NO·4· JAN UARY, 1903. Vol. VIII.

SOUTH PLACE MAGAZINE

EDI TED BY 'V. J. REYNOLDS.

Contents PAGP'.

CHRIST IN LONDON- I . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 49 By HERI3ERT BORROWS.

MR. W. J. F.oX ON EDUCATION- H . .....•. . ........ 53 By J. H.

THE AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH AND IMPERIAL FEDERATION ... ......... .............•........ " 56

" THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON "................... ... 58 By Rorm LAWSON.

NOTES AND COMMENTS . . .... .. .... .. ... ... ........ 59

CORRESPONDENCE. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 62

NOTICES ............... .. ,., .... .' ............. .. . . . '" 62

Mont hly, 2d . , Oft 25.6d. PRR ANNli M, I)OST }o~R~J!

$OJ1~OI1

SOUTH PLACE ETHICAL SOCIETY, FINSBURY, E.C. A. & H . B. BONNER, 1&2 TOOK'S COURT, FURNIVAL STREET, E C.

~llnttr Ilare ®ttriral ~llrietu . ••••••••••••••••

South Place Chapel & Institute, Finsbury, E.C. Object of the Society.

" The object of the Society is the cult ivat ion of a rational religious sentiment, the study of ethical principles, and the promotion of human welfa re, in harmony with advancing knowledge."

J .A.NU .A.RY, 1903.

The fol/owillg DJ sca U R SES will be delivered 011 SUI/day 1Il0mmgs, Service be~il/lIillg at 11 .15.

January 4th.- Dr. JOHN OAKESMITH.-" The Past and the Future in their Relation to the Present."

\ tl e >s \ I. .. 0 source divine" (208 O. B.) ... ... ... 1 11 1 n ~ 2. "New Year's Song I, '" ... .. . . .0. H \ No. 93. .. All before us lies the way" (509 O. B.)

... Got/;(.

. .. ScJuWltl1m.

ymns I No. 74. .. Ring out wild bells" (383 0 B.) J anuary Itth.-JOH N M . ROBERTSON .- " The Sacrificed Saviour-God."

An thems 11. .. Whoso hath this world's goods".. . ... Cnlkill. 2. "Deeds of kindness 11 (Thcodora) .. , ... fl mulel.

H I No. 16. .. Once in the busy streets" (117 O. B.) ymns NO.13." How little ofo llrsclves wc know" (Ill O. B.)

January IBth.-HERBERT BURROWS.-" Man and the M,crobe," A h I 1. .. Dal tuo stellato soglio" (Mose in Egittol .. . ... ... Rassill;.

nt ems 2. "His salvation is nigh tben'! " (W0T11d.11 of Samaria) ... ...IV.S.IJ"welt. H l No. 15· I. Earth, o{man, the bounteous moth· r 11 (tlO O. S.)

ymns No. 23. " Tbe presence of perpet ual change" (133 O. B.) January 25th.-GRAHAM WALLAS, M.A.-"The Ethics of Party."

Anthems l~: :: ~~~~ilfii~~t ~~st" ('Paraciise a~d the Peril :: .

I No. 38. .. We cannot kindle when we WIll .. Hymns No. 94. le Happy they who are not weary tI (43-1 O. B .)

GOlluoll. SC/Il11l1allll .

------SUNDAY SCHOOL.

The Children meet in the CHAPEL every Sunilay morning, at 11.15, and their lesson ts given in th(; Cla~s-room during the dibcoursc. Membl:rsand frit::nds wishing their children to .auend the school are requested to communica te with the Superintendent.

January 4th. H. CRossIIELn ..... New Year's Address." IIth. Mrs. GRt:.\·JLI~E 11 A Family of Young Worlds." 18th. W. VARJAN ... 25th. Miss F . 1\. LAW ..... A Talk a bout Girls aI!d Boys." (Co;,I ,!

Visitm's "lily 1(/IIe IIIIY Seals v(/calll /If/el' lite ji"st Alltltem, lllld tltey lire IIIvi/ul tJ obtaill ill/Ollllalioll reKCll'dillg ti,e Society ill lite Liblilry 011 SlIlIday 1II01J1 illgS.

Cyclists des/rilll{ 10 Ilttend tlte Services me ill/olllled lit at lite Commillce Illlvt made (IIT(/lI::e1l1mls /01' /zOllSIIl/J tlteir 1I1ClCltl/ICS ill lite base1llCllt.

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SOUTH PLACE MAGAZINE. No. 4. Vol. VIII. 2d. Monthly.

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(Thc writcrs of A rlicles appearing in tMs M agazillc are alollc respollsible jor Ihe opinions therein expressed.)

CHRIST IN LONDON. A Lectllre Delivc1'ed at South Place, 011 S1t11day MOrJIillg, October 5th,

1902.

By HERBERT BURROWS.

[The Readings were taken from the Bible, Revelation, Ch. XIX and XX, and W. T. Stead's :' If Cgrist Came to Chicago."]

THE announcement some time ago that Christ had re-visited earth in the shape of the Rev. Mr. Pigott, of the Agapemonite Church at Clapton, was received with a good deal of incredulity, not only by the ordinary public, who could hardly have been expected to believe off-band, but by the members of Christian churches, to whom the second coming of Jesus was a perfectly familiar idea. To those who followed up the subject, closely interested as psychologists in yet one more manifestation of the obscure workings of the human brain, of which we know so very little, several currents of thought were plainly dis­cernible. The general public took the whole matter as a huge joke, and laughed, sometimes broadly, sometimes pityingly; some were angry, some scented lunacy, some fraud. But it was to the members of the Christian churches that one looked, if not for a complete explanation of the new psychological pheno­menon, yet for some expression of opinion on a subject which should really have come very closely home to them. But they were, in the main, if not altogether dumb, still very chary of tackling the matter. A very few there were who took the fairly logical position that while they believed firmly in a second coming of Christ, the alleged coming through Mr. Pigott was not altogether consonant with the way in which that coming was to be accomplished according to the Bible. The clouds di<;l not open, the heavens were not rent, the tr~mpets (except Mr. Pigott's own) did not soun~, the Son of Man did not come with glory and with power. The whole affair was to them tame to a degree, and they would have none of it, for it was entirely con­trary to what had been prophesied. But the majority of Chri tian people really seem_ed rather shamefaced over it. They did not take the logical position of the minority, and they seemed ~o feel tfiemselves in a very awkward fix. Here they were Jogging comfortably along in a world which, if not altogether the best of all possible worlds, was for many of tEem uncom-

