informed, reports that the condition of the Imperial finances is severely felt by the smaller States of the Confedera- tion. It does not appear, however, that this condition is...

T HE award of the Alasican Boundary Tribunal, issued on Wednesday, was signed by the Lord Chief Justice of England and the United States Commissioners, the Canadian...

days' mourning for the Sultan's son—the Austro-Riissia.n Notes, conveying precise instructions for the execution of the reform programme in Macedonia under European control,...

after a most cordial reception, marred only by the almost incessant rain. The Queen in particular seems, as usual, to have won all hurts by a bearing which, though queenly, is...

on the whole disastrous. The feeling in Japan against Russia is said to be rising higher. Japan is believed to be buying warships in Val- paraiso, and summoning home all...

on the occasion of the confirmation of two of his sons. His text was the importance of Christ, who was undoubtedly "the most personal personality," and whose words, as the words...

case.

said :—" I take all my opponents—those who differ from me, those with whom I am dealing, and those with whom I am not dealing—and I say that there is not a man of them who can...

quite recovered from his recent attack of gout) spoke at Newcastle on Tuesday. In spite of his bold assurances that his cause was making way, there was a weak note struck in his...

we would ask those Free-trade Unionists who think that the Spectator has been too hostile to Mr. Balfour, and has gone much too far in describing his Administration as a Pro-...

We can only notice two points. The first was his statementin regard to the Cabinets of September 14th and 15th, —namely, that whatever any member of the Cabinet may have beard...

a direct negative. It is perfectly possible, even though the Colonies choose to have independent tariffs, to draw the Empire together. As soon as the Colonies have grown, as...

such contradictory accounts of what took place at the Cabinet crisis remains a mystery, Lord George Hamilton's speech at Ealing on Thursday for the first time gives us a...

difficulty by declaring that though he would consent to keeping the existing shilling duty on all corn, he would not consent to turning ikinto a preferential duty from which...

was found against Mr. Whitaker Wright. In his address to the Grand Jury on the previous day the Recorder, after sum- marising the proceedings at the preliminary inquiry, ex-...

Free-Trade Hall, Manchester, on Monday, declared that "the whole weight of experience and responsible authority of all kinds, theoretic and practical, is against these new...

for once seriously preoccupied with the weather. The rain seems as if it would never leave off, and the total downfall in less than ten months has exceeded that of any year...

Passmore Edwards Hall, Tavistock Place, on food prices in relation to poverty declared that England stood in a unique position, since she obtains nearly four-fifths of her...

on August 15th walked out of the Roya,1 Free Hospital, appar- ently to take the air, and then disappeared from human ken, has been partially cleared up. Some boys who were...

great manceuvres which have recently been held in South Africa under the direction of General Lyttelton. The most striking feature, according to the correspondent, was the great...

joined the Free-trade Unionist organisation. We have dealt elsewhere with his letter to Sir Michael Hicks Beach stating that he was willing to join the League, and making...

Consols (21- per cent.) were on Friday 88f.

THE DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE AND THE FREE-TRADE UNIONISTS. • - w -E are heartily glad that the Duke of Devonshire should have definitely joined the Unionist Free- trade party. As we...

W E sympathise with the very natural disappointment of the Canadians in the result of the Alaskan award. Needless to say, we should have been thankful if .the majority of the...

T HE Old Protectionists, the men who two generations ago fought through the controversy now so unex- pectedly revived, had one argument which, at all events, looked strong....

in Paris to the Kinn. of J. Italy, is politically an event of more importance than has as yet been recognised. It marks the liberation, or at least apparent liberation, of...

T HE closing meetings of the Transvaal Labour Com- mission have been made remarkable by the evidenci of one witness, who put the question of white as against coloured labour in...

Hickman, the lady doctor who mysteriously disappeared just over two months ago, and whose body was accidentally discovered on Sunday last in a plantation in Richmond Park by...

T HE days in which the study of English law as the best of all intellectual trainings are probably past. We live in an age of common-sense, and law tends to become a mere...

TARIOUS correspondents of the Standard have contributed V recently to its pages their experiences of the prolonged germinating power of seeds. This latent power of life is...

SIR ROBERT FINLAY AND THE GOVERNMENT. LTO THE EDITOR OP THE SPECTATOR:1 Srn,—The political situation grows more and more incom- prehensible day by day. The Attorney-General,...

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Srn,—Colonial preferential duties admittedly involve a tax on food, and therefore (according to the Prime Minister and the new Ministers who...

rro THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR:1 Srn,—Your exhortation against " tied-house " Imperialism in your issue of October 17th seems to be based upon a misunderstanding nearly as...

[To THE EDITOR OF TEE "SPECTATOR."] have during the past few months read several instructive letters in the Spectator on the subject of preferential tariffs with the Colonies,...

