THE

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sum larger than the whole revenue of some Continental States-in adding to the strength of the strongest navy in the world is remarkable enough in itself. But the reason alleged for this enormous outlay makes it a still more ominous event. Mr. Goschen is quite frank about it. Russia, he says, has just begun a new naval programme, which includes, besides the ships before arranged for, four battleships, six powerful cruisers, and several torpedo destroyers. Therefore we respond with four better battleships, six still more powerful cruisers, and a dozen torpedo destroyers. And in order that there may be no mistake, Mr. Goschen tells us in language not to be misunderstood that they are specially built to go safely through the Suez Canal, and to encounter at an advantage the Russian warships on the China station. So the madness grows. And this is what the Press calls "besting the Russians."

THE Parliamentary Representative of the Daily Chronicle, whatever that may mean, it is not generally understood that newspapers, as such, are represented in the House of Commons, wrote on the following day :—“I have often commented on the almost entire extinction of the Peace party in this Parliament, and the war scares of the last year have almost completed the process of annihilation. In the old days, Mr. Goschen's speech would have been followed by protests from the party of retrenchment. But last night he was followed by Lord Charles Beresford, who naturally rejoiced at finding that the Government had even gone beyond the programme which he himself sketched out the other day in the papers. On the whole, the programme finds few critics, except in mere technical details."

SIR WILLIAM HARCOURT'S criticisms of Mr. Goschen's scheme were confined almost entirely to the financial side. He blamed the Lord of the Admiralty severely for the very curious method which has been adopted in regard to the finance of the new programme, which he protested against as unprecedented and irregular, a charge to which Mr. Goschen practically made no reply. Though the scheme has been now launched in the House, the Supplementary Estimate for the new ships is not to be brought on until next Session. Thus the scheme was not brought before the House in a way that could lead to a direct vote for and against. Mr. Goschen would not say whether the House was to be considered pledged to the

scheme; and technically it is plain that it remains free. But the ships are to be begun, and it will virtually be impossible for the House to stop the programme at a later stage. Spread over four years, as proposed, the additional expenditure represents an additional penny on the income-tax.

LORD CHARLES BERESFORD had evidently been using the Russian bugbear to some purpose in his newspaper campaign preparatory to this statement in the House; although it seems to have been overlooked that his lordship had stated that the 51 millions which, according to the information he had received "from a thoroughly reliable and trustworthy Russian source," Russia intended to spend in seven years included “the ordinary naval expenditure," whereas our ordinary expenditure in seven years would be about three times as much.

ALL this, however, turned out to be a little too previous. For, a day later, it was stated that Mr. Goschen's announcement of the proposed expenditure of eight millions sterling, to meet the Russian shipbuilding programme, was contemporaneous, according to the Moscow correspondent of the Standard, with the sudden stoppage of Russian naval expenditure. The Extraordinary Vote of 90,000,000 roubles, which was recently announced as about to be devoted to building new ships for the Russian navy, but which has hardly yet been touched, has, according to this correspondent, been virtually abandoned. After the "Oregon" made her brilliant voyage from California to the West Indies, a representative of the Union Ironworks of San Francisco, the firm which built her, was summoned in haste to St. Petersburg to receive a Russian order for battleships. The Standard correspondent says that the Russian Government changed its mind after the representative's arrival, and is ordering none. In view of our own Supplementary Estimates, it is added, this statement possesses extreme importance, and it is earnestly to be hoped that the Foreign Office and the Admiralty will make a combined effort to secure promptly either confirmation or disproof. It would not be according to precedent, however, if confirmation should mean withdrawal on our part too. Any excuse will do if it secures more and yet more expenditure.

THE millionaires, says the Christian World, will have to wait-probably for ever-before Sir William Harcourt's death duties are taken off. Lord Feversham, in the House of Lords, protested against their continuance, but Lord Salisbury told him that the Government had to make the best of a situation it had not created, and while the state of the world required that they should maintain large and costly armaments it was impossible for them to part with so rich a source of revenue, even though they might have their doubts whether it was assessed in the very fairest manner. That is enough to make every millionaire a handsome subscriber to the Peace Society right away.

