THE MAGAZINES.

THE best commentary on Mr. John Fortescue's admirably written but—to us at least—most unconvincing defence of General Buller, " Some Blunders and a Scapegoat," which stands first in the new Nineteenth Century, is to be found in the exceedingly interesting paper which immediately follows it. Baron A. von Maltzan, a German who took part in the campaign on the Tugela on the Boer side, but writes without any trace of animosity towards the English, after describing the operations which culminated in Spion Kop, and alluding to General 13uller's continued demand for the publication of more papers, observes : " Let us fervently hope that the whole sad business may be decently interred as soon as possible, so that the last poor shreds of a once great reputation may not be destroyed." In many other respects this paper, though painful reading, is full of illuminating information as to the methods of the Boers. His seminary of the inducements which led them to plunge into the war is most interesting. Amongst these he attaches special prominence to their rel iance on European intervention :— "The certainty of this had been constantly insisted on by their envoy, Dr. Leyds, who was purposely misled by more astute diplomatists than himself. For instance, that very clever man, the French Minister for Foreign Affairs, assured him of help. This gentleman thought it highly probable that the force of public opinion in Germany, which ran very high, would compel the Government to intervene on behalf of the Boers. Once Germany and England were embroiled, France would back out, and, in conjunction with Russia, be free to deal with Germany. But the German Government was too clever to walk into such a trap. Indeed, as early as the month of October, 1897, a most emphatic warning was sent to President Kruger that Germany would not on any account whatever allow herself to become in- volved in any quarrel between England and the Transvaal, and that he was not to believe the information supplied to him by Dr. Leyds. This warning was conveyed to the President, and delivered to him, in the presence of at least twelve members of the Volks- raad, by a friend of the Transvaal Government, at the request and on the authority of tho present German Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, Baron von Richthofen, who had worked with Lord Cromer in Egypt for thirteen years, and appreciated the English character in the highest degree. The President, however, as we know, disregarded the warning, and still continued to place ha- plicit trust in his emissary's information, with disastrous results to his country and himself. The unfortunate individual who con- veyed the warning to deaf ears, and minds set on a foregone con- clusion, henceforth was looked on at Pretoria as an enemy of the Transvaal and a friend to England."

For the rest, Baron von Maltzan asserts (1) that the Boer leaders, who only lost three killed and eight wounded at Colenso, actually ordered the firing to cease at 2 p.m., " as it was an unchristian and inhuman thing to continue the slaughter of men who were helpless and defenceless" ; (2) that the Tugela could have been easily forced at Robinson's Drift; (3) that after the occupation of Pretoria the war might have been easily ended "had the British generals not treated their enemy quite so leniently, and pressed their attack with greater vigour."—Mr. Percy F. Rowland has an excellent paper on " The Beginnings of an Australian National Character." Amongst the qualities which constitute the differentia of the

Australian character, he lays special stress on the following :- hypersensitiveness to criticism, though this he considers a pass- ing trait; lack of subtlety, of reticence, and of reserve; resource- fulness, determination, and good humour; a certain callous- ness as opposed to wanton cruelty ; a passion for gambling ; and finally, "religion without theology, civility without servility, and an uncommon power of common sense." Truly, as he puts it, a fine groundwork for the building of a noble national type.

The editor of the Contemporary Review has done good

service by reproducing in an English version the remarkable article on the "Lessons of the South African War" which

appeared in the Revue des Deux Mondes, and has been univer-

sally ascribed • without contradiction to General de Negrier. Unlike some foreign experts, the writer at once admits that the lessons of the war are, within certain limits, of universal application, and that the tactics evolved by the English army, though they need not be slavishly copied, should be studied with care. Furthermore, be feels justified in affirming that, setting aside strategic dispositions, the history of the war, so far as the sphere of tactics is concerned, "will redound to the great honour of the body of officers and of the regular army of Great Britain." Criticism from a writer so temperate, so intelligent, and so courteous is not merely endurable but stimulating. We have only space to give some of the most important conclusions deduced by the writer from the results of the recent war :—

"The old maxim : Fire draws fire,' is changed into : 'Visibility draws fire.' "

"At no previous epoch has the valour of the individual soldier been of greater importance."

