THE MAGAZINES.
THE Magazines of this month are readable, but not brilliant. There is not a first-class paper in any one of them, and most of them give evidence that contributors are a little tired. There are vigorous papers, however, if they are not sensational, like, for instance, Mr. John Douglas's on " Australian and Imperial Federation," in the Nineteenth Century. Mr. Douglas is for the federation of the Australian Colonies for external purposes through the Council now proposed. He would, in fact, leave the Colonies as they are in most respects, but would make their Foreign Office federal, and hand it over to a Council instead of a Secretary, much the plan advocated as a beginning in the Spectator. He would not, however, federate the Aus- tralian Dominion with the United Kingdom, but would rather see a closer alliance between the Dominion and the Kingdom, with an open acknowledgment that they might ultimately find it con- venient to part. He thinks they might do great things together, as partners, or united as father and son sometimes are, but objects to any merging of identity. The Dominion will be too power- ful to be controlled even by a kindred people, and the Kingdom does not think of being controlled. Mr. Douglas is not a close reasoner, but he states his convictions excellently well ; and it is a knowledge of Colonial convictions that we want first of a11. Mr. G. Baden-Powell, in the " Expansion of Germany," states the German Colonial idea forcibly and clearly, and hints his belief that Germans will ultimately want a settling- land, and will seek one in South America.. We agree, but should like some hint as to a practicable method of secur- ing what now seems impossible. Mr. Baden-Powell's idea is that German settlers may become numerous enough to seize- a State ; but is that happening anywhere in South America ? We should rather believe that, on some occasion or other, the Germans in the Union may hold the balance of power, and may stipulate, in return for steady support, that Germany may be• admitted into South America. We are glad to see that Mr. Baden-Powell welcomes Germany in Central Africa, laying down the proposition that England needs now more markets, and not more tropical Colonies. Lord Lytton differs from all• other critics as to Miss Anderson's Juliet, holding her capable of rising at least in one scene into " the purest poetry of tender- ness and passion," and that to her the gift of genius has been given,—given, indeed, in such measure that stage convention. only hampers and embarrasses her. That is an unique appre- ciation, and would not, we think, have been given to Miss Anderson had she been less beautiful. Mr. Albert Grey sends EL valuable essay on proportional representation, which, in view of existing circumstances, no human being will read ; and Dr. Jessopp a thoughtful paper on " The Black Death in East- Anglia," the awful pestilence which, in 1349-50, struck Europe, and especially England. He inclines to believe that this was a variety of the Plague, caused by atmospheric disturbance, or poisoning of the air, and is certain that its intensity is even yet- not understood. He intends to inquire into the subject much more
; but he already feels justified in believing, from the
Ecclesiastical Records and Manor Rolls before him, that in the year ending March, 1350, the Black Death had swept away more than half the population of East Anglia, one of the healthiest portions of the kingdom. There is no antecedent improbability in his theory, for similar visitations have more recently struck- parts of Asia ; but we hope Dr. Jessopp will, as he promises, study his records carefully, and consider, above all things, the great point whether the plague can by possibility have carried off particular classes, or have been limited to particular districts. over which the poisoning vapour passed. Suppose a similar " atmospheric disturbance " to occur, would people now die in shoals, or were they then prepared to perish by the conditions of existence? Mr. C. Mackay is a little high-flown, especially when the loyal fit is on him ; but we have read with pleasure his account of " English Songs," of which this, temp. Henry VIII., he believes to be probably the oldest
A.h my sweet sweeting, My little pretty sweating,
My sweeting will I love, wherever I go. She is so proper and pure, Full stedfast, stable and demure, There is none such, you may be sure, As my sweet sweeting."
Mr. Mackay thinks the evidence strong which attributes the National Anthem to the obscure Jacobite poet Henry Carey, of Queen Anne's time, who lived to old age in penury, and at eighty-six, heart-sick of his poverty, committed suicide in his garret. Mr. Hurlbert's account of " The Democratic Victory in America " rouses no sympathy in us, as we do not believe its cause is a wish to restore State-rights ; but he is a competent authority, and his paper should be read. He tells us incidentally, what is not known here, that Mr. Cleveland, the new President, is the son of a Presbyterian minister of Jersey, a successful lawyer, and the youngest President ever elected, though already forty-six.
