NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE festival of Jubilee Day was a complete, indeed an unprecedented, success. Even the skies were kind, the weather, which had been threatening, becoming benignant a few minutes before the Queen quitted Buckingham Palace. The Procession, with its mile and a half of carriages, Euro- pean and Asiatic Princes, Colonial Premiers, British troops, Colonial troops, and black, brown, and yellow auxiliaries, passed to St. Paul's Cathedral, and afterwards by the south side of the river back to the Palace, without a delay or an accident, though the crowds amazed foreigners, and the Queen was accompanied along the six-mile route by that continuous roar of enthusiastic acclaim which is like no other sound on earth, and which no one who has heard it ever forgets. The scene before the great Cathedral im- pressed the Queen to tears, and ended, as it should have done, in a spontaneous and irresistible outburst of the National Anthem,—an unrehearsed, and therefore most mag- nificent, effect. The vast crowds were more than gratified, they were deeply moved, and neither during the Procession nor at night, when London was illuminated as it never has been before, was there any violence or any disobedience to the police, who maintained their great rules for the guidance of the endless streams of humanity more easily than on any previous occasion. Indeed, so perfect was the demeanour of the people, that some experienced persons deny there was a crowd at all, inasmuch as no one ever was in danger of his life. The fact is true, the deduction erroneous, the crowd having been enormous ; but it was spread over six miles, it was divided by the closing of the bridges, and it is growing yearly more civilised.

Perhaps the greatest feature of the Jubilee was the one no Londoner saw, the disposition of the whole world to share in and extend it. The eleven free Colonies, scattered over earth, each one a nascent nation, joined in the festival as heartily as the people of the Metropolis, and the thirty dependencies, one of them a mighty empire, followed suit, till it seemed, from the telegrams which poured in, as if one roar of acclaim and loyalty were coming up from the whole earth. The Irish Catholics refrained, their repre- sentatives even trying to resist the voting of Parliamentary 'congratulations to the Queen, but across the Atlantic even they were carried away by the contagion of loyalty, and Ribbon-men joined Orangemen in Canada in honour- ing Queen Victoria. In every foreign capital in the world the day was treated as a festival, not only by the English colony, but by the heads of the State, and in no address or message or speech have we been able to detect the tone which suggests latent rancour or even insincerity. We are unable, as a rule, to believe in words addressed to Courts, but this universal shout in honour of the Queen must have been in great measure spontaneous, and dictated by a feeling that her reign, with its unequalled eventfulness, has been a benefit to the whole world, a blessing of the kind which one instinctively prays may continue long. That is a wonderful position to have reached by sheer character ; and it is one which, as we have argued elsewhere, will greatly strengthen in England, as elsewhere, the cause of Limited Monarchy.

One cause, at least, of the appreciation of the Queen, which has been the feature of this festival, is the wisdom of her instinct. We use the word " wisdom " with intention, for though it seems out of place it exactly expresses the truth. It was necessary that the Queen should acknowledge the loyal enthusiasm of all her subjects abroad, and as she quitted the Palace this was the message flashed to every Government under her sway : "From my heart I thank my beloved people. May God bless them." The words are nothing, the simple thanks of a mother to her children who have been paying her a compliment ; but imagine how any other Sovereign in the world; would have worded that message, how stilted it would have been, how cautious, or how suggestive of a head slightly turned with adulation. The Queen, whom we have heard defined by Ministers of State as "the most truthful woman in Europe," says nothing but what rises in her to say, and in her outburst and her self-restraint, touches her people more nearly than if she had possessed or used any amount of literary skill. It is a fine characteristic, and we cannot recall any Sovereign who ever possessed it before, unless, indeed, it were the Empress Maria Theresa, the only female ruler in history who in any way resembles or suggests our Queen.

