THE MAGAZINES.

THE Nineteenth Century is a good average number, but con- tains no paper of extraordinary merit. Mr. J. A. R. Marriott's article on "Cabinet Government or Departmentalism P" seta forth the grounds for holding that the old principle of collective Cabinet responsibility is being gradually abandoned, and that we are reverting to the older type of departmental responsibility. The writer is almost morbidly careful not to commit himself to the expression of any definite opinion as to the desirability of the change. On this point he is content to propound ques-

tions. But in another direction he has no such scruples, and declares himself in favour of a larger, and perhaps startling, increase in the remuneration of the highest-placed servants of the State :—

"There is perhaps no maxim of doctrinaire equalitarians more radically unsound or more conspicuously exploded than the saying that 'no man is worth more than five hundred a year.' On the contrary, experience tends to show more and more con- clusively that nothing is so costly as the mediocrity which such remuneration suggests. To the academic mind nothing is more startling than a revelation of the salaries and the wages paid by private employers — captains of industry —to competent and responsible employes. The State has to compete with them in the open market. It has no absolute preserve of ability. If it wants brains, it must buy them : and buy them at a high rate. One or two notorious and conspicuous caries have recently forced this fact upon public attention. It has long since been recog- nised by those 'inside.' If the State is to be well sewed it must

make up its mind not merely to obtain but to retain the best ability.

—Lord TIning's plan for the reorganisation of the Army is to place the War Office in commission, and form a new Board of War consisting of the Secretary for War, Commander-in- Chief, and such heads of the military and civil branches as might be thought advisable. "The Board would be invested with all the powers now vested in the Military and Civil

branches of the War Office No doubt then would exist where the responsibility should rest for maladministration of the Army ; it would rest with the Board, who will of course be compelled to quit office tf their action fails to meet with the approval of Parliament." The passage we have italicised affords scope for considerable criticism. Lord Tilling is on safer ground when, after reminding us that an officer cannot live in the cavalry unless he has a private income of 2450, he urges that, while Crcesus, jun., may be allowed to drive his drag, play polo, &c., the regimental drag, the regimental polo club, and regimental balls should be prohibited.—Lieutenant-Colonel I Court's interesting "Suggestions from the Front" should be read in close connection with Mr. Somers Somerset's account of the recent army manceuvres in France. Colonel it Court has him- self seen the peace manceuvres of the European armies, and "can truly say not only that I have never seen repro- duced, even in the barest outline, the conditions we found in fighting the Boers, but that these peace manceuvres them- selves gave, one and all, an unfaithful picture of modern war- fare under existing conditions, and will certainly result in the ruin of any army that attempts to carry them out in the field, if the enemy is as clever a fighter as the Boer and as little trammelled by effete commanders and superannuated tradi- tions." Mr. Somers Somerset's impressions of the French manceuvres are all the more instructive in that he had recently returned from South Africa. As for the mediteval tactics adopted at Chartres, he predicts that their employment in actual warfare would result in losses too ghastly to contem- plate. Yet the French officers are one and all calmly con- vinced of their immeasurable superiority to the British.

The pith of Mr. A. S. Hurd's article on "Our Belated Battleships" is to be found in the state- ments that the two-Power standard has been abandoned in the Mediterranean and the China Seas, that the pro- grammes of the Admiralty for the last three years could have been carried out had it not been that our private shipbuilders were so "heavily handicapped" with work for foreign Powers, and that the true policy is to conquer instead of accepting these industrial limitations. Mr. Hurd refrains from suggest- ing any specific remedy, but he has done good service in calling attention to a serious evil.—Mr. Snead Cox's paper on "French Canada and the Empire" is extremely interesting, and in the main reassuring. The Catholic province, in his view, is sincerely loyal, with certain natural rese ryes :—

"The general situation, then, may be summed up in the fewest words. The people of the French province are loyal to Canada with a passionate loyalty as to the only home they know ; they are grateful to Great Britain for her faithful guardianship, and proud of her protection; they look forward neither to the estab- lishment of a great French State on the St. Lawrence nor to annexation to the United States, but they view with deep distrust the prospect of constitutional changes within the Empire which may diminish their relative importance and influence as a separate community."

