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THE rate at which "the upward march" of modern militarism still continues is illustrated by the amount of the British Naval Estimates just announced, which reaches the stupendous sum of £26,594,000.

THE Committee has made formal application to the Commissioners of the Paris Exhibition of 1900 for space for a Peace exhibit, and some communication has taken place with Colonel Jekyll, the secretary. In due course they hope to be in a position to appeal to the friends of the cause for co-operation in the production of an exhibit worthy of the Society and of the occasion, and calculated to be useful in connection with that interesting event.

THE European Conference at the Hague has been convoked for May 18th, when the first sitting will take place. It will probably not conclude its labours until the end of June. A list of the Powers to be invited has been received from the Russian Government by the Dutch Foreign Office, by which the invitations will be issued. It is stated that outside Europe only the United States, China, Japan, Persia, and Siam will be invited. Nothing has yet been fixed with regard to the arrangement of the work of the Conference.

COUNT MURAVIEFF has sent a Circular to all the Russian diplomatic representatives abroad instructing them to convey the Tzar's thanks to all those who, by letter or telegram, have expressed their assent to his Majesty's humanitarian work. The Tzar, proceeds the Circular, sees in this assent, added to the acquiescence of the Governments, yet another earnest of the success of his efforts to sow the fruitful principle of universal peace in the public conscience and life.

IT is announced that Russia has appointed M. de Staal, Russian Ambassador at London, Professor Martens, and the Chevalier de Struve, Russian Ambassador at the Hague, to be the Tzar's representatives at the Peace Conference, and that the first will preside over its proceedings. The Marquis Viconti Venosta and Signor di Ressman, it is reported, will represent Italy. The Marquis Venosta was at one time Italian Minister for Foreign Affairs. Nouri Bey, Secretary-General for Foreign Affairs, Rear-Admiral Mehmed Pasha, and General Abdullah Pasha have been appointed assistant delegates to represent Turkey. The principal delegate has not yet been nominated. The American representatives to the Peace Conference at the Hague have not yet been selected, as President McKinley is waiting for some of the European Governments to take action in order to obtain an idea with regard to the number of representatives expected from each nation. The following delegates have also been appointed :-Germany, Herr von Buelow, Baron Marschall von Bieberstein, and Prince Herbert Bismarck. Spain, Count de Rascon and Count Polo de Bernabe. Belgium M. August Beernaert, Chevalier Deschamps David, and Count de Grelle-Rogier. M. Bourgeois, ex-Premier, will, according to the Central News Paris Correspondent, be the French representative.

The report that Sir Julian Pauncefote would in all probability be selected to represent Great Britain has been received with great satisfaction. But that the report was somewhat premature is evidenced by the fact that, in the House of Commons on Monday, March 20th., Mr. Brodrick, replying to Mr. Philip Stanhope, said no announcement could be made as to the choice of the British plenipotentiaries at the Peace Conference at the Hague. Until the formal invitation to the Conference had been received and the date of the meeting fixed it would not be convenient to give any undertaking as to the proposals to be brought forward in the Conference, but her Majesty's Government would be ready to use their best efforts to promote the principal of Arbitration and mediation for the prevention of war. The assurance is most satisfactory.

THE Central News learns that at the Conference the representatives of this country will endeavour to bring about an extension of the principle of Arbitration. Her

Majesty's Government hope that failing anything like a real arrest in the increase of armaments, the Conference will result in a codification of the various causes of war, with fixed limitations, beyond which armed conflicts will be contrary to international law. An effort will also be made at the instance of the British Government to add to the provisions of the Geneva Convention in the direction of lessening the suffering brought about by war. It also states that it is not true that Sir Julian Pauncefote has been appointed a representative of England at the Conference.

WHOEVER may be appointed, and no better man could be found than Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British Government are pledged to co-operate in securing the success of the Conference, and that is the principal thing. Mr. Goschen's words in introducing the Estimates have produced a good impression. They are: "The money required for the new programme in the coming financial year would be £550,000, as the two large cruisers would be commenced late in the year. Besides that, there was a sum of £80,000 for some small steamers. The general result was an increase of £2,016,000 over the ship-building vote of the present financial year. (Hear, hear.) We had been compelled to increase our ship-building expenditure as other nations increased theirs, but he had now to state, on behalf of the Government, that IF THE OTHER GREAT NAVAL POWERS SHOULD BE PREPARED TO DIMINISH THEIR PROGRAMMES OF SHIPBUILDING WE SHOULD BE PREPARED TO MEET SUCH A PROCEDURE BY A CORRESPONDING REDUCTION ON OUR SIDE. (Cheers.) The difficulties of adjustment were no doubt immense, but Her Majesty's Government were sincerely desirous that the Conference should succeed in lightening the burden of expenditure on armaments, which now pressed so heavily upon the nations of Europe."