More than two thousand five hundred beacon-fires were lighted on Jubilee Night, but so far we have no adequate account of their general effect, which, in fact, except in limited districts, no one is able to see. That effect is prin- cipally on the imagination, and has therefore struck poets like Milman and Macaulay more than any prose writers. It is only in places that a great number of the bonfires are visible at once, and we suspect that their suocessive leaping to light as they carry a message on is more impressive than their appearance in numbers sighted all at once. We gather that in Southern England their effect, though it was great, particularly to those who, looking across the Bristol Channel, watched the lights on "the stormy hills of Wales," was diminished by the unusual brightness of the night, and by the fact that the use of paraffin made the fires burn out too quickly.

The only failure in the Jubilee arrangements is the dis- tribution of honours. It was expected that the opportunity would be taken to decorate representative men, and in especial to recognise that women are attaining a distinct place in literature, and in the learning at least of the schools. The opportunity has been grasped as far as the Premiers of the Colonies are concerned, for they have all been made Privy Councillors, an office which confers high social rank without burdening its possessor with hereditary titular dis- tinction. That is an original idea well executed ; but for the rest the list of honours, though wearisomely long, is of the dullest kind. Four peerages are bestowed, upon Lord Justice Lopes, the Right Hon. Ion Hamilton, Sir John Burns;and Sir Donald Smith ; and fourteen baronetcies, among which the general public will recognise only the Lord Mayor ; Sir J. Blundell Maple, the upholsterer who gave 2100,000 to a. hospital ; Mr. Thos. Smith, the great operator who, on Sir

James Pagel;s retirement, succeeded to his rank among surgeons; and Mr. G. Wilke, President of the Royal College of Physicians. Orders and knighthoods are distributed in shoals, doubtless to the deserving, bat also in almost all cases to the personally uninteresting. We entirely admit that this should be the case on most occasions, the first use of decora- tions being to mark the Crown's appreciation of services otherwise obscure ; but the Jubilee was a special occasion, when another principle was expected to guide the distribu- tion.

Who actually settles the precedence of Ambassadors ? He doubtless knows his business and obeys some time-honoured rule, but the results of that rule are sometimes a little grotesque. We suppose it was quite right in the Jubilee Procession to place the American and Spanish representa- tives side by side, though their countries are almost at death-grips ; but in one carriage in the Procession, drawn by only two horses, were seated the Belgian Minister, the Netherlands Minister, the special representative of the Pope, and, with his back to the horses, the special representative of the Emperor of China. Considering that the courtesy of Europe assigns the first place to the Pope, and that the Emperor of China, like the Queen, rules a fourth of the human race, their representatives, sent by what is almost a stretch of courtesy specially to honour the Queen, seemed singularly out of place. The exceptional honour paid, too, to the British Royal family grate a little on the British notion of hospitality. They are first in the land, of course, but courteous hosts usually give the pas to their guests. The matter is of trifling importance, except in the Chinese case, but we really think that for the brother of the Sun and Moon, whom we are always perse- cuting for his adherence to arrogant forms, we might have relaxed the etiquette° just a little. Rather more honour should have been paid, too, to the heir of the Hapsburgs, who was, with the exception of the Queen, unquestionably the first but one in rank of all the Princes in the pageant. We suppose the Duke of Saxe-Coburg Gotha, as a reigning Sovereign, ranks in the technical sense before him, but certainly no one else does.

The leaders of parties in the two Houses moved on Monday addresses of congratulation to the Queen. Their speeches were not, and indeed could not be, very original, bat they were well worded, and each speaker said something incidentally of interest. Lord Salisbury, for instance, in the Lords denied very strongly that the Sovereign was a figure- head, alleging that that idea indicated profound ignorance of the actual working of our institutions. "The powers of the Sovereign are great, the responsibilities enormous." Lord Kimberley quite confirmed that statement, and added, what is often forgotten, that no party chief could draw out that universal affection which acts so strongly as the cement of the Empire. He could not be impartial enough. In the Commons Mr. Balfour said much the same thing as his chief, putting it in the striking form that "no negation ever ex- cited the passionate devotion and affectionate loyalty which the Queen has inspired in the minds of her subjects." Sir William Harcourt made perhaps the most thoughtful speech, for he pointed out as the special note of the Queen's reign that her Majesty had consented to change after change in the democratic direction, but "each extension of popular right has only strengthened the Monarchy and increased the confidence of the people." The speeches were entirely free from ful- someness, though each speaker thought it necessary to dwell specially upon the virtues of the Monarch.