" No doubt a nation of several million souls, with money enough to buy arms, and sufficient resource to be independent of other nations, is in a position to reject all coalitions, if she is well trained in shooting and prefers to go to war rather than accept the yoke of the foreigner."

"The new arms are almost valueless in the hands of faint- hearted soldiers, however many there may be. On the contrary the demoralising power of quick-firing rifles and smokeless powder, which some armies still refuse to recognise, produces more and more effect on the enemy in direct proportion to the courage and coolness of each combatant. So that a nation should, above all, strive to develop its moral powers. They alone will later on sustain the soldier in the anxious ordeal of battle, where death comes from the invisible. That is the most important lesson of the South African War."

—We are interested to see the view of the language question in South Africa put forth by so competent an authority as Mr. MacCullah, whose paper is full of curious and illuminating information. Here is his conclusion :—" There can be no harm in countenancing the Taal to some extent, more to oblige the Boers than on account of any virtue in the language itself Proscribe the language from official or school use, and many of them will cling to it and try to cultivate it ; give it equality as far as it can take it, and they will all begin to give their attention to English."

In the Fortnightly Mr. Iwan-Miiller has an interesting

article on land settlement in South Africa.. The writer tells us that the article was written so that a last wish of Mr.

Rhodes might be carried out. In December, 1901, Mr. Rhodes wrote from Egypt to Mr. Iwan-Miiller a letter in which the following words occur :—

" Our house is in danger of being burnt again after the war is over, and we must do our best to prevent this. The gravity of the situation should be brought home to the public, namely, that these 20,000 prisoners must be brought back after the war; the majority will return to their farms, and you know by this time their temperament, and unless we mix our people with them on the soil, I say look out The Afrikander Bond early recognised the fact that the key of the situation was the existence of an English farming population, De Patriot, the organ of the Bond, pointing out that parting with the soil was the only menace to eventual Dutch supremacy. Mr. Rhodes's earlier policy of conciliating and dominating the Dutch broke down in the catastrophe of the Raid. After this failure some new adventure became necessary, and Mr. Rhodes then set to work upon a policy of land settlement. The method of procedure was to buy up farms in the most Bond-dominated district, that of the Pearl. The farms were not bought without difficulty owing to Bond influence, but high prices and friendly Dutch agents brought sellers. After an expenditure of some 2150,000, Mr. Rhodes had enough land to begin laboratory experiments, and English farmers, mostly with Californian experience of fruit-growing, occupied the lands bought. Of course the tenants of these farms were looked on with suspicion, but all the same the Dutch farmers soon began to adopt the improved methods of farming. Mr. Iwan-Miiller quotes despatches of Lord Milner and speeches of Mr. Chamberlain to show that the views of these statesmen are substantially the same as those of Mr. Rhodes. The writer also calls attention to the important contributions made to the elucidation of the problem by Mr. Willcocks, the well-known Egyptian authority on irrigation. On the question of the effect on the future of English settlers, the writer of the article points out that in

the early part of the nineteenth century an experiment was tried. Only £50,000 was expended, and the settlement was carried out in a most imperfect way. Nevertheless the Albany settlement leavened the Eastern Provinces, which have remained loyal through wars and rebellions. We can.

not believe that the permanent peace of South Africa is assured if the country consists of reactionary Dutch farmers, with here and there huge self-contained mining cities of progressive Englishmen. English settlers on the land are imperatively wanted. Towards the solution of this

problem the present article is an interesting contribution.- " The Incompatibles : a Revolt from Rome by English Romanist Clergy," is the title of a sensational article by the Rev. A. Galton, which announces a revolt of English Roman Catholic secular clergy. The writer, who alleges that he is the mouthpiece for some hundred and fifty priests, begins his article by declaring that the Roman Court and the English people are incompatibles. In justification of this view the writer proceeds to a formidable indictment of the Curia. The

following is quoted from the writings of the leader of this new movement for reform—whose name is not given here, but

who has disclosed himself in the Daily Chronicle as Father O'Halloran :—

"This combination among Secular Priests is for a purification and reform of government. Hitherto, though under the super- vision of a restored hierarchy, the Catholics of England, both clergy and laity, have been treated as mere chattels, or tributary serfs, as dependents in soul and body. Rome governs us irre- sponsibly as though we were aborigines in a South Sea island. Every English Roman bishop, so far as we are concerned, is an absolute and despotic master. Secular Priests are only money- making machines for their bishops and the Roman Curia. It is useless to appeal to Rome. The bishops and the Curia in these matters work together."

