NEWS OF THE WEEK.

THE Concert of Europe still resembles an Alexandrine line, and "like a wounded snake drags its slow length along." It has accomplished nothing this week beyond killing a few Cretans, who, while driving back Bashibazouks, had approached too near the protected zone. The anarchy in the island is as rampant as ever, while on tbe mainland the Turks and Greeks look fiercely at one another over out- posts which almost touch ; but they are still waiting orders. According to the latest rumours, the Powers have agreed to blockade the Gulf of Athens, and King George has pledged himself if they do to declare war on Turkey ; but those rumours may be as false as the rest. It is true, for Mr. Curzon has affirmed it, that Lord Salisbury and the Russian Govern- ment have proposed to the Porte to withdraw its troops from Crete, but the Porte is believed to have replied that it accepts the advice—provided that Colonel Vassos is withdrawn first. It is also probably true that the Sultan is anxious to negotiate directly with King George, which means that he will sell Crete ; but there is no evidence that the Powers will accede to this otherwise unobjectionable compromise. In short, political movement halts, and a suspicion is spreading, for reasons given elsewhere, that Germany and Russia wish Greece and Turkey to fight, in order that Greece, being defeated, may become "amenable to reason."

Lord Kimberley was entertained by the National Liberal Club on Wednesday, and made a speech which was of in- terest because he has been Foreign Secretary and knows what he is saying. He blamed the Government for two things,—for not giving more information, and for not " requiring " Tarkey to withdraw her troops from Crete. During the Crimean War and the delicate situation pro- duced by the Italian Revolution, his instructions as Under- Foreign Secretary were always to give all the information he could ; but now an inquiry was treated as an embarrass- tnent to her Majesty's Government. The one thing essential to peace was the withdrawal of the Sultan's soldiers from Crete, but though the Government was willing to ask for it, it only asked, and, he greatly feared, asked too late. With respect to both grievances, the answer of the Government would, we believe, be that it was hampered by the Concert ; but we suspect that, as regards both, the Ministry do not always recognise how much a little firmness would accomplish. Let the five Powers complain if they like of the frankness of Lord Salisbury ; while as to the withdrawal of the Turks, a demand for that would compel each Power to show its hand. If Germany sulks, can we not go on without Germany The French Government, after a great amount of dis- cussion within the Cabinet, have agreed that the Panama

scandals must be thoroughly inquired into. M. Arton, the alleged agent of Baron Reinach in bribing Senators and Deputies, having been refused immunity, and, as he thinks, betrayed by some of his confederates, has confessed, and M. Poitevin, an austere juge d'instruction, has ordered the arrest of MM. Naquet, Boyer, and Maret, three Deputies of the Left. The first-named is the well-known Deputy whose eloquence secured the passing of the divorce law, which now affects so considerably the social life of France. The Chamber has granted permission to prosecute these men, and will itself, as soon as their cases have been heard, institute a strict investigation It is stated publicly that this is only the beginning, that twenty-five Senators and Deputies are im. plicated, and that if the inquiry is extended beyond the Panama affair, some sixty politicians hitherto considered independent will be found to have received gratifications in return for votes from various financial enterprises. M. Burdeau, formerly President of the Chamber, is alleged to have been deeply involved in these transactions, which are made blacker by statements, true or false, that in many cases the bribes were not offered, but extorted as blackmail by threats of speeches which, if the money was not paid, would be made against the company.

An insurrection of a kind not frequent in the modern world has broken out in Brazil. According to Relater's agent at Rio, a man named Antonio Conselheiro has persuaded great multitudes of people that he is an avatai of Jesus Christ, can heal the sick, and can work miracles. They aecord- ingly worship him, even drinking the water in which he has bathed, and obey his orders implicitly. He appears to pro- nounce for Monarchy, and the Government recently sent against him a force of fifteen hundred under General Moreira Cesar, who on March 3rd attacked his stronghold, Canudos. The troops expected an easy victory, but were taken by surprise by the fanatic's followers, who caught them in a deep valley, and drove them headlong, killing the General, two Colonels, thirty officers, and six hundred men. The Government has now despatched an army of seven thousand, but it is feared that the best result to be expected is a most dangerous guerilla war. The transmission of the news is creditable to Renter's agent, but he would have greatly increased the interest of his message if be had informed us of the colour of the "fanatic's" followers, and of the precise ideas which have induced him to take up arms. Is it a new religion or a new empire that he wants to found, or is he a mere adherent of the Braganzas who avails himself of popular superstitions

