The hundredth anniversary of Mr. Gladstone's birth was celebrated on
Wednesday. In proposing "the immortal memory of Gladstone " at a centenary luncheon, Lord Lore- burn rightly insisted on the services rendered by Mr. Glad- stone to the small nationalities. Nothing has been more striking in connexion with this commemoration than the tributes of gratitude paid by Greece and the Balkan nationalities, especially Bulgaria, where a memorial service was held in Sofia, and the anniversary celebrated as a holiday in all the schools. A Bulgarian deputation, beaded by M. Daneff, an ex-Premier, visited England for the express purpose of laying a costly wreath on Mr. Gladstone's grave- stone in Westminster Abbey. We deal with other aspects of the centenary elsewhere, but may say here that the celebra- tions have afforded a welcome proof of the truth of Lord Loreburn's remark that " the more durable part of his [Mr. Gladstone's] influence will be not what he did, but the spirit in which he did it."
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