The Contemporary Review has three distinctly good papers,
the best, perhaps, being Miss Cobbe's on " A Faithless World," —a statement of what the world would be if religion, by which word she means faith in a living and righteous God, were ex- tinguished. She holds that the extinction of public worship and of private prayer, which must necessarily follow, would greatly affect all minds for the worse; while the reduction of the Bible to a book would involve "the unravelling of the Syrian thread from our minds," and " would altogether alter their texture." Both these things did actually occur in France during one generation ; and observant Frenchmen say the "break," though it lasted only twenty years, differentiates the inner thought of Frenchmen from that of any European people. Miss Cobbe farther believes that while the ordinary moralities might not die, most of them being also utilities, moral life, or, indeed, all life, would undergo a process of belittling, and aspiration, re- pentance, and Christian charity would perish utterly, while the triumph of the stern scientific doctrine, the survival of the fittest, would recpnsecrate cruelty. It is, too, her impression, though not so strongly held as in the previous cases, that Veracity and Purity could not maintain their ground ; and that, as Mr. Percy Greg also holds, courage would cease to be a virtue. We are not quite sure about some of these latter deductions, and fancy Miss Cobbe is mixing up Paganism with Atheism.
Veracity is the most useful of qualities, and might be raised in a purely utilitarian world—which is the working, alter- native to a religious world—into a supreme and rather pitiless virtue, while we confess to entire indecision as to courage. It should perish, as leading to inconvenience ; but then it is in part independent of reason, many animals and birds being brave, while it is a quality which cowards will always want to buy, and therefore as useful as strength, or endurance, or that subtle peculiarity of organisation which we call capacity for art. Parity would die, we should say, in all except the few penetrated by the scientific wish to keep the intellect supreme over the senses ; and about cruelty we have no doubt whatever. No argument but the religious one is worth considering against the logical certainty that in extinguishing congenital idiots, lunatics, cripples, and blind persons, we are adding to the reser- voir of the world's force now depleted by taking care of them. Professor Rudolf Gneist's sketch of " The Municipal Govern- ment of Berlin" is in the highest degree interesting. That capital is administered by a highly-paid Mayor, elected for twelve years, and thirty Aldermen, of whom fifteen are paid, and who divide administration among themselves. The paid Aldermen are elected for twelve years by the Town Council, and the unpaid for six years ; and the Council itself con- sists of 132 members, chosen in a way which would delight the soul of Mr. Lowther, one-third being elected by the rich, one-third by the middle class, and one-third by the poor, the dividing line being the payment of certain amounts of direct taxes. The Municipality controls the police; but the King's Government can veto any measure adopted, and exer- cises a general controlling power. The Council has all the usual powers, with those of the Building Act besides, and is invested with all Church patronage. Taxation is by rates, sup- plemented by a municipal income-tax, the total revenue from 1,300,000 people being just under £2,000,000 sterling. This system, though it may produce good administration, is, of course, not popular government in any sense ; but Professor Gneist says it works well, though he admits that sanitary considerations have until lately been neglected. M. de Laveleye's second paper on " Wiirzburg and Vienna," is full of interest, containing sketches as it does of the Austrian states- men, and an account of the grand conflict now raging in Vienna between the nationalities, which the new statesmen hope to soothe by federation. It is, we think, an evident induction from his account that the Emperor leans slightly to the Slav party, that the Germans are growing bitter, and that substantial power is still in the hands of old aristocrats. M. de Laveleye confirms the suspicion we long ago expressed, that the Emperor, in occupying Bosnia, which Count Kiillay has at last reduced to order, is actuated in great measure by a determination not to leave the dominions of his house less than he found them. He will recoup himself for his losses in Italy by acquisitions in the Balkans. The rest of the papers are less striking, though Sir Rutherford Alcock seta' forth the French policy in Indo-China, and the Chinese means of resistance, in an interesting way. He believes the French Government wish to build up an Empire in Asia, and that the' Chinese can only offer a passive resistance, which, however, may be effectual, as, in his judgment, it is by no means certain that an occupation of Pekin would end the war. The Chinese Admini- strative bodies might retreat into Tartary. He suggests English mediation on the basis of France keeping Anam, including Tonqnin, and nothing more.
