MAGAZINES.

In the Nineteenth Century Professor J. H. Morgan discusses "The King and his Prerogative." The main purpose of his argument is to show that there is nothing arbitrary in the action of the Prime Minister in exercising the prerogative of creating peers. In this connexion " to talk of ' the prostitu- tion of the Crown' is mischievous nonsense." Apart from this topical question, Professor Morgan discusses the whole ques- tion of the relations between the Crown and the Executive.

He shows that the power of the Crown has increased in two ways—by the revival of old prerogatives and by the grant of new statutory powers. But both of these processes have resulted in the limitation of the personal power of the Sovereign and its transference to his Ministry :—

"It has long been a commonplace of historians that, while the Revolution of 1689 altered the succession to the Crown, it left its prerogatives intact. The two centuries that have since elapsed have witnessed a gradual transfer of the prerogative fi o:u the King to his Ministers. What they at first viewed with suspicion as the King's they have come to regard with affection as their own. We axe confronted with the paradox that the power of the Crown has grown in proportion as the power of the King has declined. The English monarchy in the reign of George the Fifth has become almost as much a constitutional fiction as was the Roman Republic under the principate of Augustus."

The process according to Professor Morgan has gone so far that there now seems to be no moment at which the Sovereign can pursue a policy of his own. "From the moment he ceases to follow the advice of one Minister, he must find another who will accept a retrospective

responsibility for the action of the Sovereign."—Mr. J. Henniker-Heaton writes upon " The Imperial Conference and our Imperial Communications." He expresses profound disappointment at the results of the deliberations of the

Conference in June. After emphasizing the importance to the Empire of cheap and efficient communications, he proceeds to a detailed examination of the question of cable rates. The cost of laying land lines being only about a tenth of that of laying cables, Mr. Henniker-Heaton points out that a properly designed system of land lines should enormously cheapen the

rate of telegraphing throughout the world. For instance, although the cost of telegraphing to India by cable is 2s. a word, the cost of telegraphing from St. Petersburg to Vlatf.vo-

stock by land (approximately the same distance) is only 2111. a word. Incidentally Mr. Henniker-Heaton protests against the efforts of the "cable rings" to keep up their prices by assuring themselves of a monopoly. With regard to universal penny postage he is optimistic, and says that he has strong reasons for believing that " the present sagacious Postmaster- General " will not leave office without establishing it In an article with the title "Fresh Light on the Church in Wales " the Dean of Bangor discusses the question of Welsh Disestablishment, with especial reference to the Report of the Royal Commission. He points out that the Church in Wales is an integral part of the Church of England, but at the same time that it is a figment to describe it as an alien institution. Statistics show, for instance, that there are scores of parish churches in which no other language than Welsh has been beard since Latin was discontinued in the sixteenth century.

" Taking the whole of Wales, according to the census of 1901, half the population speak English only, thirty-five per cent.

speak English and Welsh, and fifteen per cent. speak Welsh only. What under these circumstances is the language of the Sunday services P The English services number 2,44?,

the Welsh 1,113, the bilingual or mixed 228. There has been thus a generous leaning towards Welsh." After criticizing the figures upon which Nonconformists have based their assertions as to the relative numbers of Churchmen and Dissenters, the Dean of Bangor sums up his position thus :—

"Standing, as it does, for honesty, and faithfulness to trust; believing in the value of unity, and in the importance of the religions welfaxe of the people, the poor in particular; desiring efficiency of equipment for service, and an independence of position in which effectively to teach unwelcome truths, and to rebuke fashionable vices ; the Church in Wales is bound resolutely to oppose both disestablishment and disendovment."

—We may also mention an effective little Zuln tragedy is one act by Mrs. Alfred Lyttelton. We do not propose to comment upon the political articles in the National Review (which reaches us this month very late), since to the greater number of the statements contained in them we could only reply by a direct contradiction. Mr. W. Morton Fullerton writes upon " The Unrest in France," which be describes as a new phase, "for nothing like it has been wit- nessed in France during the last forty years." There is a great demand for positive reforms, which "are to be of the nature of a readjustment of the Republican Constitution to modern conditions, not of the upsetting of the Republic." Mr. Morton Fullerton believes that the only method by