The debate on the financial relations of Great Britain to Ireland began on Monday night with a vast speech from Mr. Blake, who went deep into the history of the question, and endeavoured to prove that the circumstances had never arisen in 1817 under which it was understood that Great Britain and Ireland might be treated financially as one country, that the pledge given to treat Ireland as a separate financial entity is still good, and that even the promise of special exemptions for Ireland given at the time of the Union would be enough to justify some considerable reduc- tion of taxation or some grant in lieu of such a redaction, especially as regards the duties on whisky, which, he asserted, pressed much more heavily on Irishmen than the beer and spirit duties do on England. He was seconded by Mr. J. Redmond, after which Mr. Whittaker, M.P. for Spen Valley, Yorkshire, rose to move an amend- ment, asserting that so long as Great Britain and Ireland remain united with a consolidated Debt, it would be im- possible to treat any part of the United Kingdom as a separate financial entity. He was himself in favour of Home- rule for Ireland, but till Home-rule was granted to Ireland, financial Home-rule could not and should not be 'nutted her.

The great speech of the evening was, however, the Chancellor of the Exchequer's (Sir Michael Hicks-Beach), who remarked on the great difficulty of arguing such a point with a knot of Irishmen who evidently hold seriously that every calamity which had ever visited Ireland, including the rebellion and the famine, and the absence of mineral wealth in the Irish soil, were all due to the fault, or rather the sins, of England, and who instead of wishing to find out what Ireland's share of the United Kingdom's common ex- penditure ought to be, were deeply convinced that it ought to be nil for a very considerable time to come at least, by way of compensating Ireland for all the manifold iniquities in- flicted on her. Sir Michael showed that this movement is really a movement for financial Home-rule, and not one in any degree intended to discover what Mr. Gladstone was in search of in 1886,—the fair contribution of Ireland to the common expenditure,—and that Irish Members regarded the Army and Navy and Colonial expenditure of Great Britain as entirely without any advantage to them, indeed as expenditure by which Ireland gains nothing. lf, however, there was any real wish to ascertain where Ireland was overtaxed and what was the remedy, it would be necessary to get a good deal of additional information of which the last financial Commis- non took no notice at all, as to the true pressure of taxation on Ireland and Great Britain respectively, and the true wealth of Ireland, and to see whether a good deal of the wealth of Ireland, such as that included in the tenant-right oought at so high a price in various parts of the country, had been really taken into account.

On Tuesday the debate was resumed by Sir Edward Clarke, who made a half-and-half speech, supporting Sir Michael Hicks- Beach in refusing to give financial Home-rule to Ireland, and indeed in refusing to favour Home-rule at all ; but that he con- sidered to be no reason why a poor country which had been over- taxed should not in common justice have the surplus taxation abolished. Sir E. Clarke appeared to believe that Free-trade had struck a great blow at Irish prosperity. Sir T. Suther- land, who was on the financial Commission, declared that the amalgamation of the two Exchequers in 1817 was effected on behalf of Ireland, and not on behalf of England ; and he did not see how it was possible to regard that measure as any- thing but one of great advantage to Ireland. On Wednesday Mr. Lecky spoke for the view that Free-trade had injured Ireland, and that there ought to be some compensation to her for the policy of Cobden and Bright ; while Mr. Morley sug- gested that if £1,000,000 or £1,500,000 was found to be owing to Ireland, it should be assigned to Irish County Councils to apply locally for the benefit of Ireland. Mr. Goschen pointed out how this suggestion could not possibly restore peace to Ireland when almost all the Irish Members asked for £2,500,000 or £2,750,000, and he maintained that what the set-off (if any) ought to be was a matter needing very careful investigation. Eventually Mr. Blake's resolution affirming the advice of the Commission, and condemning farther inquiry, was negatived by a majority of 160 (317 to 157), while Mr. Whittaker's amendment was left undealt with.