50

monly near it. On Sundays they had for years lustily sung hymns which, in fervent and unmistakable language, asserted that the second coming of Christ might be consummated at any moment. They were continually exhorted by their ministers to keep their lamps trimmed and brightly burning in readiness for the great event which was to end the present di pensation and usher in the glorious reign of the Lord. This world was con­stantly depicted to them as a vale of tears and woe, and they had grown so used to it all that, as Herbert pencer says, they calmly listened to it on undays, and then on Mondays they carefully wrapped up the whole thing in a metaphorical sheet, and carefully laid it by for the week, to bring it out again spick and span on the next sabbath. And now here was one of those erratic people who every now and then appear in the world who, in spite of any supposition of lunacy, fraud, self-deception, un­conscious self-hypnotism or the like, had the audacity to remind them that a good deal of their dogmatic religion depended ab­solutely on this second coming idea, and that if their Bible and their Christianity were true the Lord Jesus might at any moment, even in the midst of a commercial gamble on the Stock Exchange, or during a city dinner at the Guildhall, appear to judge the world. It really was excessively inconvenient, and M.r. Pigott was very inconsiderate in thus disturbing the calm teuour of their ways, even in a world which they were always singing was very evil, while the times were waxil)g late, and they were, in theory at least, longing to get out of it all and flee away and be at rest. I hould say that hardly anything has served to show up the utter hollowness of every-day orthodox dogmatic religion more tl1an this late commotion about Mr. Pigott and his Messiahship. The second coming of Christ is a dogma which is common to all the churches. In all the hymn­books about which I spoke to you last month this clear and definite dogma is found, and it is ummed up perfectly distinctly in the two well known and favourite hymns-that by Charles V"esley:

"Lo, He comes with clouds descending, Once for favoured sinners slain;

Thousand, thousand saints attending, Swell the triumph of His train.

Alleluia! Christ appears on earth again. Every eye shaH now behold Him

Robed in dreadful majesty; They who set at nought and sold Him, Pierced and nailed Him to the tree,

Deeply wailing, Shall the true Mes iah see."

And the other: " Great God, what do I see and hear,

The end of thing created;

SI

The Judge of all men doth appear, On clouds of glory seated.

The trumpet sounds, the graves restore The dead which they contained before;

Prepare, my soul, to meet Him."

And then there is Reginald Heber's hymn:

"The Lord shall come the earth shall quake, The mounta ins to their centre shake; And, withering from the vault of night, The sta rs shall pale their feeble light."

The taid and sober Church of England enforces the doctrine in her collect for the First Sunday in Advent :

"Almighty God, g ive us grace that we m <ly cast away the works of darkness, and put upon us the armour of light, now in the time of this mortal life, in which Thy -Son Jesus Christ came to visit us in great humility; that in the last day, when He shall come again in His glorious Majesty to judge both the quick and the dead, we may rise to the life immortal, through Him who liveth and reigneth with Thee and the Holy Ghost now and ever."

.\.nd the passage from St. Luke, which the Church has chosen for the Gospel on the Second Sunday in Advent is very definite and detailed :

"And there shall be signs in the sun, and in the moon, and in the stars; and upon the earth distress of nations, with perplexity, the sea and the waves roaring; men's hearts failing them for fear, and for looking after those things which are coming on the earth; for the powers of heaven shall be shaken. And then shall they see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh . Verily I say unto you, This generation shall not pass away , till all be fulfilled; heaven and earth shall pass away; but my words shall not pass away."

• 0 runs Christ's own declaration . For the whole conception there is, of course, in the eyes of

Christians most certain warrant of Holy Scripture, as the Prayer-book says. It is founded on certain sayings in the Gospels, of St. Paul, and especially on those chapters in Revela­tion wnich I read to you as our first reading.

It struck me especially during this late Agapemonite con­troversy what an interesting thing it would be if we could get at the real opinions, not simply of the rank and file of the .hurches, but of their leaders, their teachers, pastors and masters . Supposing we could" corner," to use an expressive word, in the Church of England Canon Wilberforce, Dean Farrar, and Canon Scott Holland; in the Baptist Church, Dr. Clifford ; in the Congregational Church, Dr. Horton; in the \Vesleyan Church, Mark Guy Pearse ; in the Roman Catholic Church, Cardinal Vaughan; and induce them to live for

52

a few minutes in a palace of truth on this subject, and tell us publicly their real views on this second coming, as it is laid down and taught in their respective communions! There would be, I verily believe, such a shaking of the dry Dones among them all as the Christian church has not seen ince the days of Christ himself. The fact i that this dogma, like many others, IS not intended for real home consumption-it is only on show in the church windows. I do not believe there is one person in a million among Christians who really believes in it, and those who have faith in it, like the Seventh-day Baptists, are looked on by their fellows as harmless cranks. It is, of course, closely allied with that subject of the millennium, which has often proved a very fa cinating idea for many orthodox people. That, too, founded on passages in the prophet Daniel, and on the chapters in Revelation, has great warrant in Scripture, if we believe the Scripture. It is the idea that the kingdom of the Me siab shall be visibly established on the earth for a period of a thousand years, during which time the devil shall be ~ecurely chained. It originated in the Messianic expectations of the Jews, and they became intimately connected with the Christian conception of the second coming of Christ . The millenni t idea took an enormous hold of the early Christian church, mainly owing to the fact that in its early stages im­mortality and future rewards were as yet greatly things of this world. 0 the speculations as to the millennium took a physical form, and some of the extravagances of the early fathers with I egard to it rival those of Mahomet and his luxurious Paradise. The millenni t idea flourished through the middle aCTes in the various ect of the Anabaptists and others, and down to the T9th century, when, among many orthodox Protestants, it as­sumed the extremely definite form that the millennium would begin in 1836. In John Wesley's tran lation of the New Testament this idea is worked out at length. Other dates of cour e have been fixed according to the idiosyncracies of dif­ferent teachers . Swedenborg believed that the last judgment actually took place in 1757, and that the result wa the founda­tion of his New Jerusalem church. In America, William Miller fixed the second advent in 18.+3, drawing crowds of fol­lowers, and many of us here can remember John Cumming who confidently placed the end of the present dispensation in 1866 or 1867. He drew, as you can recollect, enOI·mou crowds to hi preaching, and for a time was a power in the land. It is

aid, however, that his power beg-an to wane when it became known that ju t previously to 1866 he renewed the lease of his hou e for another twenty-one years. Then we had, and, I believe, till have, the Rev. Wi\1iam Baxter, who, with lurid accompaniments of fire and brim tone, has fixed the oate, to my knowledge, at least a score different times during the last thirty year. It never comes off, and I have neyer understood how

53

Baxter explains his bad shots, but after every mistake he still Comes up smiling for a new attempt.