—Among the miscellaneous articles we may note Dr. Jessopp's pleasant discursive paper on "The Lake-Dwellers," and Lady Guendolen Ramsden's unconsciously humorous protest against extravagance in dress. "There are people," she writes, "who have no more than 260 a year to spend on dress, and some who manage to look neat and pretty on less. But roughly speaking, for wealthy people who go out in society, 2500 a year should be the limit spent solely on clothes."

Sir Robert Hart's remarkable article on China—which we notice elsewhere—rather overshadows the remaining papers in the new Fortnightly. There is, however, a readable un-

signed essay on England and Belgium, in which the writer endeavours to show that the Prignimity and intensity of the anti-English feeling are not to be explained by sympathy with the Boers alone. "The ground must have been in a fit state to receive and develop the virus strewn upon it by Dr. Leyds and his agents." The value of the English visitor and tourist to Belgium has declined ; the Belgians still rankle under the

imputation of cowardice at Waterloo; and "still more tangible cause of offence has been given by the severe and generally unmerited criticism of Belgian officers and officials in the Congo State." He admits, however, that other causes are at work to which we have in no sense or degree contributed, and winds up by the warning that "the Belgians are living in a perfect fool's paradise of -their own creation, and nothing but a thunder-clap may get them out of it They are surrounded by perils, and they have not the claims on general con- sideration that they seem to imagine." And he quotes a remarkable passage from a Belgian historian, Professor Vanderkindere, who is now "the most unpopular person in Belgium because he had the courage to write the following lines" :—

" There are nations like England and France which have never disappeared from the surface of the earth; others less happy, and Belgium is of the number, have been obliged to pay visits to the Infernal Regions. One cannot return intact from those subterranean wanderings. Indeed, we are always the descendants of the Nervii of Ca3sar, the heirs of German liberty, the mixed race on which the Roman spirit fixed its impress ; we are the sons of our trade artisans, proud and intractable, of those communes jealous of their independence, of those 'beggars' who exclaimed • Rather Turks than Papists ! ' But alas ! we have also for ancestors the victims of the Revolution of the sixteenth century, the silly adorers of the Infanta Isabella, the mutilators of the Barrier Treaty, the docile instruments of Van der Noot, the bastard people which clung to its kermesses and pilgrimages more than to liberty of conscience."

—The paper on "Three Years' Progressivism at the London

School Board," by Mr. T. J. Maznamara, M.P., is far more interesting than the generality of articles on educational topics. He says, only too truly, that the production of a new Drury Lane pantomime probably interests a great many

more people than the statement of policy by a newly-elected School Board, and continues : "This, I suggest, is Little Englandism ' of a most dangerous character." We may add

that Mr. Macnamara's defence of Progressivism is laudably free from any partisan spirit. He makes out a conclusive case against the legitimacy of the argument that Progres- sivism spells extravagance ; and the figures which he gives as to the extent to which children are made to toil in their out- of-school hours go far to substantiate his statement that we are neglecting our "trustees of posterity."—Of the articles on the General Election, by far the best is the anonymous paper called "The Vindication of Democracy," with its interesting prediction as to a coming Cave of Adullam. The situation is summed up in a passage well worth quoting :—

"The peculiar paradox of the General Election must have a special influence that may be either stimulating or fatal to the fortunes of the Government. The country is in an unexampled humour towards the Cabinet it has returned to power. Its mood is neither sanguine nor indulgent, and there is none of the parental prepossession with which all ministries raised to office by overwhelming majorities have previously been regarded by their makers. The constituencies feel perfectly that the Govern- ment have profited by the mistakes of their opponents far beyond any absolute deserts of their own. The plebiscite in endorse- ment of the war has given Lord Salisbury and his colleagues an act of indemnity for all their previous errors and deficiencies, and has rewarded them in a measure out of all pro- portion to their merits. The nation now believes that it has done its duty, is quit of all its obligations towards Ministers, and has contracted no such tacit liability to extend to the Govern- ment a further support as the immediate result of a General Election usually implies. There is a strong sentiment that Ministers must give some emphatic and exceptional evidence that they are worthy of their extraordinary good fortune, or must expect to be critically judged."