The only discordant voice came from the Irish. Mr. Dillon, in a speech marked by some eloquence and some exaggeration, refused in the name of Ireland to rejoice in the Queen's reign, daring which her people had diminished one- half, her taxation had been doubled, and forty-two Coercion Acts had been passed to deprive her of liberty. The only representatives of Ireland in the Procession would be the Irish Constabulary, whose occupation was to keep down Irishmen and strip off their roofs. Does Ireland, then, repudiate Lord Roberts ? Mr. Redmond followed, and declared that Ireland stood at the door of Britain "iii poverty and subjection, sullen and disaffected." Forty-four Members endorsed these sentiments, though all were rather

ashamed of resisting a demonstration which they allowed was for England, Scotland, and the Colonies a natural exhibition of gratitude and pleasure. We have always regretted the attitude of the dynasty towards Ireland, and have fought for thirty years to make her people freeholders, but this talk about overtaxation almost passes oar patience. Will some Member just ask for a return of the sum which has been given out of British taxes to Ireland during the Queen's reign ? The Irish pay no tax that the Saxons do not pay, and there are no taxes not adjusted or adjustable to means.

The Vienna correspondent of the Times attaches great importance to an incident which marked the Jubilee Day. The Emperor Francis Joseph, who next year will have reigned for fifty years, called, dressed in British regimentals, at the British Embassy, and remained talking to Sir Horace Rum- bold for more than half an hour. He spoke in the warmest terms of Queen Victoria, and, in the opinion of the correspon- dent, really felt what he expressed. Sir Horace Rumbold, moreover, at the evening banquet, in proposing the toast of the Emperor, expressed his opinion that he was one of the best friends the British Empire had ever had. The correspon- dent thinks these events most "significant," and we fancy they are so. They mean that Austria, though allied with Germany, does not share in the latter's jealousy of England, and is most unwilling to separate from this country upon any question of Eastern policy. We believe that when the secret history of recent transactions is given to the world, an extreme reluctance at the British Foreign Office to abandon Austria will be found to have helped greatly in inducing Lord Salisbury to remain within the Concert.

It is stated that General Woodford, the new American Minister to Madrid, has been very carefully instructed by the President as to his demeanour. He is to inform the Duke of Tetuan that the war in Cuba cannot be permitted to go on for ever, and that Spain must consent to grant full and real autonomy to the island, to be confirmed by the withdrawal of her garrison. If this is not done, and done immediately, the American people will insist on intervention, which, though they have no wish to annex, may lead to annexation. The American Government does not plainly deny this story, though it does deny that General Woodford carries with him any fresh Note or written demands upon the Spanish Government. We suspect, therefore, it is substantially true, and that the Con- servative Premier of Spain will be compelled shortly to take very grave decisions. If he accepts war he will lose not only Cuba but the Philippines, which will be seized by Japan; while if he refuses war his countrymen will feel that they have suffered an unendurable humiliation. He will probably make an attempt to obtain allies, but the dread of fighting a Power from which it is impossible even for victors to obtain any- thing, is strong on all the European States, and he may be compelled to pronounce the problem insoluble and to resign power to Senor Sagasta, who, though ready to grant partial autonomy, can hardly surrender all control of Cuban finance. The opinion of the people is still doubtful, for though the Cortes have voted supplies for the Navy with remarkable unanimity, the Spanish Cortes cannot be considered a freely elected body, and the matter is, in fact, in a very ugly snarl.