THE building which Queen Wilhelmina has placed at the disposal of the Peace Conference is her palace known as the "Huis ten Bosch" (House in the Wood). It is situated at a distance of two miles from the Hague, from which town it is separated by a beautiful wood. This palace in the wood was built by Amalia van Solms, after the death of her husband, Stadhouder Frederick Hendrik (1647), son of William the Silent. It was used by the different Stadhouders and Kings of Holland as a summer resort. The late King's first wife, Queen Sophie, used to spend a great part of the year there, and in its gardens Queen Wilhelmina learned to skate. It is a beautiful, quiet spot, a fit place for a Peace Conference.

The palace is interesting from an artistic point of view, and has many rooms of particular artistic value. The Octagonal Room and Orange Room are decorated with paintings by Jordaens, Houthorst, Levens, Van Thulden, Zuntman, all of which reproduce scenes from the life of the Prince Frederik Hendrik besides an allegorical picture representing his triumph over evil temptations. There is a Chinese room decorated with rice paper tapestry of the beginning of last century; a Japanese room resplendent with rare works of art from the Mikado's country; a dining-room whose walls are decorated with mythological scenes by De Wit. Its principal feature is the Orange Room, an enormous

round ball-room, whose ceiling is 45 feet from the floor and which is surmounted by a huge glass dome by which it is lighted. In all probability this room will be devoted to the sittings of the Peace Conference.

THE Press forecast of the Conference says that it will be divided into three sections, each one of which will be independent and will elect its own President. The programme of the first section will be the discussion of the question of Disarmament, or the proportional reduction of effective military forces in times of Peace, with due regard to reserves capable of being mobilised and armed in time of war. The second section will devote its attention solely to questions touching International Arbitration. To the third section will be allotted the preparatory examination of all accessory propositions. The resolutions drawn up and passed by the different sections will not, however, be definitive. They will constitute merely detailed reports, which will afterwards be submitted to the members of the Conference assembled as one body. In the event of a resolution from one of the sections receiving the support of just half the number of the members of the whole Conference it will be submitted for decision to the secret vote of the Arbitration Committee, consisting of the Presidents of the sections.

"How essential it is," says The Christian, "that something should be done in the direction of the forthcoming Peace Conference may be judged from a speech made by the French War Minister in answer to a question why he did not propose to raise the 'effective' of the army. M. Freycinet replied that the population of France being stationary, this increase 'could not go on for ever,' and that the field of war being limited, there was no room for more troops. The suggestion is that the perpetual increase of soldiers has gone on till their very numbers tend to defeat their purpose: on any conceivable battle-field they would become unwieldy and useless, because they would be too thick upon the ground. This is a grim reductio ad absurdum of the situation. Such statements as these go far towards ensuring some practical result from the Conference at the Hague." This is how the St. Mary's Parish Magazine, Woolwich, puts it :— "Here in Woolwich, seeing that we live on the preparation of war material, we are apt to lose sight of the terrible burden that war preparations entail on a nation. It is as if a man, for every £1 he might have spent on the education of his children, had to spend 15s. on iron shutters, revolvers, and policemen, and had only 5s. left for education."

WAR is undoubtedly barbarous. The despatch from Lord Cromer which was laid on the table of the House of Commons contained on the 21st ult. three reports from the Sirdar respecting the occurrences on the day of the battle of Omdurman. In the first Lord Kitchener dealt with the unpleasant necessity of killing wounded Dervishes. This, however, was, he said, confined to those of the enemy who feigned death in order to obtain opportunities of murdering those of our officers and men or friendly natives who might come within their reach, and whatever was done was done with all possible considerations of humanity. The second report referred to collateral occurrences,

and contains vindication of the proceedings of the Anglo-Egyptian forces. The third report concerned the Mahdi's tomb. Lord Kitchener vindicated the steps taken in this connection, which were rendered necessary by the fanatical character of the populace. Had the Mahdi's tomb been left intact, it would have become the objective of fanatical pilgrimages, which would have caused endless mischief to the good government of the Soudan. The Sirdar made no concealment or reservation of his own part in this business. He ordered the demolition of the tomb and the dispersal of the Mahdi's remains, and his instructions were issued for the purpose of being carried out. It is worthy of note that Lord Cromer, in sending on these reports, supported the action taken by the Sirdar in all respects.

