on Tuesday that the Order of the
Garter had been conferred upon Sir Edward Grey. We congratulate him most sincerely upon this distinction, which, by a foolish convention, has so rarely been conferred upon commoners during the last two centuries. Many absurd reflections have been made upon the event, which has been described in some quarters as a solatium for the attacks that have lately been made upon him. The real object of the honour is, of course, to draw unmistakable attention both at home and abroad to the fact that there is no change whatever in the foreign policy of Great Britain. We feel that it is a great proof of Sir Edward Grey's good sense that he should have accepted a decoration which he might naturally have been tempted to refuse. He does not belong to the category of men—not necessarily an ignoble one .--who are attracted by social splendour. Nevertheless, he can- not but be interested in an Order with a history so long and so august. The Chapel of the Knights of St. George is a place of astonishing memories. Charles I. thought that even Crom- well might be seduced by the blue ribbon.
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