4 MAY 1912, Page 25

THE MAGAZINES.

THE new Nineteenth. Century has two articles on " The Third Edition of Home Rule." The first, by Mr. J. A. R. Marriott,' insists on the Protean character of the Irish demand. As he shows, it can hardly be less than separation to a logical Nation.' ulist; it may follow the lines already familiar in the evolution of Colonial self-government ; it may appear under the alluring guise of Federalism, or it may amount to little more than de- volution, i.e., the extension of the sphere of self-government. Proceeding to analyse the Government's measure, Mr. Marriott finds that all these guises are represented in it, and that it has been framed with extraordinary in- genuity and adroitness so as to catch every breath of the wind of popularity. There is something for the thorough-going separatist, who regards all concessions in the light of a half-way house to complete independence ; there is something for the timid devolutionist "anxious only to secure ' gas and water' Home Rule " ; something for the advocate of Colonial self-government; while the retention of the Irish members at Westminster is a crumb of comfort for the well-meaning but muddle-headed Federalist. But this very dexterity is likely to prove the destruction of the Bill. " Is it not, in fact, an ingenious mosaic cunningly compacted and curiously inlaid . . . but grotesquely lacking in inconsistency of principle, in unity of design, and coherence of construction P " —In the second article, which deals with Ireland's economic development, Mr. Edgar Crammond is principally concerned with the attempt of Mr. Erskine Childers in the April number to disprove the statistics which Mr. Crammond had previously given to show that the economic condition of Ireland was improving at a more rapid rate than that of England. Mr. Childers, he points out, had overlooked the governing fact that there has been a wide divergence in the movement of population of Great Britain as compared with that of Ireland. In the last decade Great Britain's population has increased 10'3 per cent., while that of Ireland has .declined by 1'7 per cent. The only proper calculations must therefore be on a per capita test, and on applying this principle to the gross assessments to income tax, Irish trade. returns, deposits in joint-stock banks, railway statistics, the net capital value of property on which estate duty has been paid, he finds full and incontrovertible confirmation for his original state- ment that the economic condition of the Irish. people under the Thiion is now improving at a more rapid rate than that of the people of Great Britain. Two further interesting points • are also made by Mr. Crammond. Though there has been a decrease in Ireland's population in the past decade the inter- censal decrease in Ireland was by far the lowest rate reported since 1851. Secondly, the volume of emigration from Scot- land is now nearly twice as large as that from Ireland, the figures for 1911 being 61,000 to 30,573 respectively.

Bishop Welldon has an interesting paper on " The Theology of Milton," in which he traces the develop- ment of Milton's unmistakable deviations from the orthodox creed. The conclusion that he draws is worth quoting: " That a poet and thinker so deeply Christian in the whole mood and temper of his moral and spiritual nature as Milton should have lapsed into heresy, and in spite of his heresy should have been, and should still be, studied, admired, and iagreater or less degree followed by the Christian world, is a lesson which the Church may still lay to heart in religious tolerance."—.

Lady Duff. Gordon's article on " The Action of Women in the French Revolution ". is a very remarkable and opportune con- tribution to the suffrage controversy. We have only space to quote her conclusions, based on .a study of the works of MM. Animal and Taine, Lord Acton, and Lord Morley :-

"(1) The little.• knoWn Madame Robert, whose .political insight appears to have been most correct, and, judged by subsequent events, to have produced the most lasting effect in France, was associated with no violence, had no vote, and, with the exception Of the dual societies, took little part in political life. Yet M. Aulard, the man whose history of the .Revolution is held in well-deserved honour, who has devoted a .lifetime to the most painstaking and accurate study of his authorities, does not hesitate to credit her with having started the idea of France as a Republic. (2) The women of • the lowest class completely swamped the more educated ones. Madame Roland had enormous power at one time, but she and her party wore cyphers at the date of the September massacree,and eventually she was guillotined. (3) It is curious that'thO conduct of the women towards each other in 1793 was so bad that Amar and other Terrorists, whose ideas of liberty and humanity were not supposed,to be very.exalted, found it necessary to protect women from other women. These conclusions at least merit serious thought. That they will obtain it is the hope with which-this article is given to the public."