The vagaries of the human mind with regard to this par­ticular question, the second coming of Christ and the Messiah­ship are really wonderful, and the subject seems to have a peculiar fascination for the unregulated brain .

(To be cOIlduded.)

MR. W. J. FOX ON EDUCATION.

II. IN his previous lecture (No. v) on this subject, Mr. Fox mainly dealt with the theory or philosophy of education, lay ing down certain fundamental principles of universal application . In a subsequent discourse ( I TO. xvi of the same series) he discussed the practical application of those ideas with reference to the then existing conditions and limitations. Ardently desiring that, throughout the entire nation, knowledge should grow from more to more, he would gladly accept any second best method to that end rather than indefinitely delay the good work of instructing and humanising the people by contending for the establishment of an ideal system. The growing moral sense of humanity had, he said, to some extent modified the various relations of child, parent, and society. That rights and duties are reciprocal, and hence tEat parents "shculd be unobstructed in the choice of what th ey regard as the best means of realising all such advantages (of education). There should be no interposing authority to tell them they shall not train the child this way or that; the result being secured, and they deeming such mode the fittest in their ci rcumstances for a rriving at it. ,;Vith ol: ligation and responsibility, they have also the right, as all h ave ~nder simiIar circumstances, of pleasing themselves as to the mode lD which they deem that the duty will be best discharged."·

Mr. Fox pointed out, on the one hand, that while it is the duty of the parent to ociety not to turn a wild savage, a being of untrained mind and unregulated passions, loose upon society -a nuisance and a pest instead of a useful member-it is on the other, the duty and interest of society to help the parent who is poor in his duty. As to tl1e mode, he was frankly sceptical of any voluntary system of national education. He rather scorn­fully asked :-

. "But what says experience? How is it in the best educated coun­tnes ? Where do we find the greatest number of persons wbo have some hold upon the commonest key of knowledge? Do we find them aI'}where but where the combined power of society has been brought to bear upon the instruction of society? It is eminently in this country

* Vide Vol. IV, "Lectures to the Working Classes."

54

that voluntary agency has been tried as to the education of the people."

After referring to the benevolent labours of the early pioneers, such as Raikes, Lankaster, and Bell, and to the com­petition among rival bodies of religionists, and describing how we have been excelled in this matter by peoples living under all forms of government, and in almost all modes of ociety, so that we were in his time left only sixth or seventh in the scale of educated countries, Mr. Fox summed up the voluntary system as being "a dark and miserable failure". Proselytism, he said, had been the mair.spring of the voluntary educational movement, and its paramount object. Education was only a secondary consideration. That sectarian character was spread over the whole of the voluntary system. He continued :-

"Now I object to sectarianism in education. What is called reli­gious-by which is meant not religious but theological, dogmatical­education, is a perversion of the educational power, whether in the hands of priests episcopally ordained, or not ordained at all, when they are thoroughly imbued with the professional and priestly char­acter. Look at our religious sects. They are at this moment al­most all at war with science; they look askance and bitterly on the progress of geological research, for the sake of Moses; they are at war with charity; they are almost all opposed to the intermixture of different forms of faith, so far as for boys to sit on the same bench and receive the same lessons. They are opposed to individual inde­pendence; they call out that they belong to this or that church or society; they repeat this or that creed. There runs through their whole system that demarcation, broad and deep, so long existing, and so fatal to all union and co-operation in social institutions. . . . . Education from voluntary contributions must always be felt as alms­giving, a charity to the poor. .... People are too apt to look at national education as a thing that only concerns the poor, as a kind of hospital to be set up for th~ir mental and moral infirmities, as a something to be done for them, and not as a common, a social, a national right and blessing."

Adverting to the nation's material resources, actual and potential, to meet the heavy cost of a thorough system of na­tional education, Mr. Fox said :-

"When we contemplate our immense resources, .... the trea­sures that we have in our educational endowments, which ought to be rendered efficient, and in the tenth of the produce of the country, which, as it has been assigned for the spiritual good of the whole nation, ought never to be monopolised by a sect, wc see in these the means of national education without levying a single tax. We might surely meet a tax as heavy as the cost of crimes which are multiplied in the country through the grovelling condition in which millions are left .... (or) as heavy as the cost of the sanguinary wars which we have so often waged against the rights and liberties of other nations .... (or) as that which is abused by the various modes in which legislation is perverted to the interests of individuals and classes. A:l this we can bear, and should bear, rather than degrade the means

55

of development for the human mind into a mere . . . . form of alms-giving."

Mr. Fox emphasised that it is not only the education of the poor that is to be considered, but that of the entire people. He ridiculed the idea of graduating instruction according to rank or social position; and declared that the State alone can ade­quately fulfil the duty of a national educator. He said on this point that

" it would sufficiently task the power of the nation to do as much as ought to be done ..... Only by funds so ample as those which the State possesses can the appropriate buildings be raised, the requisite apparatus furnished, and all the means and appliances taken care fo1". ..... Only the State can take care- that there is the gradation of advance from inferior schools to higher, and from these to colleges and universities, whose honours ought to be open to universal com­petition ..... Only the State ~an overcome the monopolies of c:Jasses, and that consequent grasping on the part of wealth which is at this very moment appropriating to itself most of the splendid educational charities that have been handed down to us from our forefathers. Only the State can ensure a supply of competent teachers . . . . well trained and practised in their art. . . . . Only n:ltional acts and national authority can put down quackery in educa­tion."

And, he added, that as we do not allow legal quacks to deal with our property nor medical quacks with our bodies, so we should not tolerate educational quacks in the shape of un­qualified teachers. He thought that

"those who aspire to teach should be called before some impartial tribunal as they are in mo t continental nations, with the very best results, to prove that they have the ability to teach; and only on that condition should they be allowed to exercise their vocation. This again requires the interposition of authority .... . There are bodies, such as the lately formed London University, which, being invested with the distribution of literary honours, might, beyond all question as to impartiality or competency, be worthily trusted with the decision in such matters. Then the rights of individuals and localities would come into operation. There being only qualified teachers in the market, each place might be allowed, and should be encouraged, to choose its own teacher."