The Times' correspondent at Paris forwards an account of a conversation between the German Emperor and a person of eminence which is of considerable interest. Besides expressing certain views on the "Yellow Peril," the "Red Peril," the British Peril, and the American Peril, which we discuss else- where, William II. gave an account of some negotiations with France. He had, said his Majesty, inherited a situation which he had done nothing to aggravate, and he did not understand the grudge which the French bore against him. He had tried to "create common lines of action" on industrial, commercial, and economic questions ; but some replied with the bias of incapable men, and some with the friendliness of intelligence but without the courage to attempt any- thing. "In these circumstances matters must be left to their regular course, and we must look to time to bring solutions which cannot at present be descried." This looks very much as if the Emperor had offered an alliance to France upon a commercial, or possibly colonial, basis, and had been met with the condition that Alsace-Lorraine must first of all be restored to its owners. The words, for which M. de Blowitz -vouches with some earnestness, afford a curious glimpse into the secret history of Europe and the restless activity of the Carman Emperor's mind.

The negotiations in Constantinople drag on. Messages reach the West continually affirming that the Sultan has given way, and that the Turkish claim to Thessaly has been abandoned, but they are always followed by telegrams stating =that Tewfik Pasha has made fresh proposals, and that the Ya.couf Department, which controls the religious grants to Mussulman institutions, has been established in Thessaly. The Greeks complain that they are being ruined, but the Powers do not mind that, and go on arguing about boundaries and the amount of the indemnity as if a generation lasted a thousand years. No European Viceroy has been selected for Crete, and, according to the latest accounts, nothing is settled except the principle that Crete shall be autonomous, a "principle" which has no meaning while the Turkish garrison remains there. The truth is, we presume, that Abd-ul-Hamid still hopes that the Concert will break up, and that its members are still without any agreement as to what is to be done to him if he continues to resist. There seems to be no solid reason why the situation should not last into the twentieth century, or until some unexpected event suddenly produces new combinations, and leaves Thessaly, if not Greece, at the mercy of the Sultan. "Time and I," Philip IL used to say, and if we believed in transmigration we should say that P hilip II. had reappeared in Constantinople.

A most unsatisfactory debate occurred in the House of Commons on Thursday about the continuance of slavery in Zanzibar. It was understood that slavery had been abolished in the islands, and so it has in words, but in fact the "insti- tution" exists as firmly as ever; while on the mainland there has been, and apparently will be, no attempt to abolish it, Mr. Curzon actually denying that the form of slavery which exists there is a hardship. If it is not, that is to say, if employers do not steal their slaves' proper wages, and if a slave can kick his employer on the same terms as a free man, where is the resisting force to summary and total enfranchise- ment? The truth is, we imagine, that the Government is greatly moved by the illusory fear of social disturbance, which has never followed emancipation anywhere, and that the Consul-General, Sir Arthur Hardinge, is a devoted advocate of slavery. Mr. Curzon says he will obey orders, but if he were promoted or dismissed the service the slaves would be enfranchised.

Yesterday week the Prince of Wales and the members of the body of the Imperial Institute entertained the Colonial Premiers at a banquet held in the Institute in the presence of a very large company, amongst whom were Lord Salisbury and Mr. Chamberlain. We have perhaps said enough of the speeches of the two English statesmen in another column, but may add here that the Hon. Wilfrid Laurier, Premier of Canada, the Hon. G. H. Reid, Premier of New South Wales, and Sir G. Turner, Premier of Victoria, made impressive speeches, — Mr. Laurier referring especially to the monument erected to the rival Generals, Montcalm and Wolfe, who both fell in the battle which gave Quebec to Great Britain. The epitaph is, " Mortem Virtue, communem famam historia, monu- mentum posteritas dedit." And Mr. Laurier took that as an epitaph not only on Montcalm and Wolfe, but on the French and English races in Canada, "who are equal to-day with those who fell on the plains of Abraham." Mr. Reid said that when the Imperial Institute was first started, there was in many parts of Australia a pang of jealous fear lest the intention was to undermine the independence of the Australian Colonies, but that this fear had wholly passed away, and that even the most Radical Australians, who were generally inclined to be Radical, felt quite as safe with the Tory Prime Minister, Lord Salisbury, as they did with the Radical, Lord Rosebery. That may be, he said, because "after all, all your great parties live by the throbbing of the same heart, and are proud of the same history." Further, Sir George Turner expressed the hope that before the end of the year of Jubilee, he might be able to present the Queen and the British nation with a "United Australia."