A VERY sarcastic letter, of Mr. R. B. Cunninghame Graham, thus refers to the despatch: the words are sharp, but deserved :-"Lord Kitchener (of Khartoum, etc.) and Lord Cromer have undoubted claims to be legally considered English gentlemen: few will deny this statement. They publicly deny shooting the wounded at Khartoum except in a humanitarian fashion. They assert (being Christians) that, acting under Mohammedan advice, they desecrated the tomb of the (so-called) Mahdi, and threw his bones into the Nile, with the exception of the head, about which there still remains some doubt. Now these men being English gentlemen are to be believed, and it would be an insult to them and the rest of their class to require any more proof, as in the case of a common cad, or one who gains his living by commerce or the so-called learned professions. These two noblemen, acting in accord with the recognised privileges of their class, have "affirmed." I as a humble commoner (in common, I have no doubt, with thousands of my inferior caste) am convinced, and I now wish to say that it appears that the wounded were killed at Khartoum only after due deliberation with the best native authorities; that the tomb of the so-called Mahdi was destroyed in honour of Christianity; and that all has been done in the best style of Imperialistic tradition, and is a credit to all concerned."

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IN a trenchant article on the subject, The Daily Chronicle has a more sober, but on that account a more scathing criticism, which thus concludes :-" The desecration of the Mahdi's tomb has always appeared to us of minor importance to the question of killing the wounded, but we consider it a most ungenerous act. Lord Kitchener takes the full responsibility. For political reasons he ordered the bones to be dug up and thrown into the Nile. The head, after being hacked off, has at last, we are happy to hear, been buried at Wady Halfa. Lord Cromer says the desecration was not only justifiable but necessary. We maintain that this was an occasion on which a great nation of overwhelming power might well have afforded to show chivalry to a dead foe. Surely it would have been enough to have destroyed the building over the grave, to have laid it all level with the ground, and have left the bones in peace. We wonder for what ethical or Christian principle this 'justifiable and necessary incident will serve as an illustration in the Soudanese text-books at the Gordon College in Khartoum."

BUT the after effects of war are also barbarous and retrograde and fatal to freedom. England, as all the world knows, took great credit to herself for having abolished the corvée in Egypt. The Daily News is therefore justified when it says: "It now seems to be about time to ask the Sirdar for an explanation of his extraordinary re-establishment of the corvée, to which we referred a few days ago. There can be no doubt about it. Side by side with the fact that we have smashed the Khalifa and taken Khartoum, is this other fact that we have put the corvée in full swing again. The corvée, in plain English, is simply forced labour for Government use, and it is a recognised stage of feudal slavery. The Sirdar wants labour for his railways and other public works-wants it, of course, more than ever, if only for the building of that Gordon College which is to bring civilisation to the Soudan. As he needs this, he requisitions it of the Egyptian Government, in the terms of navvies, plate-layers, carpenters, masons, and what not. The Egyptian Government sends to the Civil Governors, and the Governors find the men. They find them by telling them that they are conscripts, and they give them conscripts' pay. If they found them openly in the labour market they would have to pay them the wages of their trade, or from four to eight, and even sixteen times as much as they now get as soldiers drafted into the army against their will."

:

THE real character of the proceedings is thus described "It is a subtle device, in fact, for saving in the standard rate of wages; and, as a thing done in the name of England, it is about on a par with the desecration of the Mahdi's tomb. It will not do. Asked lately what the Government thought of it, at question time, Mr. Brodrick said, first, that they had heard nothing of compulsory employment on the railways, and next that all the workmen were soldiers-that is to say, persons compulsorily employed. So they juggle with words in our House of Talk. Louis XIV. built Versailles by the corvée, but he did it without phrases. he had only thought of first enrolling his labourers in a service of Military Works, he might have saved all the scandals that brought on the Revolution-or have brought it on before its time."