" Compulsion" was no bogey to him.

"I know (he said) there is a word at which it is English to start back in abhorrence, and to be in a great passion; and that is ( com­pUlsion '. 'Vould you (compel' the children to go to school? it is a ~ed as a question that admits of only one answer. ... . I do not thmk that compulsion is at all neces ary, but in providing the means of education society has certainly a right to expect from the parent that the child shall be actually taught. Let the parent, if he pleases or prefers, send his child to a private school instead of the school provided by the nation, or let him employ a duly qualified private teac!1er in his own house, or let the father or mother, or both, under­take the task themselves . ... . To all these, efficiently performed,

the rights of parentage extend; but the rights of society require that the result shall be arrived at by whatever mode."

Referring to some Minutes of the Committee of the Privy Council on Education, just then issued, as being" a mixture of good and bad", and, in some respects, " poor and petty", he criticised the system whereby each church or sect was to be allowed to have its schools inspected by inspector of the same faith. Mr. Fox averred that the exact contrary plan would be better. The inspections would then, he thought~ be more searching and fruitful. The plan then published by the Privy Council Committee was, he thought, " a great blunder" .

Teaching, being an art requiring dexterity like any other art, should be cultivated early in life. Hence he would have the training of apprenticed teacJiers to begin when very young. As to the position of schoolmasters he held equally clear views.

Thus, "The independence of schoolmasters is what the State alone, as

yet, is able to secure, independence of individual interference and caprice-independence of the browbeating or the bribes of local pa­tronage. The schoolmaster should not be at the mercy of the squire or parson of the parish; he should not be the tool of the deacons of a dissenting congregation ..... Every step towards the inde­pendence of the schoolmaster reserving hi responsibility, is an ad­vance to the cause of education of ine timable worth."

These citations from and references to Mr. Fox's two speeches on education, addres ed specially to the working classes, clearly show his breadth of view, his statesmanljl~ grasp of the whole subject, and his fine humani m. His coun­sels are as pertinent now as wben, more than half a century ago, his" clear, steely, penetrating, persuasive voice" was heard enforcing them. They serve as a lesson, a warning, and an inspiration. He, being dead, yet speaketh. J. H .

THE AUSTRALIAN COMMONWEALTH AND IMPERIAL FEDERATION.

(SY1wpsis of Paper read at South Place Discussion Society, 12th November, 1902, by Mr. F. W. READ.)

DURING the last few years much discussion has taken place on the subject of Imperial Federation, and also (though to a much less ex­tent) on the movement towards Australian Federation, and its out­come in the Australian Con titution Bill, passed by the Imperial Par­liament in I900. In accordance with what appears to be a constant tendency of the human mind to be misled by words, it has been very generally assumed that Austral ian Federation is in some unexplained way a prelude to Imperial Federation, apparently for no other rea­son than that the word "Federation" is used in both phrases. As a matter of fact, the recent Colonial Conference has demonstrated that

It

...

57

the Australian Colonies are no more anxious than they ~\'er were to become parts of a new Imperial Federation, and that they, in com­mon with the other colonies, do not intend (as Sir Wilfrid Laurier said) to be dragged into the vortex of European militari sm. One of the few things that do tend to bind the Empire together as an organic whole is the existence of one central Court of Final Appeal for the whole of the dominions of the British Crown (beyond the limits of tbe United Kingdom) in the shape of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council. Those who wished for Imperial Federation would not do anything to weaken this tri bunal, though they might reason­ably strive to strengthen it by the addition of colonial representatives. But what actually happened ? \Vhen the Australian Constitution Bill was under consideration at home, the Australian representatives in­sisted on a clause taking away the right of litigants to appeal from the High Court of Australia to the Judicial Committee in all cases where the interpretation of the Constitution is involved, unless the High Court chooses to authorise t!le app"eal. In other words, the Im­perial Court is so little trusted that the most important of all cases are to be withdrawn from it.

But the best evidence of the dislike of the colonies to a closer connection with the mother country is to be found in the recently issued Blue-book, giving an account of the proceedings at the conference between Mr. Chamberlain and the Coloniel Premiers, and containing copies of many valuable documents laid before tbat con­ference. Assuredly no conference could have been held, or is ever likely to be held, under conditions more favourable to the objects Mr. Chamberlain had in view. The love of military "glory ", the desire to be part and parcel of a mighty Empire, able and willing to hurl defiance at eyery nation upon earth, had during the South African war entered as a consuming passion into the hearts of the colonists. It is fairly safe to say that the capacity for that particular kind of passion ha been exhausted for many years to come-it i to be hoped for all time. And we find from a table publi hed in the Blue-book that while th is love of "glory" was at its height the colonies contributed practically nothing to the cost of the war. The cost to the United Kingdom was practically '£223 ,000,000 ; and against this the colonies contributed sums varying from .£38,393 in the case of Tasmania to .£620,000 in that of Canada, the total being well under '£2,000,000. Looking at the matter in another way, the table hows that , if we had pent at the same rate per head of population

as the colonie , our expenditure would have varied from .£.~,725 000 to .£18,200,000 on the ba is of the Victoria and New Zealand figures respectively. It is important to remember that though some of the colonies sent men freely (New Zealand sent almost as many propor­tIOnately as the United Kingdom) not onc offered to pay them.

But miserably as they contributed during the war, their attitude at tbe conference immediately after the war was still more parsimonious. Mr. Chamberlain pointed out in his opening address that whereas tbe inhabitants of tIle United Kingdom pay for military and naval services (excluding war expenditure) 29s. 3d. per head per annum, the inhabitants of the colonies pay less than 3s. on the average. He said that this was unfair; and he went on to tell the Premiers that " no one will believe that the United Kingdom can, for all time, make thIS inordinate sacrifice". What was the result of this appeal, made

by the man who, of all men, was the most likely to be listened to by an audience of Colonial Premiers?

Taking the avy first, wc find that a total of £328,000 per annum was promi ed (Canada contributing nothing), to be set against the £3 1,000,000 odd which we of the mother country ;tre privileged to pay. It is still more significant that only £85,000 of tl1is small sum is given free of conditions, the remainder being for the up-keep of local squadrons, although Lord Selborne had insisted that money so devoted wa almost useless for Imperial purposes. But if Lord Selborne was little regarded, the proposals of Mr. Brodrick were dis­missed with ignominy. The Premiers were of opinion that" to e tablish a special force set apart for general Imperial service, and practically under the absolute control of the Imperial Government, was objectionable in principle as derogating from the powers of self­government enjoyed by them" (i.e . , the colonies).