The writer of the article charges the Bishops with being entirely under the control of the Regulars, and instances Cardinal Vaughan, who, he says, "intended to hand over his new cathedral to them by forming a Benedictine Chapter. He has welcomed the French Assumptionists into his diocese, and has even ventured to palliate or explain away the Anglo- phobia of their abominable press." The following quotation will give an idea of the course the reformers mean to pursue.

We are told that their plans are laid, and that they are all acting together :—

" The Reformers look upon themselves as Englishmen by in- heritance and birth, but not quite as Englishmen in Church affairs. Their attitude, both with regard to Rome and Canterbury, is similar to that of certain communities in early days who were allowed, without taint of heresy or schism, to be ministered to by their own bishop, and not by the local bishop where they hap pened to reside. These Reformers, then, propose to establish a Subsidiary or Strangers' Bishop. They mean to repudiate the jurisdiction of bishops who are merely delegates and nominees of

the Roman Court The position of these new Reformers with regard to Rome is precisely the position and attitude of our own Reformers in the sixteenth century."

How far this movement is real and substantial we cannot of course determine, nor can we pretend to say whether the alleged grievances are as serious as they are reported. The quarrel is a domestic one. We will not say that we have no concern with it, for all things that are made public naturally concern a newspaper, but we do not care to intrude upon such a quarrel unless we are much better informed than at present. We will say, however, that if the revolting priests prove not only to exist and to have the courage of their convictions, but to be sincere and single-minded in their aims, and if those aims are to break down the rigidity of the Roman system, then most assuredly our sympathies are with them.

The views of "A Conservative" on the reconstruction of

the Cabinet, as expressed in the National .Review, are un- fortunately too closely in correspondence with the facts of the case to admit of a convincing reply. But the writer's

criticism is not always intelligent. For example, we come across this extraordinary sentence : Such personalities as Lord Cromer and Lord Charles Beresford cannot be indefinitely excluded from power, while nonentities divide the spoil and appropriate all the advantages of office." Nothing could be more grotesque than the notion that Lord Charles Beresford is the victim of a conspiracy to exclude him from office. It is precisely as a free-lance that Lord Charles is most useful. Again, the writer's claim to be con- sidered a good judge of character may be estimated by the following confident pronouncement : "There are two great political forces in the country,—Mr. Chamberlain and Lord

Rosebery. One of these political forces is now neutralised by the fact that Mr. Chamberlain is bound hand and foot to Mr. Balfour's car, but the other is not going to let slip his opportunity." That is what we have heard again and again in the last two years. Lord Rosebery is always taking time by the—fetlock. — Mr. Maurice Low's monthly review of American affairs is rendered more than usually readable by his sketch of Dever, ex-Chief of Police in New York, who has gone in for politics, is standing for the leadership of a Tammany district, and if he succeeds will be placed in the direct line of succession to the Boss-ship of that still powerful organisation.—Mr. W. R. Lawson's article on " Our Company Directors" does not tend to promote national complacency. "In Germany," he observes, when a company is wrecked by its directors, the next thing heard of it is that the managing director has gone to gaol. In London, when a similar disaster happens, the next thing heard is that the directors have called a meeting of shareholders and blandly proposed to them to bury the whole concern." Mr. Lawson is especially severe on the "legal bowdlerisers " of the Com- panies Act, 1900, and does not hesitate to say that his Majesty's Judges have of late "taken much more elastic views of financial morality than a committee of the Stock Exchange or of the London Chamber of Commerce would have done in the same circumstances."—Sir Horace Rumbold continues his genial, gossippy "Recollections of a Diplomatist," and, amongst other papers, we may recommend Mrs. Hugh Bell's sensible and kindly causerie on "The Lot of the Servant."