The first article in the Fortnightly is deveted to proving that Mr. Chamberlain is not a Revolutionist, has no design upon property, does not intend to surrender the Colonies, and is, as a Cabinet Minister, rather a moderating influence. As most Liberals have already come to those conclusions, the interest of the article is not great, and its execution is a trifle dull. What is the use of saying that Mr. Chamberlain holds that all pro- perty should "be secured to its owners " upon " terms sub- ordinated to the general welfare of the State." Does any human being, from Lord Salisbury to Mr. Bradlaugh, maintain any other doctrine ? What men want to know is what, in Mr. Chamberlain's judgment, are the ends which the community should seek, and in which it will be neces- sary to override proprietary rights. Will he, for example, be content with clear sanitary benefits, or benefits to general education, or will he add that aggregations of property are in themselves injurious ? We have ourselves uo doubt that, except in ecclesiastical affairs, Mr. Chamberlain will be as moderate as any Liberal who really sympathises with the people ; but this article does not prove it. Mr. Percy,Greg maintains that the political services of the House of Lords are vastly underrated, the House for example having given us the Settled Estates Act and the Married Women's Property Act—two odd illustrations. Both Acts were really drawn up and passed by two barristers who bear titles, but were not born Peers, and who would have been sure of seats in the House of Commons. If it is said the Peers took their advice, so also did the Commons. We quite agree with him that great Judges are useful Members of the Legislature ; but then, why should it not be open to the Com- mons to refer any Act they please to the Judges' consideration. He contends that with the abolition of the Lords, the power of rewarding great services by public honours will cease ; and that this power outweighs in advantages all that can be said against the Peers. There will, no doubt, be a certain loss on that side ; but then, human beings can only seek a balance of advantages. No one proposes just at present to abolish honours ; and after all, many States are splendidly served without them. The things for which we give them, good military, naval, and diplomatic service, are just the things the United States obtain without them, while our own best civil administrators have notoriously not sought them as rewards, though they may have sought Peerages as reliefs. The Rev. M. Kaufmann, like Dr. Geffsken last month, traces German Socialism to the German workmen's desire for more personal comfort. He wants " to be fed better, clothed better, housed better, and amused better than he is." He maintains that the Socialist organisation by districts, each with its Com- mittee of " trusted persons," is as perfect as it ever was; while the suppression of the newspapers of the party has only led to the dissemination in thousands of much more violent broad-sheets. He says the ultimate hope of the party is the conversion of the Army, which is only a body of young citizens ; and adds that the Socialists have hitherto re- jected with scorn all the offers of the Government, none of them, it should be premised, having been very tempting. Socialists want something more than pensions if they break their legs at work. " A Young England Peer" gives a pleasant sketch of the Young England party, which " thought it had inaugurated a new policy of progressive Conservatism." He
admits, however, that one main inducement to belong to the party was a sort of excitement it produced, and seems himself to approve it mainly because it was so very gentlemanly. The following story is new. When Lord Derby proposed Household Suffrage to his party in 1867, the room was full :-
" When Lord Derby brought forward in his speech this astounding measure every countenance was filled with blank dismay. There was unbroken silence—not a cheer, not a word—until Sir William Heathoote rose, and speaking of himself as one of the well-known most faithful supporters of his party, expressed his deep regret that he must after that leave them, for never could he vote for a measure which, in his opinion, would destroy the time-honoured Constitution. When he ceased the silence was still unbroken. It was clear that at any rate the majority of those present sympathised with the senti- ments which, with faltering accents, he had expressed. After a long pause Mr. Henley, the. Nestor of the party, rose. On him the future of England depended. Rarely does it fall to the lot of one man by his opinion to decide the fate of the nation. All present thought that he would express himself in the same sense as Sir William Heathoote. To the utter astonishment of the meeting be announced his intention to support the measure. He was not permitted to con- clude his speech. 'All Eton' burst forth in the cheer Lord Derby gave. Let the future of England take care of itself, the Government was saved."
Without Mr. Henley, then, this generation might never have been able to hope for the Parliament of 1886. Mr. Moreton Frewen, a Canadian cattle-owner, writes a strong article against the " panicky legislation " against disease, which, he says, keeps English farmers poor ; for he believes that with free imports they could purchase live cattle in America cheaper than they can grow them. He maintains that the Western ranchemen would, if allowed, stock the English farms on credit ; and that the farmers are only throwing away their own best resource. He is probably right ; but he will not convince the English farmers, who think that whatever the demerits of monopoly, it must at least bring profit. Mr. Frewen has some noteworthy observa- tions on the effect of the over-production of shipping in reduc- ing the prices of all agricultural produce. The ship-owners contend for freights till freightage is hardly an item in the cost of producing foreign food. That cause of depression must of course be temporary.
Previous page