In view of these facts Imperial Federation must be pronounced an empty dream. The colonies simply will not have it; and it is vain to agitate the question further.

"THE ADMIRABLE CRICHTON ."

V,-HEN one has with patient steps followed out the unfolding and de­velopment of a man's literary bent, the keen sense of disappointment tb;tt will happen on his ch;tnging chameleon-like into an unfamiliar likeness is no common sight. In an analysis of literary genius it is an inevitable custom for some critics to start out with a preconception of what their p;trticul;tr victim should, or should not become. Of a truth, the man who adopts this theory, with Barrie, commits himself to an uneven t;tsk. An author who begins to expre 's him­self in the satiric style of "Better Dead ", moves gracefully into the kaily:trd of sentiment, drops into that" piece a these C The Wedding Guest,'" and ends up with a satirical phantasy of C The Admirable Crichton " type, leaves abundant cause for wonderment. The only wise course is that of appreciation mingled with hypercriticism. And that is the attitude a great many of our" litera-tasters" (if I may be allowed the word) have adopted.

But with the auditor who is anxious to seek out the ethical import of Barrie's late t production the case is different. It is possible the characters may be allied to real life, but the circumstances in which the author ha placed them are so exceptlOnal as to render the plot almost improbable. Briefly put, the story is that of a quixotic Earl, whose practical application of hi bel ief in the equality of mankind is to invite his servant to monthly minglings with their superiors in the drawing-room. The converse and con ervative view is held by that strange admixture of cultured deference and dignified arrogance, Crichton, the admirable hutler. Chances bring about that the Earl's yacl~t in the cour e of a voyage founders, and the members of his famtly and friends are cast upon a desert island, with the inevitable Crichton. On the part of the Loam household there is a tendency to . regard. Crichton as still occupying a servile po ition. But the phtlosophlC ex-butler has other views, and his theory, as he gently but firmly announces, is that Nature will point out those who are adapted for the ma tery. The consequences to them are somewhat

59

startling. By his excellent conduct of affairs, in contrast to their utter helplessness, they are compelled to cede to his mastery, and Crichton becomes the governor of their destinies. And theirs is a happy acceptance of things as they are: their recognition is the ideal one of kingship, it is bero-worship. For it is to his initiative tbey owe all the comforts tbey possess. In the island he holds undisputed sway. What a vision this would have been for Rousseau or Comte, the man who dreamt he C once was King in Babylon ".* The theory of nature qua nature is exemplified in the mating of the late menial, but now lordly, Cricbton to the now menial, but late Lady Mary. And, as if to add to the eternal fitness of things, it is the humble Earl who, in ratifying the engagement, leads in cc accordion" strains the general joy of tbe community, on tbe occasion of tbe royal betrotbal.

The booming of the gun from a, British man-o'war over­turns the whole practice of this delightful dream of the survival of the fittest, and tbe merciless author brings his auditors back to Lord Loam's hou e in Mayfair, where the Conveuauces are reconstituted, and everyone returns to the artificiali­ties of present-day society.

If we seek for a lesson in the play it will thus be seen that two negations are adduced, first that society so-called is not built upon the lines of Nature, and econd, that the theory of the equality of man is an erroneous one. Moving along the lines of syntax, then, shall we say that two negatives make a positive? By so doing we come upon the ideal theory of kingship: he who is fittest shall be king. With that falls the ideal of equality, which must always remain an ideal.

The Socialistic among t us cannot but regret the irony of that last act, when we discover our kingly Crichton fallen from his high estate, develop into the recipient of married bli s and the proprietorship of a public-house in unromantic :\Iarylebone .

. In fine, the ten dance of this play i not towards morality in the highest sense. The thesis is that following out the dictates of nature, a long series of traditions has evolved a race in which the net result of civilisation is that artifice has proved the strongest in the end. That it is not the knowing, but the cunning man who will conquer. I~ there is one consoling thought left to in pire us, it is this , that given an equality of opportunity the fittest will always survive, and the man who would argue otherwise is really endeavouring to set up an =:trtificial, if not an immoral standard, which can only end in an in­Justice to the genius of leadership. And the upholding of tbat form of genius is, I take it, the ethic and ideal of democracy.

ROBB LAwSO -.

OTES AND COMMENTS.

In Jo eph Hatton's "Cicyarette Papers" that appear In

TIle People, there is a reference to Soulh Place Chapel that is at once kindly, apprecialive, and-no doubt unintentionally­. eV"'re. After stating that "Theism is conspicuously repre-

* It is Henley who, I believe. sings:-"I dreamt I was King in Babylon,

And you were a Christian slave."

60

sented at South Place Chapel, where, apart from their tenets, whatever they are, you may hear excellent discourses," he goes on to say: " Nothing, however, can be more akin to burlesque than a hymn they used to sing, and ing no doubt to-day, in which they vocally denounced all creeds and denominations: , Down with churches, down with creeds,' and so on."

This is , of course, a paraphrase of a line from hymn No. 538

in the old book: "Fall, fall ye mighty temples to the ground!"

and the fourth verse of which commences : "Fall, fall, ye ancient litanies and creeds."

'Ve agree that, as Mr. Hatton has it, " nothing can be more akin to burlesque", but the burlesque re ides in the stern but dignified language of a poet being translated into vulgar collo­quialism, and the plunge is great indeed.

How easy it would be for the travesty-seeker to . erve the Bible in the same fashion, and turn the simple archaic nar­ratives of Genesis, the mu ic of the Hebrew songs, the rhapso­dies of the prophets, and the majestic hymns to wisdom into bald commonplace. Or any of our cla ic writers might be treated to the same disservice, until a reader with poetic taste and feeling for the beautiful in expression would grieve to find his literary pearls dissolved into poisons.

The Rationali t Press ssociation's famous series of six­penny reprints has recently been augmented by the inclusion of Matthew Arnold's " Literature and Dogma", a copy of which ha reached us from the publishers. We have every apprecia­tion of the excellent work done by the A sociation i.u re-issuing in popular form leading works of a liberal or Freethought nature; and it is perhaps fitting that a noted book which pre­pared the way for later and more di passionate Biblical criticism should find a place among them. Yet we venture to doubt, de­spite our admiration for its author, whether this latest member of the series is likely to prove as serviceable as the rest to the needs of to-day.