—Mr. J. 0. P. Bland in " The Yellow Peril" gives good

cause for demurring to conventional alarmist theory. The

revolutionary movement, he materiels, justifies the conclusion that the Chinese as a race retain, their instinctive aversion from fighting:for fighting's sake, and "every day's experience also shows.that many long years of educative processes must elapse before the nation can prodnee.the leaders and the spirit of discipline to make the Chinese army the formidable host of the Yellow Peril prophets."—We have left to the last what is :perhaps the most interesting and, suggestive article iu the whole number—that of Mr. Albert Carman on Canadian naval policy. We hope to return to this question before long, but must only say here that Mr.. Carman appeals to the.

Admiralty to state their real views frankly and clearly. Such an attitude, lie •believes, is the only way of awakening the 1-nimbi:of the Nationalist party in .Qnebeo to the inevitable

results of a collapse of. British,sea power and the consequent loss by Great 'Britain of the hegemony of the English-speaking world. .

The editorial "Episodes of the Month " in the National Review aaieiin the main devoted to a picturesque and vivacious account of the introduction of the Home Rule Bill, seasoned with a good deal .or personal invective. The violence of the editor's langnage as all the more to be regretted since his arguments eve Soreseellent. A good example of the com-

bination is t6 be found in his comment on Mr. Asquith's defenCe of :piecemeal Federalism on the ground that "the task Wras,too latge and complex and the conditions too varied to :adult :Of its' -being accomplished by one blow and by a single:measure:" ^On this the editor observes: "All experience is against this assertion. Federations can only be created by aingle.measure, and the fact that Mr. Asquith confines his attentions to Ireland and ignores the other portions of the United Kingdom proves him to be as treacherous and

mendacious in matter as he was over the Parliament Bill." We-may note in this context an exceedingly effective defini- tion, given a few-pages later on, of the " new style" in political controversy ." The • new style' consists in telling sordid demagogues totheir faces what decent people think of them, and. if they don't like it they can lump it."—Lord Willoughby de Broke: writes with his Usual energy and verve on " National Tore/site". He dismisses all thought of coalition as futile : " No coalitioneart renew a sight spirit in England." The right and only' way is to reconstruct the Unionist Party on the basis: of true, :Toryism, which involves not only the maintenance of -the 'Union and the introduction of Tariff Reform, but'""the establishment of a National and Imperial coneeiousnestein the militia and hearts of all citizens, irrespective of' sox, elites, creed, or party," the carrying into pritetiee of the principles of eugenics, and the adoption of universal Military training. It is a large programme, for we havenet(given all the items, but at any rate Lord Willoughby de BrOke is On safe greund•when he declares that the greatest resource of the Empire ie British character, and adds : " Our policy 'is not' to 'flatter and bribe the nation into doing its dtity'hYeenettitig :forward dazzling schemes of social reform." Certainly' no '..Govierintent has done more to corrode the fibre" ail ,the '•effititinal character than the present AclurinbitatitelehliiitaValie contends that the reply of the British Government to the German plans must not be only naval, they must he military as well. We have not space to give his specific proposals for the minimum Of military defence, but•we raseequote the Words of muchaveeded warning' with which he closes his "plea for the amphibious eye." :7 " We must have a policy of peace within. A Government. which spends half its lime inciting to class war paralyaciethei energy of the nation."—Dr. Bernard,- the 'Bishop of 'Ossory; who accompanied the British delegation to Russia lust whiter; writes with his usual good sense, candour, and sagacity on " The Russian Church and the Anglican Communion."

