on Thursday Sir Charles Dilke challenged the Govern- ment to' declare whether Mr. Chamberlain's revolutionary views on fiscal reform were shared by his colleagues. Mr. Balfour...

for abandoning in its absolute form the doctrine that revenue was never to be raised except for national expendi- ture. He declared that if foreign countries held that our...

M R. CHAMBERLAIN'S proposals for fiscal reform, and their discussion in the House of Commons, have practically eclipsed all other political topics . during the week. On Friday,...

to move by the aid of the old-age , pensions engine remains to. be seen. Personally, we do not believe he will. For ourselves, we are by no means averse to old-age pensions, and...

our fiscal system was involved in the policy be had outlined, or that there was any difference between himself and the Premier, or any inconsistency between his utterances and...

child be a daughter, to publish a new Law of Succession, under which, on a failure of sons, the eldest daughter of the reigning Sovereign would, as in England, succeed to the...

about Thibet. The Chinese "Imperial Resident" in that country reports that he has summoned the " Councillors " of the State, and has explained to them that England, being...

Hartmann at Essen because, being drunk, he omitted to salute him, has been sentenced to degradation and four years' imprisonment. The outrage was, it appears, contrary to...

the journals of Brussels, to put' forward a' defend() of the monopolies it has sold, which are the grand cause of the oppressions in the State. Its defence is substantially that...

said to have been forwarded by M. Plehve to Bessarabia directing the Governor responsible for Kisbineff not to use arms in protecting the Jews. A lawyer, however, who was...

which is alarmed about Morocco as well as about the internal situation, would gladly make a close alliance with any Great Power. The German Emperor has accordingly offered him-...

so far to have succeeded. There has been no popular demon- stration in Bulgaria. General Petroff has gathered the reins of power into his hand, and the Bulgarian Government now...

Sultan of Sokoto, whom we dispossessed the other day, has found adherents in the interior, and is making an effort to regain his throne. He has regained his " sacred" banner,...

of the London Education Bill, which passed through Committee on Tuesday night, has been without parallel in recent Parliamentary history. On Monday the Government, amending...

organised by the Nonconformist clergy and other opponents of the policy of the Government in education went off very well on Saturday last. Large processions con- verged without...

the speeches delivered at the banquet to Sir Michael Herbert in New York on Tuesday. Mr. John Hay, though unable to be present, wrote to " congratulate Great Britain and the...

strength of national Fleets shows that Great Britain has by far the strongest Fleet upon the sea. She has forty-eight battleships, including four of the second and two of the...

a series of accidents so serious, both to the public and to the automobilists, that it was stopped by official action when the competitors reach Bordeaux. Three persons on the...

Consols (24 per cent.) were on Friday 911.

OLD-AGE PENSIONS AND PREFERENTIAL DUTIES. G RANTED that a workable scheme for old-age pensions can be devised, and one which will not impose too great a financial burden on the...

telegram from its correspondent in Pekin which, though it has attracted little attention, contains news that may hereafter prove to have been of great importance. The British...

T HE situation presented at the moment by the position of the education question in England is without parallel. Everybody seems determined to do eitherthe wrong thing, or else...

M R. BALFOUR is usually at his best when he takes part in one of those general discussions, often arising out of some very trifling question, which give agreeable variety to the...

A " DEMONSTRATION " like that of Saturday last in Hyde Park has in it something that is impressive to politicians, though it is exceedingly difficult to define in what the...

T HE quarrels of specialists, as a rule, arouse no profound interest in the minds of that large section of mankind which is represented by " the person of average intelligence."...

T O thinking men, anxious that the prosperity of a great and rising industry should not be imperilled, and even more anxious that prejudice and blind conservatism should no...

P REMISING that not even trout-fishing leads to such familiarity with the beauties of the country at the best season of the year as does the quest for the eggs and nests of...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR." J Sin, It is always a pleasure to have Martin Luther's Bible in church. It helps to preserve one's dwindling stock of German, and at the same...

nothing new under the sun. On May 18th, 1849, an influential meeting was held at Glasgow, and there was born the " West of Scotland Reciprocity Associa- tion." The resolution...

FREE-TRADE AND THE COLONIES. [To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sut,—Probably Mr. Chamberlain and his friends would attach some weight to the opinion of Mill. Now what Mill...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR.") Slit,—Three years ago you were kind enough to print certain letters of mine respecting canteens in the Army, and to support by your...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR." _I SIR,—" Scrutator" writes : " Middle East' is in error in saying that the Treaty of Berlin made Batoum a "free port." ' The Czar...

[To TIER EDITOR OF TEE "SPRCTATOR.1 SIR, - YOU allude to Lord Rosebery's character of Shelburne. Your readers may like to see the whole passage, which is to be found in his...