" Literature and Dogma", although written only some thirty years ago, already belong (in our judgment) to a bygone era of controversial thought, and is visibly stamped with the fact . I t is essentially the work of a " transitionalist "--of one main­taining a standpoint midway between a pas ing Old and a destined New, and seeking to reconcile the opposed, to resolve difficulties and differences which are patent and concrete. Such labours have a real value for their own age, were it only in lessening the impact of opposed views and in rendering easier the tran ition and translation that are inevitable. :Sut they are oftenest marred by certain pathetic failings- a temperamental partiality, an honest slurring of clear issues, a proneness to logical fallacies and special pleading, a fervour outrunning ex-

6r

actness. And from these intellectual vices we hold" Literature and Dogma" to be by no means free-apart from such faulty scholarship as " Chilperic " and others have brouglit home to its writer. In the days when Biblical controversy was fierce and violent, Matthew Arnold's suave and cultured methods were in­valuable. But the times are changed, the conflict rages to-day upon issues remote from those of 1873 ; and the appeals then made by " Literature and Dogma" for the pre-eminence of the Bible upon naturalistic grounds alone, are now the rallying-cry of a' desperate and fast-diminishing section of the clerical party.

The Reformer [or December contains the concluding instal­ment of Mr. John M. Robertson's " 'Iol toy "-a piece of criti­cism as noteworthy for its penetrative insight and rigorou logic as for the generous and scrupulously fair spirit in which it i. written. With characteristic al.ldacit¥ and success, Mr. Robert­Son has undertaken the difficult task of framing a ju t estimate of this many-sided geniu , this wounded Titan raging against the world. The result is a cru hing indictment of Tolstoy the morali t and reformer, a liberal and discerning appreciaLion of Tol toy the artist. His lack of logical coherence, the fury which blinds h im to fine i sues, the arrogance of his humility, the dan­ger in his headlong crusade against "idolatries" real and imagined, are ruthlessly laid bare. In Mr. Robertson 's hand the pen is at time a scalpel-keen and unerring as that of George Meredith, though wielded in different fashion and to quite other purpo e. And in his e timate of Count Lyof Tolstoy it is used with consummate skill upon a ta k of which, owing to the glamour cast by that mighty and pathetic figure, there was real need .

Possibly the happiest news that ha been flashed over the wires lately is that declaring that the Venezuelan affair is to be settled after all by arbitration before the Hague Tribunal. It is a great gain for Peace that this Cour e should be adopted when the violent methods have been already entered upon. But how much better would it have been had two powerful nations, having a grievance against a small one, of their own inItiative pro­po ed arbitration; or made their warlike action consequent upon the refusal of their opponent to face a Tribunal weighing the dispute in the scales 0'£ justice.

MRS. GEORGE HICKSON .

By the death of Mrs. George Hickson we lose another of those links with the past that epitomise as it were the development of the Society , Born in 182[, her life covered the whole of the period belonging to the present building, the Society not having migrated from its old home until 1824. She was the daughter of the late Mr. James Waterlow, of

62

Peckham, and sister of Sir Sydney H. \Vaterlow, Bart. Her father was one of the original members of South Place Chapel, was a Trustee, and for many years served on the Committee. Both our esteemed old Treasurer, the late "Y[r. George Hickson, and his wife, attended South Place from their childhood, and were married there in 1842 by Mr. \V. J. Fox. The interest felt by Mrs. Hickson in the welfare of the Society continued to the last, although failing health for some time prevented the old regular personal attendance. She died at her residence, J 52 Adelaide Road, the immediate cause of death being an attack of bronchitis. A simple service was held at Woking (where her remains were cremated, under her own instruc­tions), conducted by the Rev. E. Gow, of Roslyn Hill Chapel.

CORRESPONDENCE.

To THE EDITOR.

Sir,-Will you allow me to draw the attention of your readers to the following extract taken from the Times of India? I feel sure there is not one who will read it but will recognise that if only the spirit of this Mohammedan could infuse the world, the whole of modern life would be made more gentle and beautiful. The time has come when a country like England ought to lead the van in humanity, and not it still perpetuating barbarous penalties and admiring other coun­

tries whose more advanced civilisation has abolished them. The fol­lowing is the extract referred to:-

" Some months ago an assault was made by some Persian soldiers on a gardener at Dalaki, during which a soldier, probably an onlooker, was kille.d, some. ay accidentally. The gardener was arrested, and brought mto Bushlro a few days al?o; orders were subsequently issued by the Central Government for hiS execution. Last week, when be was being led out of prison to pay the penalty of his crime, the brother of the deceased soldier stepped forward and demanded, as his right, according to the Mohammedan law, 'blood for blood', or complete pardon for the prisoner. In exercising his prerogative he chose to release the culprit, whom he embraced and addressed as follows: 'As I expect forgivene from God, so do I forgive you, go thy way, you are pardoned. and may God not call you and me to account. Take these few krans for your immediate expenses.' "

N. YE.

31, London Road, Bromley.

OTICES.

Lending Library·-The Librarians haye great pleasure in ack­nowledging the following gifts of books from their Authors:-

From Sir Leslie Stephen: "The English Utilitarians," 3 vols. (N 8.)

From Mr. W. E. H. Lecky: "The History of Rationalism in Europe," 2 vols.; and" The ~Iap of Life Conduct and Character". ~l 7.)

From ~Ir. Joseph ~1cCabe: 'St. Augustine and his Age." (;\1 S.) The following works haye been presented by lIIembers of the

ociety :-

....

"Understudies," by :'IIary E. '\lilkins. (M 9.)-From l\Irs. C. Flctcher Smith.

"William Hazlitt," by A. Birrcll; "George Eliot," by Leslie Stepben' "Thomas Huxley," by Edward Clodd; ":'IIatthew Arnold " by Hcrbert v.r. Paul; "Lctters of Charles Dickens ". (N 7.) "Pas­sages in a ' iVandering Life," by Thomas Arnold; "Frederic Hill: An Autobiography". (N 8.)-From Mr. T. Errington.

From Miss E. M. Johnson: "Love Letters of a Violinist," by Eric Mackay (N 6); and" :'IIore Tramps Abroad," by :'IIark Twain (M 7.)

From Mr. J. Aldred: ,. The New Book of Kings," by J. Morrison Davidson. (M 7.)