notes the points of contact and divergence and deprecates any hasty schemes of reunion : " A rapprochement of the left wing- of the Russian 'Church to the right wing of 'the 'Anglican Churchis not sufficientfor any final settlement. It is the great 'central bodies in each Communion which need to be 'brought • together, and for this there must be a much wider diffusion of mutual information as to each other's beliefs and 'hopes

than exist at present. . . We are a long way from la complete understanding, but misunderstandings are 'being: gradually cleared out of the way to the real benefit of the Christian world."---Mr. Joyuson Hicks, M.P., writes on "The Cost of Home Rule," and from a survey of the financial clauses arrives at the conclusion that "Irish nationality, as enshrined in this measure, seeks to begin life on an insolvent basis." Thia, he contends, is not an auspicious opening for a great national career.--Mr. Maurice LoW, in " American Affairs," foreshadows the supervision or Mexico by the United States as the ultimate outcome of the present disorders, and Mr. George Gascoyne discusses "Australia's Greatest Danger," viz., the future of the Northern Territory. The Australians won't settle there; white settlers from overseas can't afford -to, and Asiatic- immigration would submerge the Comnionwealth.--Wee may also notice Mr. H. C. Biron's pleasant article on " The Plots of Dickens" and Miss Ainebel Straehey's•vivid picture of the pollution of the Surrey Commons by the gipsy en- campments. It is not only a scandal but a -menace to the national health that the present method Of dealing with the gipsy problem should merely keep the gipsies "moving on"- without making any effort to regulate their encampment. The photograph of the site of a gipsy camp at Newlands Corner is a grisly testimony to the accuracy of Miss Strachey's. indictment.

The Contemporony opens with three short memorial articles.. On the late Mr. Stead. Mrs. Fawcett deals chiefly with his. exertions on behalf of the Criminal Law Aniendment Bill; Canon Scott Holland with his .spirit-of -self-sacrifice and his moral impetuosity, and Mr. E. T. Cook with his services to modern English joernitlism, in 'which lie pronounces him to have been the most creative and invigorating force.- Mi. Ramsay MacDonald, M P., in a tempered eulogy of the:: Home Rule Bill, maintains that it is a real instalment of a general system of federation. He admits, however, 'that difficulties may arise from the fact that the Bill hangs up the question of Ireland's contribution to Imperial expenditure- - Mr. Theodore Cooke Taylor, M.P., sends a most valuable paper on " Profit.Sharing and Co-partnership" as the hosh means of promoting the mutual goodwill without which,' capital and labour cannot effectually co-operate. Of the successful application of this principle be gives several instances, including hie own business, that of •woollen

facturers at Batley. Here are the results :—

"Commenced in 1892, the system, the first three years, applied to managers and foremen only. For the last seventeen years all have been included who have completed a calendar year with the-' company. The dividends have averaged about ton-and-a-half •per-•

cent. on capital and seven per cent. on labour. There is nothing, down in our balance-sheet for good-will, and there is no inflation in valuations. On the usual company basis the capital would have •

figured as larger ; rho same totals of profit, therefore, would have yielded lower rates of dividend on both capital and labour. Ab; is often naked : What about losses? I can speak.fromexpertence. In 1897 and 1898 we had no dividend, and I have yet to hear the first word of reproach or mistrust from any one of my co-partners. Ours is an old-established but highly technical business, difficult to manage. In twenty years the .number of our workers has increased from 1300 to 1,400, and wo have apportioned as the workers' share near £100,000. The system has during that time.. been a benefit toren concerned."