The Education Bill, after running the gauntlet of the blockading squadron of the Gladatonians in the House of Commons, and reaching what the Duke of Argyll on Tuesday termed "the safe haven of the House of Lords," went through its very mild scrutiny in that House on Tuesday evening, and passed its second reading by a majority of 94 (109 to 15). The Committee stage has not yet been taken, but the Government are determined to pass it without amendment. The Bill is, therefore, practically through, and passed in the precise form in which Mr. Balfour brought it in at the opening of the Session. The Duke of Devonshire, of course, moved its second reading, in a speech which made it evident that he would have much preferred the more complete measure of last Session, but the Government were not prepared to fight through any proposal to ask for the support of the rates and all that an application to the ratepayers would have involved. Still less were the Government prepared to let the voluntary schools be wrecked by their poverty. Lord Spencer led the fifteen adversaries who alone represented the Opposition in the House of Lords, and made the usual speech, expressing a cold sympathy with the voluntary schools and a warm sympathy with those who wished to impose on them fatal conditions of help, and also made the ordinary attack on the ecclesiastics who were going to scramble for money and to guide the policy of the schools.

The most effective speech was that of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who said that the plan of voluntary Associa- tions had been tried in his old diocese (Exeter), and had worked with admirable effect ever since the Free Education Act passed, and that none of the evils attributed to them by the Opposition were at all likely to occur. So far from the clergy desiring to oust the laity from management, the clergy expressly sought for the help of the laity ; but the Church managers objected altogether to being deprived of the right of appointing teachers who really believed the religion they taught, and did not coach the children as to the best mode of answering successfully questions in which they felt, and taught the children to feel, little or no in- terest except the interest excited by competition at an examination. The Duke of Argyll expressed the most cordial sympathy with the Bill, which Lord Herschell and Lord Kimberley treated with a patronising kind of scorn, and the Bishop of London maintained that the well- being of the voluntary schools is very useful to the Board-schools, and will act as a check on the Board-schools, safeguarding the religous education they still provide, and maintaining the rights of parents to choose the religious teaching for their children. The discussion was a very good one, in spite of the Gladstonian party in the House of Lords having dwindled to half its maximum strength. Even the Liberal Lords are not enthusiastic for secular education.

At the sitting of the South African Committee held on Friday week Mr. Schreiner continued his evidence, and was closely examined by Mr. Chamberlain. On Tuesday last Mr. Newton was examined by the Attorney-General. His most important statement was to the effect that Mr. Rhodes had in conversation "led him to believe that the ImperiEl authorities would not be averse to the movement,"—i.e., the movement at Johannesburg. Mr. Newton also stated that when he told Mr. Rhodes that if he (Mr. Newton) did not speak to the High Commissioner the only thing for him was to resign his post, Mr. Rhodes replied that it was "un- necessary and absurd." Colonel Rhodes in his evidence stated that he supposed the abortive revolution cost from first tc last about a quarter of a million. Apparently the great t r part of the money supplied through Colonel Rhodes went in the purchase of food-stuffs, and in paying wages to the men enrolled. Asked whether he had written letters to his brother, Colonel Rhodes replied "No, because I thought it was dangerous, as he always left his letters about in every direction."