From Mr. Harold Seyler-six works of Lord Lytton's: c'The Coming Race"; "Last Day of Pompeu ";" ight and Morning"; "Lucretia"; "Pausanias and tbe Spartan"; "Rienzi" (M 12); and four by Alexandre Dumas: "The CoulJtess de Charny"; "Queen's

ecklace"; "Taking of the Bastille "_; and ":'IIemoirs of a Phy­ician" (M 10); also" Jack Bragg," by Theodore Hook (M I I); and

"Pomeroy Abbey," by Mrs. H. Wood (M 11). From Mary Rawlings: "In Tunc with the Infinite," by Ralph

Waldo Trine. (M 8.)

Notes on Sunday Afternoon Lecturers for January;-:\1rs. Lucy Dale is the daughter of Mr. C. H . Hanson of the Times, was born in Edinburgh, and was educated there, and at the North London Collegiate School. In 1893-~ shc studied in Leipzic, German history and litcrature; in 1896 she went to Somerville College, Oxford, as Gilchrist scholar; and in 1898 took a First Class in the School of ~Iodern History. During the time at Oxford Mrs. Dale was much impressed by the need for the popularisation of modern historical work for the educated public. Is the author of the "Principles of English Constitutional History" recently published.

Oscar Browning, M.A. Fellow King's College, Cambridge, Prin­cipal of Cambridge University Day Training College, was born at London, educated at Eton, King's COllege; President of Union; fourth in Classical Tripos 1860; Master of Eton 1860-75; Examiner University of London 1899; Offici er de l'Instruction Publique 1898. Is the author of" Cornelius Ncpos ", "Thirty Years' War ", "History of England " four vols. "Guelphs and Ghabellines", "Religion of Dante in Religious Systems of the World ", and many other books.

1903 Half Guinea Season Ticket. -Special attention is directed to the fact that the 14th Series (N) is now being issued, and will include the following activities of the SocietY:-Saturday Afternoon Rambles and Ramblers' Soirees; Children's Party and Monthly Soin~es; New Year's Dance; Membership of the Discussion Society; Subscription to the SOUTH PLACE lIIAGAZINE (Vol. IX), October 190 3, to September J904; Subscriptions to Lending Library, and Decora­tion Committec. The former will entitle holders who are non-mem­bers of the Society to borrow books.-Application may be made in the Library, or direct to the Hon. Sec., Season Ticket Committee, 'Vallis Mansford, Cherry Tree Court, 53 Aldersgate Street, E.C.

Children's Annual Party.-This will be held as usual on Tuesday, January 6th, when in addition to the usual children's games there will be performed an original Fairy Play, words and music by Mr. Eustace Barralet. Tickets can be had in the library or of the HOD. Sec. The

Board School Treat will be given the following day, January 7th, and it is hoped that it will be supported as liberally as in past years.

South Place Magazine.-Further List of Subscriptions (down to December 24th) :-Andrews, A. Delve, E. Andrews, A. R. Dixon, Mrs. Andrews, G. Elion, E. Andrews, Mrs. Elliott, Miss G. Ardley, R. (Jr.) Fenton, A. E . Bellchambers, Miss Fenton, S. G.

E . Ford, G. H. Blyth, E. K. Foreman, T . B. Briggs, G. Ganter, T. Bulman, H . H. Gurr, F . 1. Busch, A. P. Harrison, E. F. Carr, S. E. Haynes, W. B. Champion, W. E . Holmshaw, Mrs. Chattell, D. J. Hood, P . H. Chesterton, A. Horne, T. Christie, Miss Keep, F . Cogar, R. M acnaught, Miss J. R. Constable, F. McCutcheon, J. Crawshay, Mrs. Porter, J. H. (to Sept.

Raekley, Mr. Reichert, F. A. Restall, W . T. Reynolds, W. J. (2) Robbins, Miss A. F. Seudamore, Mrs. Sbield, E. Smith, Miss E. E. Soutbon, W. H. Sutch, A. H . Taylor, Miss E. Townley, Miss M. Troup, Miss E . J. Turner, Mrs. E . Umsted, Mrs. S. C. Unthank, H. W . Walker, C . A. Wright, T.

Dalby, G. B. 1904.) Discussion Society.-At the meeting on January 28th Mr. J. M.

Robertson will open on "The Conspiracy against Free Trade." This ought to give rise to a lively and interesting discussion.

Positivist Society.-On Wednesday, December 31st, at 10 Clif­ford's Inn, the address will be given by Mr. Frederic Harrison, at 8 p.m. On January 1St, 1903, the annual address will also be given at the same place by Mr. Frederic Harrison, at 5 p.m.

New Member .-Mr. Meech, 25, Fentiman Road S.W. New Associates.-Mr. E. A. Hennig, 8 \;lhlhelminenstrasse,

Dresden. Miss Annie Clayton Glover 20 Limas Grove, Lewisham, S.E. Removals. -11r. Rudolph Suchsland, to It Sketty Road, Swansea. Mr. and Mrs. A. H. Sutch, to 100 Newington Causeway, S.E. Mr. Henry N. Wilby to Men's Home, Hoxton Market, N. Deaths.-On December 3rd, at Bournemouth, the wife of Mr. Charles

Clements in the 79th year of her age. Mr. G. B. Greenall, Kendal, Westmoreland.

To Correspondents.-The Editor will be glad to insert letters on subjects of general interest to the readers of the Magazine, but, as the space is limited, correspondents are requested to condense their remarks as much as possible. Letters for insertion should be written on one side of the paper only.

The SOUTH PLACE MAGAZINE is published for the Committee by A. and H. B. Bonner, I and 2 Took's Court, Chancery Lane. It is for sale in the Library of South Place Chapel, and also on the bookstalls oHhe following Ethical Societies: The West London, at Kensington Town Hall; The South London, at tbe Masonic Hall, Camberwell, and The Streatham and Brixton Ethical Institute at Carlton Hall, Tunstall Road, Brixton.

Printed by A. BONNER, 1 & 2 Took's Court, Fumival Street, London, E.C.

S U NDAY AFTERNOON FREE LE CTURE S.

The course of lectule~ on H The Political Systems of the World" will be continued as follows:-

Jan. ~th.-Mrs. Lucy DALE .. British Empire." It Itlh .- W. J. BIGGs . .. " Argentine Republic." " I8th.-GUSTAF SIO~TEEN ," b,weden 11 (with Lantern Illustrations). " 05th .-OSCAR BROWNING ... " Swilzerland" (with Lantern IlIuslrations).

An Organ Recital will be given each afternoon , from 3.30 to 4 o'clock . All seats free, no .collection . DOOf:; open 3l3.3,), lecture at 4 o'clock . lio", Sec., W. SHEOWRJNG.