The system, lie contends, helps,to restore that.personal interest between employer and employed the disappearance of witkib' ,is.!the greatest loss in modern industry. Moreover it promotes ,permanency of. employment, for. not only is the workman less ready to leave, but the employer is less ready to discharge .workmen, in bad times.—The Rev. J. H. Harris, who has 'recently, returned from a year's travel in West Central Africa, ;contributes it striking article on "Portuguese Slavery." His iudictinent is very far from being an ex parte statement. The ,case of the planters is fairly set forth, and every effort is amide to consider Portuguese susceptibilities. But the abuses arc incontestable. In Mr. Harris's words : "Forty thousand slaves on the cocoa- islands appeal for liberty; they mutely :appeal only because they have no means of expressing their passion for freedom, ' home,' and country. Their isolation deepens the pathos of their helplessness and renders their claim upon the European- nations so imperative that it cannot be ignored." In conclusion be observes that if civilization rails the slaves on the cocoa islands. they will perish within the next ten years: "Portugal must be asked to liberate and then repatriate the slaves—Great Britain can help her so" to 410. • If, however, Portugal refuses friendly advice and dis- interested offers of assistance, justice demands that her African colonies be abandoned to an impending fate" The words which. Lord Palmerston addressed to the Anti-Slavery Society in 184'2 hold good to-day as. they did seventy years sigo ;— "I am convinced that the unanimous determination of the Jiritish Government and-the British nation to-obtain from Foreign Powers a faithfUl and complete execution of the engagements which those Powers have entered into with Great Britain for the entire suppression of the slave trade will in the end be crowned with success. But for this purpose we must be firm and decided. We must not care for giving offence to the guilty parties." • But this is not all. Do our readers who hate slavery realize that at this moment England is guaranteeing slavery P By our treaty of alliance with Portugal we promise to defend all Leer possessions from attack—an absolute guarantee. But both on the islands and in Angola slavery exists in fact, though not, of course, in name. Therefore, as -a nation, we are partakers in the crime of slavery. We trust that the Anti-Slavery Society will not 'rest till they have brought this fact home to the people of the United Kingdom.

There is a note of alarm in Mr. Archibald Hurd's paper in the Fortnighilii on the navies of England and Germany. He believes that "the German rulers realize that this is the last lap in the race„ the crucial test of endurance—either we or they must fail in the silent, bloodless war, and fail soon." He proceeds to point out that the expense of the competition growa enormously because the Germans have inaugurated the policy of keeping a larger and larger fleet in a state of eomplete preparation, and ready for instant action ; this, of course, weans that- we have to do the same, and that, instead of keeping ships in reserve to be commis- sioned in. the expectation of war, we are compelled to make arrangements for keeping every important ship in entire readiness. This is a more costly business for us than for Germany on account of the higher pay of our sailors, which much more than counterbalances the cheaper rate at which we -can build ships. Mr. Hurd goes into the question of the "fixed and immutable" German naval law, and shows bow elastic it is in the way of expansion, especially when England is making offers of friendship.—Mr. Bowen Rowlands advocates the abolition of industrial schools- and reformatories, holding% as he does, that these insti- tutions are too. often "schools for crime." We are- told that in 1009 there were 911 criminals in prison- who had been at reformatory schools. Mr. Rowlands would still farther develop the Borstal system so as to include all. youthful offenders whom, it is necessary to keep in deten- tiors—Professor'Maurice G-erothwohl distinguishes between the English. and the 'French attitude towards poetry. He says the French expect-verse to have many of the same qualities as prose ; to 'be lucid and not too prothund nor too philosophical a picture of life. " They require poetry to concern itself with the same subjects as prose and to possess the latter's best qualities; they' want a kind of verse, in brief; that shall be fine and, above all, as clear as' the finest French. prem." It is perhapathese qualities which make seine of the lines from Victor flugo's Steeping Boaz-here emoted seem so prosaic in spite of Professor Gerothwohl's saying that they have the magic of Keate. • lit this poem there iikerVerlit' the angels flying obscurely in the night, 'their'presenco only made known by " Quelqtte chose de blest qui paraleesit tine In this line, indeed, poetry has not only the higher but all' the qualities of prose—Mr. J. F. Macdonald gives an account of the memoirs of Maclaine Steinheil, which takes us back le.. the Parisian cesspool of the Dreyfus case. gr. Maedenald thinks there is nothing impossible in kadaine Steinheil's contention that the murder of her mother and husband was a political act of the nature of the assassinations of Henry and Lemercier-Picard. How like Thackeray is the little touch at the end of the squalid story which tend. of the old servant hiding the holes in the table-cloth by, sprinkling violets at a penny a bunch over 'them. This, of course, was after the death of the miserable President .Faure 1:131(1 the cessation of the splendours of the-backstairs Of the Elyeee. .