This article, which holds that the Election has vindicated the good sense of the democracy, is in amusing contrast to the views of a writer in Blackwood, who holds that "the democracy has proved a sham and its failure is the country's triumph."

The most important article in a rather dull number of the Contemporary is Mr. J. A. Spender's on "The Patriotic Elec- tion—and After." He makes an eloquent plea for Liberal union, and he traces with much acumen the causes which led to the recent disorganisation. We find it impossible to agree with him that there was a Liberal rally towards the end of the Election which "made its mark and stayed the plague in the counties,"--the results in the English counties being clearly attributable to other causes, and in the Scotch counties all against his argument. He lays much of the blame upon Lord

Rosebery, who "had the Liberal party at his mercy from the day that he retired," and he notes justly that it is one great disadvantage of a Peer-Premier that "he may resign his

leadership and relapse into that disturbing condition of both being and not being at one and the same time which is possible in the House of Lords."—The two articles on the American Presidential Election are written respectively from the Republican and Democratic standpoints. We have no leaning to the side of Mr. Bryan, but we agree with Mr. Sydney Brooks that Bryanism represents one aspect of a valuable reaction against the tyranny of the Wall Street view in polities.--Of the other papers, Mr. Thomas Burke's plea for forcible reforms in the control of the street-trading children of Liverpool is a word in season, and Mr. Nash's article on Indian affairs is an eminently sane and thoughtful paper, which deserves all attention.

The Naticmal Review devotes its energies this month to the cause of reform. "An Englishman" in a paper on "Re- construction or Catastrophe ? " deplores the undue prominence of sexagenarians in the Cabinet and the inertia which has been the chief characteristic of Government policy in the past five years. He has much to say on the weakness of the Admiralty and the War Office, and he advocates as the only remedies the appointment of a Military Secretary of War, a Naval First Lord of the Admiralty, and a radical change in taxation. "A tariff," he says, "offers us at once a means of raising funds for naval armaments, of obtaining allies, of con- solidating the Empire, and of weakening the enemies who are plotting our fall." We have often explained our objections to such a wholesale scheme of reform, which means the ultimate weakening of that very popular control and criticism of the management of our forces which the critic desires in this case to see exercised.—Captain Cairnes in an interesting discus- sion of "The Problem of Invasion" brings forward some curious speculations. He points out that in case of invasion the Channel Fleet would be despatched to join the Mediterranean Fleet, and that the defence of our shores would fall upon the Reserve Squadron, which is formidable only in numbers. "Are we wise," he asks again, "in keeping at Woolwich, within reach of a mobile invading force, the chief arsenal of the British Empire P" It was different in the old days when Woolwich lay some four days' march from the coast. The whole paper is suggestive and interesting.— Mr. Prevost Battersby's criticism of the present system of war correspondence deserves serious attention. He suggests that only men of indubitable qualifications, representing only the great papers, should be allowed at the front, and that "within the liberty of good manners they should be given absolute liberty in the matter of fair comment." And, more important still, he would have the correspondent cut adrift from the telegraph wire, which compels the sending of hasty, ill-considered, and unnecessary despatches. By these means "a chance would be given him of concentrating his powers on a sober and thoughtful review of operations, unaffected by opinions hastily expressed for the telegraph on the day of issue,"—a consummation devoutly to be wished for.—Of the other papers, the most notable are Mr. Ernest Williams's plea for the inclusion of Canada in the proposed agreement with Germany to abolish Clause VII. in the Treaty of 1865, and Mr. Vernon Harcourt's convincing defence of civil engineering as a profession.