IN another department of public policy, Sir Mountstuart Grant-Duff's remarks, in his recent speech at Elgin, about Indian frontier policy, are more than

interesting :-"The Afghan war," he said, "cost some twenty millions, effected nothing worth effecting at all, and has left a legacy of mischief of which we are far from having seen the end. All that we have done since we departed from the wise policy of Lord Lawrence on the North-West Frontier has been a mistake. Some of the steps on the downward road have been made inevitable by previous steps. That I do not deny, but the whole policy from the first has been radically unsound. One of its many bad effects has been the recent war, which has certainly not redounded to the credit of our statesmen, although it has brought deserved honour to many officers and privates, not least to our native auxiliaries. The meaning of the whole series of disastrous blunders which have been made since, twenty years ago, in defiance of all the best opinions, we advanced to Quetta, is simply this, that the soldiers at Simla captured the civilians, and made more than one Viceroy the prey of their bow and of their spear. I cannot blame the soldiers; they looked at the matter from a purely professional point of view.. But I do blame Viceroys, who had no

such excuse."

"THE soldiers at Simla captured the civilians "— which is, we suppose, what Sir Henry Fowler meant in his excellent protest, at the beginning of the present Session, against the predominance of the military element in the Viceroy's Council. It by no means follows that, because just now there is no fighting on the frontier, Peace has been permanently established; and these earnest and suggestive words carry a serious warning. "Until our Viceroys," remarks the Daily News, "free themselves from the influence of Commanders-in-Chief, and of Simla military society, we shall flounder about doing nothing but bringing Russian bayonet points towards our frontiers." And this finale, let it be observed, is confidently expected, and daily discussed by everybody, everywhere in the East, from the Mediterranean to the China Sea.

ELIHU BURRITT, and the noble band who were associated with him in the advocacy of Peace, and of an Ocean Penny Postage as a means of promoting Peace, were simply ahead of their time. The seed they scattered is ripening to the harvest. At last it has been secured that letter postage of 1d. per half-ounce shall be established between the United Kingdom, Canada, Newfoundland, the Cape Colony, Natal, and such of the Crown Colonies as may, after communication with and approval of her Majesty's Government, be willing to adopt it. The present rate is 24d. The reduction will come into effect on November 9th next, the Prince of Wales's birthday. Mr. Henniker-Heaton, to whose untiring efforts this reform is largely due, well says:"This glorious message of England to her Colonies will send a thrill of joy throughout the British Empire. There is scarcely a family in England but has a relative in some part of the world, and I undertake to say that the first ship that carries the penny postage letters will contain tens of thousands of messages from the old folks at home." He adds :-"I am bound to say that we should never have got the penny rate if it had not been for Mr. Joseph Chamberlain, Sir Wilfrid Laurier, and the able Postmaster-General of Canada. I am not exaggerating when I say that there has never

been such a happy message given to the British people working their way through forests and over mountains in far off lands." Such a measure will do more to consolidate the Empire than the building of a host of warships would. It is for those who to-day are following the old workers to remember that this is one partmerely a detail-of our great Peace progress which, like the flowing tide, is sweeping onward momently, though perhaps not always perceptibly.

THE Cretan difficulty is still unsettled, though it is to be hoped it is on the way to settlement. Reuter's correspondent at Constantinople, writing under date 10th. ult., says "The Cretan question is once more to the front, and is again the subject of much discussion. The recent measures decreed by the four Powers, but which in reality are the work of Russia, are severely criticised here. The crux of the question, viz., the reintegration of the Mohammedans in their properties and the withdrawal of the Ottoman troops, appears to have been carefully avoided in the new arrangement. Yet so long as this question is not disposed of there will be no permanent settlement in Crete. The impression is daily gaining ground here that Russia is working for her own ends in Crete, und that the advocacy of Prince George is not disinterested."

IN its circular to the Powers the Porte points out that the Cretan organic law provides that the Cretan Assembly shall be elected every two years, and be composed of Mussulman and Christian members. There is no such Assembly in the island at present, and the one which the admirals will invite to appoint an executive committee for the provisional administration of the interior of the island is nothing else but an assembly of insurgent chiefs. "To entrust to this Assembly," continues the circular, "the administration, even provisionally, of a portion of the island would be to legalise their status to the detriment of the Mohammedans, whose interests are multiple." The Porte, concludes the circular, is unable to admit the situation which would be produced by the execution of the decision of the four Powers, and declines all responsibility for the consequences which may arise therefrom. That is its attitude.