If

BRITISH bondage for native races is unfortunately too common. The St. James's Gazette continues its useful exposures of the terrible treatment of natives in West Australia. These poor "indentured" servants are sometimes horribly used by their masters. In recent cases which the local police insisted on bringing before the Bench, four out of five of the defendants were magistrates. The following is a sample charge :"The story told by the complainant, and corroborated in the main by his witnesses, was that he was put in the stocks one afternoon, and was kept there all through the night. Succeeding in breaking out of the fowl-house, in which he had been placed, but not in freeing himself from the stocks, he was discovered by Mr. Brockman, who kicked him about the face, inflicting a wound from which blood streamed. He was left in the fowl-house, and in the morning, with the stocks still on his legs, he was flogged with a whip made of strips of bullock hide. He was then released from the stocks, was given

IN more than one case the real cause of offence was said to have been of this description, though of course other causes were alleged in excuse. In one instance, the servant was said to have been insubordinate; in another, he had run away in contravention of the terms of his precious indenture. In spite of certain denials on the part of the defendant, the case was made out to the satisfaction of his brother magistrates, and he was fined £5. By latest advices he was still in the Commission of the Peace, though his removal had been called for. In fact, as soon as he had been fined, he resumed his place on the Bench, and assisted in imposing a fine of £20 on a man who had supplied a native with liquor. What is wanted is a good strong breeze of public opinion in these Australian wilds. In too many cases the local press is but a dumb dog.

"WHAT can war but endless war still breed?" This question of the poet receives constant and ample illustration. It matters not who wages it, or for what purpose, war is always the same in character, and, so far from settling anything, is the most prolific parent of unsettlement and of manifold and indescribable evils. A war waged in the name of humanity, justice, and all the virtues, is no exception. The war in the Philippines-commenced as a part of the great war undertaken by the United States on behalf of humanity, order, and, above all, of liberty-what is it to-day? Wherein does it differ from the most barefaced invasion and theft of the older and degenerate Europeans? Away with pretence and hypocrisy ! Evil never ends in good, and to do evil that good may come is the flimsiest of shallow sophistries.

HERE is a glimpse of the Philippine war-only one, and by no means the worst :-"The Helena' and the army gunboats shelled Malabon and the country beyond, while the Monadnock' focussed her batteries on Paranaque for two hours, with the object of destroying the enemy's stores. Great columns of smoke are rising from the town, which is still held by the Insurgents, and the results of the bombardment are not yet ascertainable. The evacuation of Malabon by the enemy was a very picturesque spectacle. It amounted to a rout. About 1,000 men, women and children, laden with household goods, could be seen pouring out across the swamps. Many carried fighting cocks, one of the Filipino's dearest treasures, under their arms. Early in the morning the Insurgents exploded an ammunition caisson on the railway bridge for the purpose of barring the American advance." But why are the Americans now advancing to free the Filipinos?

"A LITTLE less wholesale murder, and make it cheaper," say these falsely-styled "Peace" advocates. In this they claim to be practical, while, in truth, they are wholly impractical, failing to see that the practical issue lies, not between war and less war, but between all war and its opposite, Peace.-JOHN C. KENWORTHY,

ARBITRATION JOTTINGS.

LORD HERSCHELL'S DEATH.

THE unexpected and sudden death of Lord Herschell created unfortunate vacancies on two great International Commissionsthe Anglo-American Commission and the Venezuelan Arbitration Commission. This is the second vacancy caused by death on the former Commission; and, happily, the vacancy in the latter will not undo what has been accomplished towards a settlement of the Venezuelan boundary question.

HIS SUCCESSOR.

Already, indeed, steps have been taken to avoid this by the appointment of a successor. It was not easy to fill his place; for it was necessary to select a trained jurist, a judge of wellbalanced mind, and a personage of such mark and distinction that his authority, at all events among those who are loyal subjects of the British crown, would be unquestionable. But these conditions have been fulfilled by the selection of Lord Russell of Killowen, the Lord Chief Justice of England, who has been offered, and has accepted, the appointment of member of the Arbitration Court on the Venezuelan question, in succession to the late Lord Herschell. The appointment is the best that could have been made.

POSTPONEMENT OF THE COMMISSION.

The members of the Venezuelan Boundary Court of Arbitration have decided to postpone their meeting in Paris until after the Conference on Armaments at the Hague is concluded. Professor Martens, of St. Petersburg University, is a member of both bodies. The date for opening the proceedings in Paris is left open at present, but it will probably be about the 15th June. THE DELAGOA BAY ARBITRATION.

The award in the Anglo-Portuguese dispute respecting Delagoa will probably be given in June or July. The experts have given their final report to the Swiss Federal Tribunal, which has passed it on to the interested parties. They in turn will present their pleadings thereon towards the end of March. A question by Mr. Weir in the House of Commons, which was intended to expedite the most tardy procedure of this Tribunal, received the reply from Mr. Brodrick, on the 20th March, that the Government was aware that certain inquiries with regard to the value of land at Lorenzo Marques were being made for the information of the Arbiters. The Government could not, however, as had already been stated, interfere in a matter which was under Arbitration.