We pointed out on April 3rd the serious chance of a collision between the English and the Indian ideas of right and wrong in regard to sanitary questions. The English idea is that if a plague breaks out in a city, life should be preserved and healthiness re-established at any cost to personal comfort, privacy, or ideas about the sanctity of the home. The Indian idea is that it is better deaths should occur than that the home should be entered or the harem rules defied by infidel men of science. The English in Bombay have adhered to their view, and the irritation among certain classes of natives appears to be extreme. A Mahommedan recently shot his wife rather than allow her to be taken to hospital, and this week an officer, Lieutenant Ayerst, together with a civilian, Mr. Rand, have been shot at Poona, the first-named by mistake for an officer connected with the service for the pre- vention of plague, the latter because he was actually so connected. We conjecture, but do not know, that the two assassins are Mahommedans, but the seditious leaflet tele- graphed from the Mahratta capital is almost certainly Hindoo. It asks the civilised world to consider the sufferings of millions of their Aryan brethren; declares, referring to the Jubilee, that 'seven a demon would not celebrate his conquests in a time of famine, plague, and earthquake ;" and accuses the British of invading zenanas and polluting mosques under pretext of suppressing the plague, a charge which, apart from the word "pretext," we have no doubt is true. We should not expect a rebellion for such a cause, but there may be dangerous riots, as there frequently are in Southern Italy when doctors take measures to prevent cholera. The truth is, as we have pointed out elsewhere, the people are unhappy, and some of them ready to vent their unhappiness on anybody at hand.

The Poet-Laureate, Mr. Alfred Austin, has of course pro- duced and published a poem on the Jubilee, and rather to the surprise of the public, it is decidedly the best copy of verses on the subject which has yet seen the light. Most of them have been either outrageously bad or obviously pumped up—we should claim the one published in our columns last week, by a gentleman who is not a regular contributor, as an exception—but Mr. Austin's is more than fairly good. It contains at least one splendid line —" Their free-lent loyalty my right divine "—and these are fine verses

"Their thoughts shall be my thoughts, their aim my aim, Their free-lent loyalty my right divine ;

Mine will I make their triumphs, mine their fame, Their sorrows mine."

"And I will be the bond to link them all In patriot purpose till my days be done, So that, in mind and might, whate'er befall, They still keep One."

We congratulate Mr. Austin, who has shown that he can surmount the difficulty of producing verses which are practically compulsory, not, indeed, as Tennyson did, but still well.

A correspondent of the Daily Chronicle has dug out of a play by Nicholas Rowe, The Royal Convert, which was pub- lished in 1774, long after his death, a; really striking prophecy. One of the characters tells how a holy sage foretold that-

" Of royal race a British Queen shall rise, Great, Gracious, Pious, fortunate, and wise: To distant lands she shall extend her fame, And leave to latter times a mighty name. Tyrants shall fall, and faithless kings shall bleed, And groaning nations by her arms be freed. But chief this happy land her care shall prove, And find from her a more than mother's love. From hostile rage she shall preserve it free, Safe in the compass of her ambient sea : Though famed her arms in many a cruel fight, Yet most in peaceful arts she shall delight, And her chief glory shall be to UNITE. Picts, Saxons, Angles shall no more be known, But Britons be the noble name alone. With joy their ancient hate they shall forego, While Discord hides her baleful head below : Mercy, and truth, and right she shall maintain, And every virtue crowd to grace her reign : Auspicious Heaven on all her days shall smile, And with eternal 'Union bless her British Isle."

We wish tyrants did fall ; but at present A bd-ul-Hamid sits enthroned in Thessaly.

Bank Rate, 2 per cent.

New Consols (21) were on Friday, 112f. •