NOTWITHSTANDING, the Elections have been held for the Cretan Assembly, which was formerly composed of thirty deputies for each province, but will henceforth consist of only six for each. This Assembly has unanimously accepted in principle the scheme for the provisional administration of the island proposed by the Powers, whereby the Assembly will govern the interior and the foreign admirals the coast towns of the island; and their reply to the Note of the Admirals, regarding the establishment of a Provisional Administration for Crete, states that the President of the Assembly is about to send a communication to the foreign Consuls informing them of the Assembly's acceptance of the scheme. makes, however, a reservation as to the early withdrawal of the Turkish troops still remaining in the island, prior to which native Mussulmans will not be allowed to proceed into the interior. The reply also makes certain proposals regarding the organisation of the Executive Committee, the appointment of additional members, the independence of the Administrators-General and of

It

the district commanders, the right of the Committee to promulgate laws not relating to taxes or imposts, and the establishment of a criminal assize court, and Cretan gendarmery with freedom of action in all districts,

A LATER despatch from Rome, however, dated July 25th, states that the Powers intend to occupy Crete permanently instead of nominating a governor and forming a provisional administration. Russia desires a port in the Mediterranean and Italy wishes to keep Suda Bay, where her late Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Marquis Visconti Venosta, laid the foundations of a permanent occupation. This is by no means unlikely. It is well known that Russia's desire for a port in the Mediterranean, quite a legitimate thing in itself, lay behind the Armenian affair, and if her obtaining possession of a port in Crete will put an end to her intrigues on the mainland, and her incitement of the tion of this unhappy island would not be an unmixed evil. poor Armenians to get themselves killed, such a parti

THAT, however, is hardly likely. The solution of the difficult and long-standing "Eastern Question" is, it is to be feared, not yet. The Greek war indemnity has been paid; the provisions of the Turco-Greek Treaty of Peace have been carried out; the Turks have at last evacuated Thessaly, and the Greeks have re-entered on their spoiled and ravaged province. So far, good! But the Sultan repudiates all responsibility for losses incurred by his foreign subjects during the Armenian massacres, and the arguments employed by the Porte to justify its refusal in its replies to the various Governments which have sent in claims, have produced a very bad impression in diplomatic circles. An attempt to land 150 fresh Turkish soldiers in Crete has been prevented by the foreign naval authorities there; and it is clear that the Porte is resolved to maintain, if possible, its status quo, with its abminable misrule. Meanwhile there is still considerable unrest in the Balkan provinces, where the Russian Minister at Sofia has been making a tour, which is said, to have resembled a triumphal procession, and where the situation, as seen from Vienna, is thus summed up in the Morning Leader: "Russia's aggressive policy in the Balkans is viewed with suspicion here. The Austro-Russian entente, of which so much was talked last year, has long since ceased to exist, and the rivalry of Austria and Russia is now as keen as it ever was. When these two Powers, as at the time of the Græco-Turkish war, combine to keep the Balkan princes in order, the latter have no choice but to submit. When, however, Austria and Russia are busily engaged in intriguing against each other the peace of the Balkans may at any time be disturbed."

THE Anglo-American League, observes the Daily News, at its inaugural meeting did wisely to steer clear of Mr. Chamberlain's "alliance." That way danger lies. For the moment, it is true, Mr. Chamberlain's speech was, on the whole, well received by the American Press. It came at a time when British goodwill was highly appreciated, and the spirit of it was more considered than the terms. But when the stage of reflection and criticism arrives the idea of an aggressive, and especially of an anti-French and anti-Russian, Alliance, as the basis of Anglo-American re-union, will assuredly

be repudiated. The Anglo-American League has adopted a more judicious formula. It is that "every effort should be made in the interests of civilisation and peace to secure the most cordial and constant cooperation between the two nations." Even this resolution would not satisfy the Chicago patriots, whose resolutions are just published, and at any rate the AngloAmerican League avoids the objections which even moderate and reasonable men in the United States entertain, first to the idea of an Alliance on any terms, and, more especially, to an alliance on Mr. Chamberlain's terms of hostility to France and Russia.

THE Fourth of July has received special observance this year owing to the general sentiment as to a closer rapprochement between Great Britain and the States. It has been celebrated in a variety of ways ; in London by a great banquet of the American Society at the Hotel Cecil, when the menu bore the following lines, written by Whittier :

When closer strand shall lean to strand,
Till meet beneath saluting flags

The Eagle of our mountain crags
The Lion of our Mother-land;

by garden parties; an Ambassadorial reception, and Sunday demonstrations, establishing a new institution in the metropolis-that of an "Anglo-American' Sunday; and also in Paris, where the American colony celebrated the occasion with great enthusiasm, and a banquet of the American Chamber of Commerce took place at the Grand Hotel, when the friendship of the two Sister Republics was the prevailing theme. All such expressions and signs of greater cordiality between civilised nations will, it is hoped, be the prelude of Peace.