THE MANICA LAND ARBITRATION.

The Portuguese Commissioners for the delimitation of the Manica land boundaries have informed their Government that they have arrived at an understanding with their English_colleagues respecting the marking out of the British and Portuguese territories. The line of demarcation fixed by the Arbitrator has been slightly modified, mutual concessions having been made. The Commissioners have had maps of the new delimitation prepared for transmission to their Governments.

BRITISH GUIANA AND BRAZIL.

The Brazilian Government has accepted the British proposal to submit the Guiana boundary question to Arbitration. Señor Joaquim Nabuco, formerly secretary to the Brazilian Legation in London, has been appointed Commissioner to negotiate the Arbitration Treaty with Great Britain and prepare the case.

ITALY AND COLOMBIA.

The Cerruti incident, which arose from the failure of Colombia to comply with the whole of the award of President Cleveland as Arbiter, and occasioned a rupture between Italy and Colombia, has been finally settled. Colombia will pay 1,500,000 dollars. ANGLO-FRENCH AGREEMENT.

The negotiations which have been carried on between Lord Salisbury and M. Cambon, the French Ambassador in London, regarding the delimitation of the respective spheres of Great Britain and France in Africa, have led to the conclusion of an arrangement which takes the form of a supplement to the Niger Convention, concluded last year. The arrangements provide for the appointment of a mixed Commission, which will complete the delimitation on the spot.

FRENCH GUIANA AND BRAZIL.

A letter received at New York from Kingston (Jamaica), dated the 14th February, contained news from Cayenne that a collision was reported to have taken place between the escorts of the French and Brazilian Commissions sent to enquire into the boundary question. There were no details, and it was not known whether any bloodshed occurred, but the French Governor had sent a force of 200 men to the front to reinforce the escort.

ARGENTINA AND CHILI.

The long-standing disputes between these two Republics are at length in a fair way towards settlement, two Commissions having been appointed for the purpose--a British Commission for the settlement of the larger questions, and a mixed Commission for the settlement of the particular question of the Puña de Atacama boundary; the Commissioners and Arbitrators forming the latter have given their final award, part of the Argentine and part of the Chilian boundary lines being recognised. The British tribunal, of which Lord Macnaghten is president and Sir John Ardagh and Sir Thomas Holdich are members, appointed for the purpose of investigating and reporting on the boundary dispute between Argentina and Chili, held its first meeting on the afternoon of March 27th at the Foreign Office. Meantime the Argentine Minister in London had received a cablegram from his Government, giving a detailed account of the points which had been settled by the Buenos Ayres Commission as to the boundary between the two countries. A Reuter's mail letter from Valparaiso furnishes an interesting report of the recent fraternisation of the Presidents of the two Republics at Punta Arenas.

THE AWARD.

The message received by the Argentine Minister from his Government, which is of value as an historical document, was as follows:

"Buenos Ayres, March 25th, 1899.

"I beg to acquaint you that, in pursuance of what was established, the demarcation commission for the delimitation of the Puña de Atacama, composed of the Hon. Mr. Buchanan (the American Minister), an Argentine and a Chilian delegate, who have met for this purpose in this city, have just fixed the following boundary line-From the intersection of parallel 23° with the 67° meridian a straight line up to the summit of Cerro del Rincon, another straight line from the summit of Cerro del Rincon up to the summit of volcano Socompa. The boundary line will continue to run from the summit of volcano Socompa up to the place named Aguas Blancas in the Argentine maps, through the points and stretches nained volcano Socompa, the point numbered 29 in the proposal of the Argentine Commissioner mentioned in the protocol dated Santiago, September 1st, 1898, the Mount Socompa Carpis, Mount Tecar, principal point of the range of mountains between Tecar and Mount Inca, Mount Inca, Mount Zorra Vieja, Mount Llullaillaco, point 39 in the Argentine proposal, Corrida de Cori, volcano Azufre or Lastarria, crest of Azufre or Lastarria up to Mount Bayo, point No. 48 of the Argentine proposal, Mount Agua de la Falda, Mount Aguas Blancas. In continuation of the boundary line, a straight line which, starting from the summit Cerro Aguas Blancas, reaches the summit of Mounts Colorados; thence another straight line up to the summit of Mounts Lagunas Bravas, and another straight line from the summit of Lagunas Bravas up to the summit of Sierra Nevada, so specified in the Argentine map, and there reckoned as 6,400 mètres high. Finally, a straight line which, starting from the last-mentioned point, shall reach that to be fixed in parallel 26° 52′ 45 as the boundary line in that point between the two countries by her Majesty's Government, in conformity with the protocol of September 22nd, 1898, signed at Santiago de Chile by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Chile and the Minister Plenipotentiary of the Argentine Republic.