which authority can be restored in France is by the re-establishment of the principle of separation of powers. This implies first the emancipation of the Govern- ment from the despotism of the Chamber — a reform which can only be achieved by the creation of a party system and by the reform of the electoral law. In the second place, it implies the separation of the Judiciary from the Executive. And finally, it implies " the definitive organization of the status of the three-quarters of a million of functionaries," in order to prevent the danger of the Government becoming corrupted by the pressure of its own employds. As to the possibility of these reforms being effected, Mr. Morton Fullerton is opti-

mistic.—An article upon " Beet Sugar as a British Industry" is contributed by Lord Denbigh, who reviews the whole ques- tion at some length. He points out that there is every reason to believe that the English climate is suitable for growing beet. The great difficulty to be contended with is "the necessity for jumping right straight away into an ex- penditure of some £100.000 as a commencement." In order to encourage the investment of capital in the industry, Lord Denbigh suggests that "for a term of years" it should be protected to the extent of the present import duty of 18.10d.

a cwt —he proposes, that is, that no excise should be levied during that period.--Mr. Adolphe Smith criticizes the Insur- ance Bill from the point of view of the doctor. His protest is chiefly directed against the injury done to the medical profes- sion by the contract system :—

" The Insurance Bill ought to be framed in such a manner as to assist the medical profession in the arduous task of purifying its ranks from the evil consequences brought about by such methods of insurance as are actually in existence. But Mr. Lloyd George does not propose to abolish the contract system, and spoke, on one occasion, of respecting vested interests, meaning apparently the monopoly of medical practice created by friendly societies and handed over to the keeping of blackleg doctors."

Sir Harry Johnston writes in the Contemporary Review upon " Racial Problems and Congress of Races." After an allusion to the recent congress held in London, he raises and discusses a number of interesting questions connected with race. The first of these relates to the racial superiority of the white race at the present. Sir Harry Johnston holds that this can- not be doubted, whether upon mental or physical grounds.

He inclines, however, to the belief that it is not possible for the white race to colonize the tropical regions of the globe without losing its physical attributes or its stamina and vigour. With regard to interracial marriages Sir Harry Johnston declares that nature may be laughing at our pre- judices, and that be sees the prospect of great racial develop- ments, especially in Asia, by mixture of blood

"Emphatically there is but one species of man living on the earth at the present day, and the utmost rank which can be given to his divergent types is that of the difference of one sub-species or variety from another. This statement is proved by the complete fertility between all known types of existing Man, and the con- tinued fertility, again, of their mixed descendants. There are no human mules?

Sir Harry Johnston next proceeds to protest vigorously against the view that the non-white races must necessarily always remain in a position of inferiority, and concludes his article with an appeal for a common interracial religion in the form of " the most simple, undogmatic form of Christianity."—In an article upon Arbitration Mr. Andrew Carnegie declares that "history confirms the claim that the abolition of war between civilized nations by arbitration of all disputes is emphatically the mission of the English-speaking race." He traces the growth of the movement during the last twenty years, and emphasizes the necessity for not omitting from arbitration treaties " questions affecting honour or vital interests." Ail to the outcome of the present negotiations between the United States and Great Britain, Germany, France, and Holland he is optimistit :— "Imagine these lands unitedly informing the world of their brotherly and peaceful action, and expressing the ardent hope that their neighbours shall consider the propriety of joining in the movement for international peace ! That some of the other Powers would join is certain. Let us suppose that a dispute arose between two Powers, and war was feared, the friendly appeal of the peaceful Powers to the contestants to arbitrate could scarcely be resisted; but if it were, the peaceful Powers might then inti- mate that as all nations are concerned as partners in the peace of the world, they have rights which should not be ignored, and, if they were, it might be found necessary for them to declare non- intercourse with the offender who disturbed that peace."

Mr. Carnegie ends by prophesying that war will soon be as dead as duelling and slavery.—Mr. Charles Tennyson writes an interesting account of the development of the Irish drama at the Abbey Theatre in Dublin. He declares that Ireland has brought a new spirit into the theatre by breaking away from the conventional technique of the stage and the conven- tional subjects of stage writing

"The courage and independence with which the scheme has, in the face of great difficulties, been carried to a successful con- clusion show how strong Is the national vitality behind it and how much that vitality may effect in other branches of activity if it is given an opportunity for free and independent development."