On Saturday last Sir Alfred Milner was entertained at dinner at the Café Monies:), Mr. Asquith being in the chair. The dinner was a very remarkable one from the number of die tinguished men of every sort and kind who flocked to it. If a man is to be judged by his friends—and the test is by no means a bad one—Sir Alfred Milner has received the highest possible testimonial. When Mr. Asquith presides at a dinner, while Mr. Chamberlain makes the chief speech, and when letters of warm regret are read from both Lord Rosebery and Sir William Harcourt, one feels that the force of friendship can no further go. Le cousin de tout le monde was the description of a social celebrity of the last generation. L'ami de tout le monde is the best description of Sir Alfred Milner. His speech, which was in excellent taste and full of charm and modesty, wisely tabooed politics, and dwelt chiefly on matters of personal reminiscence. Mr. Chamberlain's speech proposing Mr. Asquith's health we have dwelt on at length elsewhere, and we will only say here that we hold it to have been in no sense intended to provoke hostile feelings. Its essential point was that, cost what it may, we must remain the para- mount Power in South Africa. That is a fact which it woulJ be foolish to suppress.

Mr. Chamberlain, at the annual dinner of the Colonial Institute on Wednesday last, made a speech which deservt.e special notice from all those who care for the unity of the Empire. There were, he said, three distinctive epochs in our Imperial history, which we may summarise as the plantation epoch, the ripe-fruit epoch—the Whigs were apt to adokt Turgot's maxim that colonies when ripe inevitably fall from the parent tree—and the present epoch of Imperial unity. A new sense of obligation, said Mr. Chamberlain, has also come over the nation in regard to its dealings with our tropical posses- sions. We feel that our rule can only be justified if it adds to the prosperity and happiness of those possessions. No doubt the Fax Britannica had to be founded on force, but wherever it prevails the native populations have benefited. But though recent expeditions like those to Ashantee, Benin, and Nupe have cost valuable lives, "the cause of civilisation and the prosperity of the people will in the long run be eminently advanced." That is a view which we entirely endorse. We have no sympathy with the notion that tyranny, massacre, human sacrifice, and slavery ought not to be interfered with when the enlightened potentates who order them have black skins. But the more strongly we feel that we have a Tight and an obligation to abate savage tyranny, the more necessary it is to make the white rule which is substituted above reproach, and not an organisation for reproducing slavery under the guise of labour regulations.

A great many persons in this country are always indig- nant if the Government opens any communication with the Vatican, but there is not a division of the Empire in which an understanding with the Pope is not of value. Not to mention Ireland and India, where we have known Catholic Bishops support the cause of discipline in a very effective way, the Pope has within the last few weeks inter- vened in the bitter Canadian quarrel in order to render compromise possible. The Bishops declared that a vote for the scheme defended by the Liberals was positively sinful; but the Liberals petitioned the Pope, his Holiness sent an Ablegate, and the objections to compromise vanished away The Pope has to think for a hundred States, each with its different circumstances, and his decision, therefore, on any matters not directly involving faith or morals, is almost sure to be wider-minded than that of the Bishops of any special locality. The Popes, too, who see how their Church is treated in many States, have a kindness, which Pio Nono once expressed very strongly, for the Gallio-like attitude of the British Govern- ment, which in its various dominions leaves perfect freedom to at least thirty different faiths. Settle what you want, gentlemen, is the principle, and if your practice is not con- trary to the universal conscience, like Suttee, you shall have full liberty.

The speech of the Austrian Emperor when opening the Reichsrath on Monday gives the first official indication of the Austrian attitude. The Emperor acknowledges that the " harmonious co-operation of all the Great Powers" has only " checked " the dangers involved in complications in the East, more especially the "reckless" reopening ef the Cretan ques- tion. The attitude of Greece upon that question "cannot in any way reckon upon the approval of the Great Powers;" but Turkey, on the other hand, "must realise that she would assume a great responsibility if, in defiance of her most vital interests, she were to shirk the abolition of regrettable abuses." The calm impartiality of the Austrian Emperor contrasts strangely with the fury of some other Sovereigns, but he seems in practice to be dragged at the heels of the Concert. He probably feels the danger of the situation more keenly than any statesman in Europe, for it is he who is moat directly menaced by any disturbance of the status quo. Indeed it is almost certain that if war does break out the Emperor will be called on for great resolutions, which may possibly please his Slavonic rather than his Hungarian subjects. The latter wish to run any risk rather than permit Russia to take possession of Constantinople, even under the forms of a protectorate.