THE Cuban insurgents have been disappointed because they were not put into power at once by the Americans, and Santiago given over to them to loot. Sad stories have come to hand of their treatment of the Spaniards who fell into their power, enough to justify General Shafter's refusal to permit the entrance of armed Cubans into Santiago. There has resulted a breach between the Americans and their allies which seems to be complete. In the Philippines, too, Aguinaldo has started on his own account, and has proclaimed a republic. This novel situation will entail additional burdens on the invaders, says the Daily News. The United States has now a double duty before it-first to expel the Spanish garrisons, and secondly to control the insurgents. The excesses of the insurgents would be as disastrous to the island as the misgovernment of Spain. Even if the breach between General Shafter and Garcia were to be healed, supervision over the latter would still be necessary. The insurgents' lust of vengeance, which Mr. Hearst, of the New York Journal, found so admirable, has to be kept under by the strong arm of America, no less than has the oppression of Spain to be rooted out. It will be a long time, we fancy, before evacuation becomes possible. President McKinley is pledged to establish a "free and independent Government" in Cuba. But he will not interpret this pledge, we may be sure, as meaning freedom to the Cuban insurgents to wreak their vengeance either on the Spanish authorities or on the Spanish citizens who did not join in the insurrection.

"MEANWHILE," it adds, "the paradoxical situation which exists in Cuba is reproducing itself at Washington. The men who made the President make war are now besieging the White House in the hope of making him make peace. They are afraid, our correspondent explains, of a revulsion of popular feeling, now that the insurgents have been found out. Everybody has been searching high and low in Cuba for signs of the Cuban Republic which the President was asked three months ago to recognise. Nobody has been able to find any traces of it. What everybody has discovered is the worthlessness of the insurgents. A few months ago no words were too good for them. Now no words are bad enough for them. It seems to us that in all this the insurgents are receiving a little less than justice. They are not angels, it is true; they are only what centuries of oppression and mis-government is apt to make of such material. The fact is that the Cuban insurgents, like other objects of ill-informed gush, are being made to pay for the delusions of their patrons. This is distinctly unfair."

A JUST and very impartial verdict on the present war occurs in a "Letter from Spain" (No. XXXI), written on behalf of the Figueras Protestant Mission in N.E. Spain. It commences :-"Dear Friends, the War clouds which overhung our political horizon when we last wrote, have burst over our heads. We can think and talk of little else. With eager anxiety every one waits for news from the seat of War, holding our breath in horror as we watch the unequal struggle; a strong nation grappling with a weak and almost crushed foe. The reflection is forced upon us, Does the end justify the means? True, Cuba, and the Philippines, were shamefully oppressed, and suffering bitterly, but the remedy is worse than the evil, for it has already wrought famine, and death, in more than one great country. Then, who can tell what the end will be? Behold, how great a matter a little fire kindleth. If only the Jingoes had given President McKinley time, the desired end would have been obtained by Thus amicable diplomacy, instead of brute force. thousands of precious lives would have been spared, and money saved. A ghastly, barbarous, and cursed thing is War. Surely the enlightenment of the nineteenth century should spurn it as a horrible vestige of the Dark Ages; and Christian nations repudiate it with abhorrence, as utterly unworthy of the religion of the 'Prince of Peace,' which they profess." This from Spain is good, indeed !

The plan,

SOME time ago Mr. Stead started a correspondence bureau for English people (men, women, or school children) who might wish to improve their knowledge of some foreign language by being put into correspondence with a foreigner, of their own age and social standing, desiring to learn English. seems now to be in thorough working order, and the reports from schools are very encouraging. It is a well-known fact that the average schoolboy hates letter-writing, and is, therefore, backward in composition. Let our French masters adopt the idea of putting their classes into direct communication with French boys at home, allowing time for the letters to be written in school hours, and they will be astonished at the progress made by their hitherto unruly pupils, who cannot understand the use of translating, "Have you lost the penknife of the aunt of the gardener's wife?"

IT cost £10,000 for coal to take the British cruiser “Powerful out to China,