In an article on Tory Democracy in the Fortnightly Mr. Maurice Woods traces party history from the repeal of the Corn Laws to the present time. It is a sordid narrative in which the good of the country plays no part, the interest being concentrated upon what set of ideas—we cannot call them principles—will catch most votes. With something like admiration is noted the present Government's abandonment of the old Liberal principles of economy, and the successful guess of Mr. Lloyd George that what the democracy wants is lavish expenditure on so-called social reform. Mr. Woods sets himself out to consider the outbidding of this policy. As we should expect, his plan is only Protection and the giving by its aid to the industrial masses of the nation "the pre- servation of their health and efficiency by such measures as a national tariff and a minimum wage. . . . If Toryism will once accept this view, the Tory democracy will place its leaders in power before many months have run out." What is this in truth but the old policy of "dishing the Whigs " P

—Mr. Ellis Barker devotes himself to showing bow very desirable a country is Morocco, both commercially and from the point of view of strategy. He also brings

evidence to show how keenly alive to these two facts the Germans are. The semi-official Naval Year-book for 1909 discusses Morocco's importance as a base for attacking trade routes and the Panama Canal, and declares that "it lies to-day in the centre of the world's traffic." Professor Fischer, who has studied Morocco for 30 years, arrives at the same conclusions. Mr. Ellis Barker tells us that the statistics of German trade in the country in question have been padded out to make them appear larger than they really are, just as the number of German residents has been augmented by the inclusion of Austrians and Swiss. The various facts taken, together with the persistence with which Germany periodically raises the question of Morocco, all point to more serious trouble in the future.—Mr. Lawrence Jerrold in his article "Between France and Germany" recalls the details of the

successive storms which Germany has raised in Morocco. He argues that our advances to France were very coldly received and it was not till the humiliation of the fall of M. Delcasse at the bidding of Germany that the entente cordials became

a reality. When the next explosion took place—at Casa Blanca—it was not France that ate humble pie,

and now when Germany is repeating the process at Agadir it is to be hoped that matters will be arranged to the satisfaction of our friendly neighbour— Mr. Archibald Hurd, who always takes an optimist line about

our naval strength, looks forward to a, period of naval economy ; but he admits that this happy prospect all depends on the action of Germany. If she should decide to augment her naval programme we shall have to keep pace. Germany by her aggressive navel policy has not only caused a great increase in our Fleet, but has consolidated friendships between ourselves and other Powers, and also by causing unrest has sent Governments—South American and others—. with great orders to our private shipbuilding yards.—Mr. Sydney Brooks gives us the substance of his conversation with Mn. Roosevelt. We are told a good deal about Republican and Democrat party ties and feelings, but the late President's views on world questions are of more interest to as Here is the concluding paragraph of the article :--

" Bo long as Great Britain is able to concentrate her main naval strength in the North Sea and in European waters peace, in his judgment, is more probable than war. Similarly he derides the notion of a Japanese-American conflict. On the other hand he would recognize in a German-Japanese alliance a serious menace to the peace of the world. Such a development, he believes, would make all Americans realize, as he himself realizes, that the United States has no greater external interest—political, strategic, or commercial—than that the British Empire and the British Navy should remain as they are to-day."

—Mrs. Tozier describes the educational methods of Maria Montessori, who has achieved success in Rome in the education of quite small children. A great many of the methods are similar to those used in infant schools here, but some are different, notably the teaching of writing and reading, which seems to produce surprising results. At the root of Maria Montessori's method lies the sense of touch. The fingers of

small children are extraordinarily sensitive, and by them the eyes can be assisted. In many ways this teacher's methods seem most reasonable ; for instance, instead of a scientifically

regulated and fixed seat each child has a small and comfort- able chair which it can move about, so that it does not get cramped by being long in one position. It would be very

interesting to know how an infant educated in such a school does when it has to take its place with older children who have been brought up less scientifically.

In Blackwood "Kepi" writes of Morocco, and although he is quite sympathetic to French claims, he points out that a

great mistake was made when the Sultan was allowed to use the French organized and officered native army for savage repression of rebellious triter. Incidentally a tribute is paid to the organization of General Moinier's army and its trans- port; the only thing that comes in for criticism is the sanitary

discipline of the army on the march: "nothought was ever taken for the poor unfortunates who might require the same camp- ing-ground for the morrow. Pollution of water and general insanitation were allowed to a degree that would have rendered

our own sanitation officers speechless."--Although, on the whole, and especially in some important matters, Colonel Callwell believes that our War Office administration has improved, his " War Office Reminiscences " abound with instances of bad management, which to the layman seem incredible. An instance is given in which some official wanted

to know particulars as to the local forces in the Malay States, so an inspector of Garrison Artillery who was setting out for Singapore was invited to make a special journey and to

send back the desired information. When the questions had been answered it was discovered that the Intelligence Department possessed all the required information, but nobody had thought of applying to them. To the outsider one of the most mar- vellous things is the correspondence carried on between different officials in the office. Colonel Callwell tells us that

on one occasion the word " to " in a minute he had written was mistaken for the figure " 8."