Sin,—Events are moving rapidly with us since Mr. Chamber- lain left Birmingham on his educational mission. Many seem to forget, others deliberately ignore, that there is only...

in the old epoch of Protection, so it would be in the new." That platform orators (whose business it is to create a prejudice against Mr. Chamberlain's proposals) should seek to...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR, — Permit me to draw attention to one aspect of the Protectionist revival which appears not to have attracted sufficient notice. I allude...

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR, — There is one point of interest in connection with the fiscal question which I have not seen dealt with in your columns. Mr....

LTO TUB EDITOIc OP THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,-- , --Several of your correspondents have used the following argument, and I have not seen any direct answer in your pages. We import...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Slit,—I remember some years ago telling Mr. Gladstone at Dalmeny a story of Protection which will bear repetition. When Bright and Cobden...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] Si,—Is it not a departure frOm . the characteristic fairness of the Spectator to taunt Mr. Balfour with having appointed Peers to the...

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR:] Sin,—Your comments on my letter in the Spectator of October 17th convince me that it was not only hastily written but faultily expressed. You...

[TO THE EDITOR OF TEE " SPECTATOR.") Slit,—I have read your article in the Spectator of October 17th on Lord Rosebery's speech with interest. Your keynote is "that freedom is...

rTo THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."1 Sin,—Mr. Chamberlain continues in his speeches to repeat the assertion that his proposals will not add to the cost of living. It may be...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—If Free-trade Unionists are to vote—as they must— against the Government at the next Election, one difficulty anyhow arises which some...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOE:g SIR,—It is an unalloyed pleasure to testify to the conspicuous, and indeed absolute, fairness with which the Spectator (October 17th),...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—I have read with considerable interest " Forewarned's " letter in the Spectator of October 17th, and your comments thereon. May I also...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE "Seam:my-1 SIR,—Such an article as that in the Spectator of October 17th on the (inevitable) Liberal Administration of the near future is of the greatest...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR,—I fear that a casual reader of your courteous review in the Spectator of October 3rd of my last work might gather the impression that I...

THE VICTORY—OCTOBER 21ST. LIKE an ancient seer she lies Burdened with vast prophecies, Holding, from her silent bed, Speech with her immortal dead. Round her berth the tall...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sin,—May I be allowed in the interests of historical accuracy to correct a curious confusion into which the writer of the article upon...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE 'SPECTATOR."] SIR,—Although it is possible that the policy of fiscal retalia- tion against foreigners may not be resented by them, it is also conceivable...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."] Sra,—I know that in these times there are an exceptional number of demands on those who wish to help their fellow country men and—women. But...

THE BIRMINGHAM MUSICAL FESTIVAL. THE forty-fifth Birmingham Festival is past and gone,— famous for bringing together the finest orchestra and chorus ever heard under the...

MR. MORLEY'S LIFE OF GLADSTONE.* [CONCLUDING NOTICE.1 4 ' MILLAIS has now painted two portraits of Mr. Gladstone," said Jowett when the well-known Christ Church portrait...

AT the moment the political position in Australia is the exact converse of the position in England. Here a desperate effort is being made to rivet upon the national limbs the...

Mn. MEYNELL calls this book "an unconventional biography," but that is hardly a description which we can accept. It is in no sense of the word a " biography " ; it is rather a...

discursive sequel to his earlier volume of reminiscences the Dean of Bristol is fully aware that lie lays himself open to criticism. But he goes a long way to disarm his...

THE HEART OF ROME.* THE clash of traditions and creeds—pagan, mediaeval, and modern—finds a more dramatic expression in Rome than in any other capital in the world, and has...

6s.)—In this collection of stories, the first is by far the most important. It is called "A Woman Journalist," and concerns the adventures of a lady of that profession. Though...

THE QUARTERLIES. This strong number of the Edinburgh Review contains some very notable articles. 'The Pontificate of Leo XIII." is a judicial ex- hibition of the forces...

a convict story of old days in Australia. All through the book, and especially towards the end, Mr. Becke's readers cannot complain of any want of incident. The escape of the...

is. 6d. net), is the latest volume of the "Famous Scots Series." We have no fault to find with the tone of this biography. Mr. Barbe appears to be a Jacobite, and regards...

Morning News.) — Sir Roper Lethbridge is a con- vinced "Fair-trader," a term which probably stands to " Pro- tectionist " much as "Conservative" does to "Tory." He supports his...

St. Los Strachey. (Smith, Elder, and Co. 6d. net.)—For obvious reasons we can say nothing in criticism of this contribution to the fiscal controversy. It is written by the...

[Under this heading we notice such Books of a. week as have not been reserved for review in other forms.] Handbook for Speakers on. the Tariff Question. (The Free - Trade Union,...

Arranged by A. R. Waller. (liegan Paul and Co. 7s. 6d. net.)— Mr. Peat was an attache in the Cabinet du Ministre de VInterieur for some years before the Franco-Prussian War. He...

6d. net.) —This is Vol. XV. of the "Handbooks of Practical Gardening," edited by Harry Roberts. Mr. Gordon points out with perfect truth that the great opportunities of shrub...