• Blackwood has the first instalment of a story by " Q " called "Hocken and Hunken," which has for a background the author's favourite Troy town, and for characters two:sea captains just retired front sea life. The story promises to be a good. example of the author's power of drawing whimsical characters.—The writer of an article 'on the Indian Mutiny—, Which is a review of the history by G. W. Forrest, lays stress on the fact that the part played by the faithful native troops is too often over- looked. As an instance we are reminded that the army which accomplished the all-important feat of taking' Delhi was composed of nearly two-thirds of native soldiers The writer gives us a curious picture of the Amazon leader of the rebels in the native State of Jlianei.. She was the widow of the chief, "tall., in stature, . hands some in person, young, energetic, proud, , and unyield- ing." She was one of our most capable , and merciless enemies, and-Sir Hugh Rose called her "the bravest and best leader of the rebels." At last she was deserted by those whom she led, and died in a cavalry skirmish.e----:-" A Polish:Cow fusion" is a most amusing account of wholidsy excursion-into the Roumanian mountains by a Polish family. The writers Christine von Ferro, describes in a lively way the late arrival of the party at the country railway station, when one member of the party has to keep the engine driver of the departing train occupied by mugs of beer while another gets the tickets. NO less exciting is the joerney in the dark from the station to the mythical: inn, the luggage going in front piled on a cart, the ,Jewish driver sitting on the apex of the pyramid of boxes. to- keep them from tumbling off, as he had no rope., Needless to say the party following had to collect their effects as they encountered them strewn along the muddy road, Theaseent of the mountain—the object of the liolideje--through the forests and quagmires is no leas adventnrous 'end amusing. Throughout a delightful mixture of confusion, irresponsibility, and good nature reigns supreme.-4Olonel Ccr'_hwclh writes on the grave question of the supply of horses needed on mobilization. The expeditionary foree would need 44,000 and the Territorials 86,600. The number of horses available in the country tends to diminish on account .of motor. traction. This is especially the case with artillery horses, the London 'bus horse which kept the guns going in South Africa having practically ceased to exist. The problem: is not merely the existence of the horses, but of having them inlaid condition for instant use. Ireland still remains a great reservoir of horses, thanks to the foreign Governments which buy there, and so encourage breeding. Colonel Callwell thinks that the registration system should be developed, and the fee paid to the owner of the horse raised to £1. This system, be says, haa, produced good results in the past and is capable of enlarge" meat. • The United Service Magazine for May contains an exceed. ingly interesting article on the Abor Expedition, by the author of In Ayr Tunglea; Schoolboys. will be amused to hear of the ingenious devices by which. the Abors render the forest tracks perilous to invaders. They have a curious man, trap which is fitted with. arrows, in place of the customary gun. It is, in.faet, a kind of automate bow. If yeasetonels the line -laid down on the path ever so lightly the spring is released and the arrows discharged. SOIllaii11101so many of these man-traps are set that quite a- larger flight of arrows follows. The strings also are so adjusted. that this, irregular. volley conies from many angles and from varying distances, while, the tribesmen remain in safe seclusion.. All the arrows, it may be remarked, aro poisoned with a mixture made from deadly nightshade and the flesh of decomposing animals or enemies. "Another very popular, though less reliable, trap was formed by sawing nearly through some tree that overhung the track. The top section of the tree was then connected with the path by a length of bamboo fibre in such lb way that the tree crashed to the ground if the least strain were put upon the line." We have not space to quote, but may refer to the amusing conversation between the leader of the expeditionary force and the bead of the Naga coolies when the latter were told that they would have to sit by their loads and could not take part in what they considered was a head-hunting expedition : "No go ! no takee heads Abors " wailed the Nagas and their chief. Another

interesting and useful article is "Some Notes on Horse Management on Active Service," by Major A. H. Lane. The author remarks that we pretend to be a horse-loving nation, but that the facts are against us. According to him, not only in the Boer War, but just as much in the Peninsular War, we proved ourselves exceedingly bad horse masters.