[TO THE EDITOR OP THE 'SPECTATOR.^] Sin,—Events have moved rapidly in Alsace-Lorraine during the past twelve months. Exactly a year ago the German Emperor, with characteristic...

[TO TUE EDITOR OP THE "SPECTATOR."] STR,—The death of Mr. Ernest de Bunsen, to whom the Times devoted an obituary notice last week, affords occasion for offering you a...

[TO THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR.") SIR, —Your correspondent "Scrutator " in his lettei. on " The Relations of Great Britain witli Russia " which appeared in the Spectator of...

[To THB EDITOR OF THE " SPECTITOR.1 SIR,—The able article which discusses this point in your issue of May 16th recalls to my mind the sentiments expressed more than forty years...

[To THE EDITOR OF TEIE "SPECTATOR. "] SIR,—As an old subscriber to your paper, I feel that you will accord me a short space wherein to answer several of your reviewer's...

TUB "SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The article on the above subject (Spectator, May 16th) rightly suggests that if the Prayer-book is regarded as a whole, its indebtedness on literary...

GYPSY MOTHER-SONG. GOLD aglow on the gorse, And kingly purple over the heather; And lilies on the river's course Lifting their silver cups together. Lullaby and hushaby !...

LONDON AND CHRISTIANITY.* IT is with a sense of amazement and, at the first reading, almost of despair that the present writer has studied this great work, the fourth attempt...

THERE is one personage in history who never loses his interest,—Napoleon. The controversies which rage about his name are never likely to be settled, and every fresh fact that...

Tunas Memoirs are by Babar'a daughter, and those who knot the fascination of the father's autobiography will understand the interest with which we opened the reminiscenoes of...

on the history of Scotland there is no end ; yet there was room for a work like this, which, while treating of the period when Presbytery and Episcopacy were struggling for...

Co. 6s.)—An atmosphere of sordid intrigue envelops this novel, and it is a certain relief when an honest murder breaks the thread of plot and counterplot. There is, as is usual...

is a powerful but disagreeable novel, which is not, however, so vulgar as its title. We have often protested against the mixture of invented characters and real political...

—Charles Hanbury, a young aristocrat who has so misused his opportunities that he has become a clerk in a New York dry-goods store, allies himself with a gang of thieves, and...

NO HERO.* A mu:WEB—if he is human--cannot but have a kindness for an author who is kind to his characters. Of late years the contrary tendency has been so marked that we have...

a plaintive note in Mr. Percy White's latest novel to which the reader is quite unaccustomed. The story opens with an unsuc- cessful love affair on the part of its narrator,...

(Gay and Bird. ls.)—Words of Wisdom. By the Rev. G. T. P. Streeter, B.A. (George Bell and Sons. 2s.)—These two little books present the words of Christ as they are recorded in...

GERMAN AMBITIONS. German Ambitions. By " Vigilans sed/Equus." (Smith, Elder, and Co. 2s. 6d. net.)—The letters which appeared in our "Correspondence" columns above this...

[Under this heading we notice each Books of the week as have stet Mss reserved for review in other forms.] Ibex Shooting on the Himalayas. By Major N. Taylor. (Sampson Low,...

Arthur SherwelL (Grant Richards. 2s. 6d. net.)—Messrs. Rown- tree and Sherwell return to the vexed question of the Gothenburg system, and the general policy of putting the sale...

main plot of this dory is the love of George Buckley for Lydia Cranston. He has everything against him,—poverty, a disreputable father, and a temptation, at one time very...

The Dangers of the Apostolic Age. By the Right Rev. James Moorhouse, D.D., Bishop of Manchester. (Macmillan and Co. 3s. net.)—Bishop Moorhouse recognises three great dangers...

(W. Heinemann. 6s.)—The Spectator, in reviewing Mr. Fox Bourne's book about the Congo Free State, pointed out as one of the evils caused by Belgian misgovernment the...

Black, 80s.) is certainly a triumph of the typographical art as regards both paper and print. The volume is of great but not intolerable weight, and it contains two thousand...

like to know whether or no this is a true story. Inter esting in any case, it would then be a remarkable record of ex- perience. In such experiences we heartily believe. If we...

Vincent. (Isbister and Co. 16s.)—These " Memories " occupy a large volume of nearly five hundred pkges. Much of their interest it local; some of the persons commemorated were...

is "The Library of Standard Biographies" (Hutchinson and Co.), which will be devoted to reprints of famous Lives. We note to-Gbiy in this charming series Memoirs of Napoleon...

This little volume is addressed, in the main, to girls leaving elementary schools. It puts before them the courses open to them. These may be roughly divided into a continuation...

Lane-Poole describes Islam from the point of view of a friendly observer. He brings out its strong points, the chief among them being, perhaps, its brotherhood. Christian...