"The figure 8' did not make sense ; but that did not prevent the high authority from adding a minute of his own, based on what he believed mine was intended to Convey. There ensued one of the most bewildering correspondences which has ever circu- lated ;wen in the War Office. Nobody could understand what anybody else meant, but everybody recorded his opinion, starting from the assumption that he had discovered what the matter was which was at issue. I should not be surprised if that correspond- ence is going on still" Documents in their wanderings sometimes get lost and put on the "search list," when an individual called the " searcher" is set on their track. "The methods and identity of this individual are alike wrapped in obscurity, . , . but by some occult means does the searcher discover documents for

which nobody can account." A humorous description is given of the weekly meetings of heads of departments which seem to be like stormy meetings of directors. Two things

Colonel Callwell tells us have made a great advance, and they are not small matters—first, organization of an expedition- ary force of 160,000 men 4' which can really be mobilized and placed in the field within a reasonable time," and, second, the harmony which now prevails between the War Office and the Admiralty, this last being due to the establishment of the Committee of Imperial Defence. Mr. Ernest Baker, the intrepid explorer of the Mendip Caves, gives a thrilling account of piloting down the Eastwater Swallet a party of four officers from the Army encamped last August at Priddy. All the water collected in a basin some two miles across runs into a hole in the ground to reappear at Wookey Hole, 700 feet lower and three miles away. The greater part of this under- ground river has been explored by Mr. Baker and his friends before, and his description of the caverns, waterfalls, and abysses recall Kubla Khan. On the occasion he is now describing the party were imprisoned for many hours owing to an exceptional downpour of rain which made retreat impos- sible. Although many of the passages traversed are described as eighteen inches wide, there were caves which could be reached where there was no danger of drowning, but the danger to the soaked explorers from exposure was very real. Happily the flood abated and the party reached the upper air in safety.—" The Reflections of a Yeoman " raise a question which must have occurred to most people. Why if the Yeomanry are to be used in ordinary English country in war is an exceptional place like Salisbury Plain chosen for their training? The writer gives a graphic account • of the difficulties of work carried out in this congested area. His remedy is to train Yeomanry on some common or in some park in their own country. " For a week nothing could be better, but during the second week camp should be broken, and the brigade should go on trek, working against another brigade which may have started off to meet them at a distance of anything between fifty and a hundred miles away."

The first article in the August number of the United Service Magazine is on Japan's navy and naval ambitions. The next deals with the navy of France in the past and to-day. Un- fortunately we cannot find space to deal with the Japanese article, but the facts and figures with which it bristles are well worth reading. A military article that will be sure to create interest is that on "Marlborough " by " C. Frere." Marlborough, says the writer, "may be justly described as the first tactician of modern times. Napoleon, more brilliant, was less profound, and, a defect conspicuous in many passages of his career from Caldiero to Waterloo, he often permitted his imagination and self-confidence to pervert his judgment, thus indicating a lack of self-control, a fault of which the great Englishman was never guilty, though the attack on Tillers' entrenchments at Malplaquet was perhaps a rash and certainly a most hazardous undertaking, hardly in keeping with his usual aversion to costly and barren victories." Two other Marlborough articles follow, one entitled "Marlborough's Men," by G. B. Hertz, and the other "The Forcing of the Ne Plus Ultra' Lines, August 1711," by Captain F. W. 0. Haycock. These Lines covered the French frontier from the English Channel to Namur. Uncle Toby would have been in his element could he have had the August number of the United Service Magazine to read in the arbour near his entrenchments. The only other article to which we can put up a signpost is Colonel Bethell's " Defence of Egypt," which has a useful map. "It is, perhaps," he says, "too much to ask of the Egyptian Government to fortify the land approaches to the Suez Canal. But they should at least select and survey the line of defence, so that if occasion arises it may be occupied and entrenched 'without delay." That is certainly a, suggestion which does not err on the side of caution.