"A. ALCORTA."

DISARMAMENT FOLLOWS ARBITRATION. The Argentine Government, says the Times, have telegraphed to their Military Commissioner in Germany to arrange with Herr Krupp to supply 500 kilomètres of a Decauville railway instead of the guns and armaments previously ordered, which have not been supplied. The railway is intended for Patagonia.

THE SECRETARY'S MEETINGS. MUCH of the work during the past month is not capable of being chronicled. At least four or five committee meetings per week in connection with the Peace Crusade, generally long ones, have been attended, besides meetings of a more public character, ENFIELD.

An interesting gathering took place in support of the Tzar's Rescript, on Monday evening, the 20th February, in connection with the Church of St. Mary Magdalene's, Enfield. The chair was occupied by the Rev. G. F. Turner, vicar, and the address given by Dr. Darby, secretary of the Peace Society. At the close of the lecture, opportunity for questions was given, and a series of informal after-lectures was the result. The warm thanks of the meeting were accorded to the lecturer.

UCKFIELD.

was

A meeting in support of the Peace Crusade was held on Tuesday night, February 28th, at the Town Hall, Uckfield. Mr. C. H. Corbett, J.P., occupied the chair and supported on the platform by the Rev. J. D. Davies (Uckfield), Rev. G. S. Pownall (Buxted), Dr. W. Evans Darby (from the Central Committee), Mr. S. S. Avis, and Mr. J. Wilkinson. The chairman said that the suggestion which promoted the meeting, coming first from Russia, created great surprise, but if they considered it, the Emperor of Russia, having the largest army, suffered more than any from excessive armaments. The scheme would not be successful unless they all tried to make it so (hear, hear). They must all do their share in forming public opinion in favour of universal Peace. Speaking as a Christian, he must say that after 1,900 years of Christianity it seemed surprising that they had done so little in the service of the Prince of Peace. If England had an army as large as any continental nation, we should be at Peace with nobody, for it struck him very forcibly that the English were the most pugnacious nation in the world. Excessive armaments were so costly in the times of Peace that there was very little money left for war, but we had gone quite far enough in that. They were not trying to persuade foreign nations that they should dismiss all their soldiers and sailors. That was impossible. What they were trying to do was to aim at some international arrangement by which things should stop at the point at which they were now.

After the lecture by Dr. W. Evans Darby, the Rev. J. D. Davies moved: "That this meeting, representing the inhabitants of Uckfield and neighbourhood, appreciate the peaceful sentiments of his Imperial Majesty the Emperor of Russia in his memorable Rescript. They heartily approve of the proposed International Conference on the question of excessive armaments; they note, with satisfaction, that her Majesty's responsible advisers have engaged to send representatives to the said Conference, and they would fain hope that the issue may be the avoidance of future wars, and the lessening of present military burdens." He said they were not "Peace at any price" people, but they wanted to see Peace in vogue which would be acceptable to all. Christianity had done a great deal; that was one thing left for it to do. Rev. G. S. Pownall seconded, referring to the poverty of some of the Continental nations, particularly in Italy, where the army was kept up at the price of the honesty of its people. The Rev. J. D. Davies was elected a representative to the National Convention, and votes of thanks concluded the meeting.

LUTON.

On Tuesday evening, March 14th, a meeting convened by the Luton Society of Friends was held at the Friends' Meeting House, Castle Street, to advocate the cause of Peace, and support the recent manifesto of the Tzar. There was a fairly large gathering, presided over by Mr. J. R. Marsh, C.C., supported by the speaker of the evening, Dr. W. Evans Darby (Secretary of the Peace Society), and others.

Before commencing the meeting, the Chairman read a letter from Mr. B. J. H. Forder, expressing regret at his unavoidable absence owing to being engaged at another meeting in the town, but saying that his sympathy was with them in the cause of Peace and goodwill. He had also received verbal apologies from the Mayor (Councillor G. Warren) and the Deputy Mayor (Alderman Hucklesby), they being detained at an important Town Council meeting.