Blackwood submits a scheme for Army reorganisation based on the assumption that our military policy must henceforth be offensive,—i.e., that the limits of defence must be shifted from the shores of Great Britain, and made to include all countries and places over which the Union Jack floats. We cannot enter in detail into " Maga's " scheme beyond noting with special approval the suggestions for placing the recruit- ing system on a national basis, and establishing a national system for securing the employment of sailors and soldiers after service. In regard to the Volunteers, the writer lays great stress on the necessity of limiting their numbers, and of raising a contribution from all men who do not elect to serve either in the county Militia or in the county Volunteers to meet local expenses. He is also strongly against enrolling men under twenty, "as youths of this age are unfit for military service." It would be interesting to know how far this view has been borne out by the experiences of the war in South Africa.—The article on "After the Annexation" repeats the three suggestions made last March :—(1) That the organisation of the conquered Republics should be broken up by redistribution of districts within the States, and by

alteration of their external boundaries ; (2) that a Governor- General for South Africa should be appointed, with a Council to support him ; (3) that African affairs should be administered by a State Department with no other responsibilities.—" Linesman," a regimental officer who has served in the Natal campaign, contributes a generous eulogy of the "Tommy," illustrated by some remarkable anecdotes. It amounts to this, that "Tommy Atkins" has almost every military virtue, but he is neither cautious, nor cunning, nor apt to profit by practice or bitter experience.—The summary of the war operations in South Africa contains two passages worth quoting. The writer does well to remind us that "if this sweeping up the crumbs at the close of a campaign is tedious to write about, how much more so must it be to the men who are sweeping." The other noteworthy remark is this :— " To the Boers belongs the credit of teaching the world the new order of fighting ; and it is to the painters of battle scenes that the lessons they have taught us will particularly apply, for there will be no picture possible Battles will be fought by invisible enemies with invisible weapons." —" Maga " deals in trenchant style with "A Budget of New Books," rightly thanking Mr. Merriman "for inviting us to take an interest in brave, sensible, and honourable men," and lamenting the "dismal failure" of Mr. Barrie's new novel.

The present-time articles in the Monthly Review fail to do much in the way of persuasion or enlightenment. The most vigorous of the three editorials is "Cecil Rhodes," but it is pitched in too high a key. Mr. Rhodes might have had jus- tice done to him—or shall we say sentence pronounced?—in much plainer and more effective language.—In "National Character" the academic preface is distinctly tedious, and as for Mr. Michael Devitt and Mr. R. H. Davis, what they have said about our soldiers in South Africa was not worth noticing.—Mr. Ralph Neville cries aloud for con- scription or something like it, the Militia Ballot, for instance, or compulsory rifle clubs.—M. de Martens has something to say about China which coincides, curiously enough, with Sir R. Hart's forebodings. He reproaches, not without reason, the European nations for their eagerness to enrich themselves at China's expense. Russia is the true friend,—as for our- selves, we do not see much difference between " Codlin " and "Short."—More pleasant reading may be found in!Mr. A. R. Colquhoun's account of the Trans-Siberian-Manchurian Rail- way. It is, he thinks, in the first instance, a gigantic instru- ment of colonisation. The Russian peasant will be able to transport himself from Moscow to Port Arthur for something less than 24.—Professor Laughton, too, on "The Naval Exhibition at the Hague" is good to read. He makes us feel better about the Dutch, in spite of Kruger and the 'Gelder- land.'—But it was a great relief to turn from all these things to the story, gruesome as it is, of the murder of Pompilia—the Pompilia of Browning's great poem—translated from an Italian manuscript.—We can but mention Mr. P. Water- house on Gothic architecture, and Mr. C. J. Holmes on Chinese art.—With Mr. Beeching's " Religio Laici" we deal elsewhere.