The Times' correspondent at Vienna, who is well informed, reports that in the event of war breaking out between Greece and Turkey, the "intervention of the Powers would have to be suspended." We believe this is true, for although the Imperial Powers would like to go on interfering and block- ading they would hardly venture to establish a precedent for acts of war by neutrals during war-time, unaccompanied by declarations of war. The point is most important, for if the Powers do not sink the Greek fleet it may be able to Inflict severe punishment on the Turks, some of whose greater commercial ports--Salonica, for instance, and Smyrna—are very badly defended. This is one of the facts upon which the Greeks rely, and another is their power of changing the war in a moment into a guerilla campaign. The Turks never can manage that kind of fighting. It is a little difficult to say why, but as a matter of fact they have never, after centuries of effort, been able to subdue the petty Montenegrin State. The splendid stubborn- ness of the Ottomans does not seem to help them in mountain warfare any more than the elan of the French troops helped them in Spain.

The American House of Representatives has passed the Tariff Bill drawn up by Mr. Dingley by a majority of 205 to 122. This Bill, in fact, re-establishes the McKinley Tariff, and will have a most serious influence both upon prices and upon external trade. It is said to have caused consternation in the Eastern States, and it is hoped that the Senate will in- troduce some serious modifications. It is more probable that the silver men will support the Bill upon condition that "something is done" for their favourite metal, but it is excessively difficult to see what can be done without an inter- national agreement. The price of bar silver is now less than half the old normal rate, and as production continues, nothing except sharp taxation of the metal throughout the world can restore it to its ancient value in gold. But the mine- owners do not want this taxation, which would transfer to national treasuries the profits they seek for themselves.

We regret to record the death of Lord Plunket, the Arch- bishop of Dublin in the Church of Ireland, in the sixty-ninth year of his age. He was a very amiable man, and a very active and popular Archbishop, even with that section of his Church who did not enter into his rather pronounced evangelical views. Evangelical as he was, he showed the most cordial charity towards the other section of the Church, and never assumed the self-righteous manner of a Puritan monitor. He did a great deal to inspire the Church of Ireland with energy and hope after its disesta.blishment, and though he was probably disappointed in his hope that by consecrating a Protestant Bishop for Spain he should set on foot a new Reformation in that country, he has left behind him so much good work in his own Church, that none of its members are likely to think of him with any feelings but those of hearty respect and gratitude.

A correspondent accuses us of exaggeration in our state- ment of last week as to the effects of syphilis on the Army of India. There are, he says, only 3,200 soldiers constantly sick —that is, in hospital—and our statement that there are 8,000 incapacitated must therefore be hypothetical. It is not hypothetical at all The Departmental Committee reported that if the whole Indian Army, 71,000 strong, were called out for service, and as many soldiers were rejected as were rejected when the expedition to Chitral was organised, 8,880 would be declared unfit. What is the use of a soldier if he is not fit for active service ? Or does our correspondent suppose that in organising the expedition to Chitral fit men were declared unfit ? The orders sent by Lord George Hamilton to India, and published on Thursday, seem to us to sanction a sensible experiment. All "encouragement of vice" is for- bidden, and no woman is to be inspected against her will, but syphilis is to be treated like scarlet fever or any other dangerous disease, patients are to be segregated, and any who will not keep the rules are to be expelled cantonments.

The Revenue Returns of the year ending March 31st are, on the whole, very satisfactory. The actual revenue paid in exceeds Sir Michael Hicks-Beach's estimate by 23,470,000. The estimated revenue was 2100,480,000. That actually received was 2103,950,000. The amount in excess of the revenue paid in the previous financial year was 21,976,000. The details of the revenue are not specially remarkable, except that the Death-duties have fallen off by 2700,000. This was expected, as the previous year had been a lucky one. It must not be supposed, however, that the national coffers are at the present moment overflowing with money. The estimates were exceeded in the matter of expenditure as of revenue. Hence, the actual surplus left in the Treasury is only 22450,000. This sum will not this year go to the paying off of Debt, but to the construction of barracks and defensive works at home and in the Colonies.

Bank Rate, 3 per cent.

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