Lovers of picturesque byways of the Empire are sure to find something to their taste in Blackwood. In the present number they will not be disappointed by Mr. Hugh Clifford's article, "Piloting Princes." The author tells us that at the beginning of his career it was his duty to pilot a raja, who was "a bar- barous person of unspeakable manners and morals." This terrible person had to be personally conducted while visiting Penang, his unfortunate guide being perpetually responsible for the most appalling breaches of decorum. This raja on one occa- sion insisted on bathing in the town drinking-water supply in the middle of picnic parties. In later years Mr. Clifford found a means of subduing this potentate, who was a miser. The threat of heavy damages to be paid for breaches of order reduced the Malay to some respect for civilised usages. When this fierce old tyrant died his people, after their custom, selected an appropriate posthumous title, and lie was re- membered as " The late King, God be merciful to him !" Mr. Clifford had charge of the Malay chiefs and of the Sultan of Perak at the time of the Coronation. The Sultan bad been in England before, and seems to be a most enlightened person. He has heartily accepted British rule, and is convinced of the advantages his country has derived from it. The Sultan highly disapproved of the plot of Mr. Phillips's Paolo and Fran- cesca, and remarked: " It is not fitting that such a story should be told." When he learnt that the story was historical, be wisely answered: " Why revive these ancient scandals ? And why should our pity be asked for folk so utterly depraved P" The chiefs who accompanied the Sultan to London seem to have been greatly impressed by the way in which the police managed the crowds, and also they were astonished that the crowds assisted in being managed, instead of resenting and resisting. Mr. Clifford says that although organised order and co-operation with the authorities are unknown to Asiatics, the practical results awoke a tremen- dous enthusiasm in his friends. One old chief of extremely conservative instincts did not like anything he saw in England. Mr. Clifford gives a pathetic account of this man walking up and down his room in a London hotel clad in an ulster, but with bare brown feet, making believe that he was walking between two villages in his native land. He described the country be was passing through and gained a momentary pleasure by the imagination. "And presently, drawing in his breath quickly and pantingly, `I am breasting the slopes of Gapis,' be said." Let us hope he reached his native land and found it the sweeter for having been away from it.—The ninth instalment of " On the Heels of De Wet" is as wonderful as ever for its artistic power and convincing realism. Soldiers who have taken part in incidents similar to those narrated declare that of all the accounts of the details of the war none equal for truth this series of papers by an anonymous author. We are also assured by those competent to iudge that the humiliating selfishness and the checks given

by an incompetent general to a brilliant subordinate are no less true than the descriptions of marching and fighting incidents. This selfishness and jealousy of commanders, with the consequent failure of operations, is one of the most hope- less and disgraceful features of the war, or rather of war in general, for it is a feature that appears in the histories of all campaigns.

Controversies generally provide amusement for the looker-on who takes neither side. This is the case in the Monthly Review, where in the editorial article the old fight for and against public schools rages. As is to be expected, the com- petitors enter in a military manner and fling generals at one another's heads. The name of the writer who is being refuted the editor of the Monthly will not allow him- self even to mention. This writer has set up Sir Ravers Buller as the champion for his cause, the incompetence of the public-school-bred man. As one would expect, the " counter- quarrelsome" is Lord Roberts. Thus the light goes on, with results inconclusive and ridiculous. How is it possible to attribute the collapse of the qualities of leadership or the inspiration of genius to a school system P—A surprise is to be found in the first article, for here is a work of art among mere magazine articles. The artist is Mr. Kipling, and his poem is a solemn parable in prose. " Below the Mill Dam" is one of those wonderful conversations between animate and inanimate things which reveal the inmost soul of things. The Spirit of the Mill, who lived in the wooden wheel, talks to the grey cat and the black rat, and the waters also join in the talk. The wheel talks of Domesday Book and of ancient times; the cat of her order, of art and culture. The old English black rat is on the side of the cat, but is much interested in flour-bags. The waters do the work and rejoice in their strength. Changes begin, and the miller puts electric light into his mill and sees into the dark places he has never seen into before, to the disgust of the cat. Her neglect of duty in keeping down rats rouses the wrath of the miller, who flings her into the stream. The old wheel says, rejoicingly, that he is to be converted into turbines. The waters express astonishment that he should be pleased at this, but the voice is, in truth, not that of the wheel, but of the Spirit of the Mill. We have given but a bare outline of this remarkable piece of work. We hope it will be widely read, for it preaches national needs far more eloquently than a dozen magazine articles of the " Wake up, England ! " type, with their controvertible and partial statistics. Mr. Kipling, by using that condensing and generalising power he possesses in virtue of being a great artist, is able to go straight to the heart of things.