DISCUS S IO N SOCI ETY. A meeting will be beld on the fourth Wednesday in January. January 28th.-Mr.J. M. ROUERTSON: .. The Conspiracy against Free Trade." Chair­

lOan, Mr. F. W. Read. Commence at 7.30 p.1lI

/lOll. Src., H. CROSSFIELI), 133 High Road, Lee, S .E.

CHILDREN'S PARTY AND TREAT T O POOR BOA RD SCH OOL CH ILDREN. _

The Children'S Party will be held on Tuesday cvenin~.lal1Uary 6th, when there will be performed a juvenile play and there will be the usual ~hildren's games. Tickels for children &I., and adult:; IS . may bt! Ildci in the Library or from the Hon. Sec. Mrs. TAIT, 36 Lambolle Road, S. Hampstead. _

The treat to po~r Board School Children wIJI be held Ol} the following evening, January 7th. -ContributIons for this are still urgcutly wanted.

SUNDAY P O PULAR CONCER T L

The SEVENTEENTH SEASON wi ll be contInued every Sunday evening unlil further IIotice (except Dec. 2H aud Jan. 4.) The followIng are the arrallgements for January:­

Dec. 2Hth. l Jan. 4th. J No Concerts.

Jan. IIth.-I'lsfruwen/alisls: Mr. SlJ;mund Beel, I Miss Cecilia Gales, and Miss Ge"ler Schubert. Vomlisl, Madame Eleanor Cleaver . • lcculI/pal/isl ~Ir. W. Morrcssy. The Programme will include i)ohnall)i's Quintet in C millor, Op. 1, for Piano and Strings,

Jan. 18th.-InslrlllJ1rl/lalisl', The Wessely SI! ing Quarlet; Messrs. Hans Wessely, ::.penccr D)k~, Llonel T~rlis and B. Patterson Parker. Vomlisl, Miss Grainger Kerr. Accomp,misl, Miss KateAugusta Davies. The Programuldwill include Brahms' Siring Quintet in G, Op. 111, and Dvorak's Siring QlUrlet in E flat, Op. 51.

lan . 'SU,.-SPECIAL SClIUBERT CONCERT. /1IsIolllllmlalists, Messrs. John S",unders, Challes J. Wondhonsc, Erncsl Yonge. J. Preuvclleers, Charlt!s Crabb, and Richard I!. Wahhew. Vocalist, Mr Plunl,ct Green~ Accolllpani,I, Mr. S. Liddle. 1 he programllle wiil incluoe the String Quintet in C, Op. 163, for two Violins, VIola, ilnd two Violoncellos; the Trio in E flat, Op. 100 for Piano and SlI ings; the" Wanderer It Falltasla for Piano Solo; and a considerable number 01 songs, to be sung by Mr. Plunket Greene.

COIIC(:rts at 7 p.m. Doors opcn at 6.40. Admission frec, with collec tion. Transferable tickets (price zs . 6d. each) admillingto tbe Reserved Seats from Jan. It until Mar. 29 inclusive, may be had (ram any member of the Concert Committee or in the Library. For further paniculars see the Report of tbe SiXleenth Season, to be bad 011 applic"tion.

Commillee Meetings on Sundays Jan. 4 and IB, at 6 p.m. punctu.uly. For Ad.ertlselIlents of the Concens see the Daily 'fel'graph every Salurday.

HOII. 7rcos., H G. hloRRIS. 5 Eliot Park, Lewl.ham, S.E. HOII. Ste .. AI.IREII J. CLI-'M">lTS, 25 Camdcn Road, N.W.

ORCHESTRAL S O CIETY.

The SIXTH SEASON will be continued on Friday evcnings (except Dec . • 6 and Jan. 2) When practlc(·sareileld (rom 7 45 to 9.45 p m. The mOnthly subSCription is IS., with an entrance fee of 2S. 6d. Ladies or gentlemen wlshlllg to join are f(·qut::stcd to blmd tbeir !lames to the Hon. Conductor, T. EUSTACK BANUAJ.ET, H Dunkcrry," Sidncy Road, rVluswell Hill, N.' the lIon. Treasurer, F. VV. CANNING, 4 Morland Road, Pcnge, S.E.; or the '

lIOII.S«., A. J. CLEMENTS, 25 Camden Road, N.W.

RAMBLERS' DANCES.

The New Ye"r Dance will be held ot Armfield's Botel, South Place, Finshury, E.C. on Jan. 3r~, 19.03· Tickets 3S. 60. each (Incllldl~g refresbme",s) may ~e oblained in the library or On apphcatlon from rhe !:)ecrelary. AdmiSSion also by Season Ticket.

lloll . Sec., ~llss IRENF. l\f. HEYNOl.DS, Vnrna, Fox Lane, Palmer's Green , N

LENDING LIBRARY.

The Lending Library i. open free to Members of the Society and Season Ticket Hoiders on Sunday mornin~s before and after the Services. Associates and Non-Members of the Society may under certain conditions be granted the use of the Library upon payment of a sub~criplion of '25. 6d . per annum. The new catalogue is now read, I price 6d., inlcr~ leaved copic~ !)d. ~ubscriptlons lowards the purchase and repair of books arc invited.

H l 'b'n 'n s! Miss MARY RAWLtNGS, 406 Mare Street, Hackney, N.E. DU. -' , ,. 11 1 WALLIS MANSI'ORO, Cberry Tree Court, 53 Aldersgate Street, E.C.

PUBLICATIONS .

The followill/: alllollgst other publicatiolls (Ire 011 sale ill the Libra1)':

" Farewell Discourses," by Dr. CO~nYAV; IS. 11 Centenary History of South Pla.ce," by Dr. CON WAY ; IS. 6d. (reduced price). "Tboughts and Aspirations of the Ages," edited by Or. W. C. COUVLAND; 4S. U Workers on their Industries It; IS. lId. 11 Relig10u8 Systems of the World" ; "s. o National Life and Thought H; 25.6d. " British Empire" (Sunday Afternoon Free Lectures). 5 vols. Crown 8vo, with Maps,

Charts, elc. 4S.6d. each volume .

.. CENTENARY HISTORY OF SOUTH PLACE,"

The Committee, baving made an advantageous contract with the Pub­

liebers for a large quantity. are now enabled to place this volume within the reach of all members and friends by selling at the reduced price of 1a. 6d. each.

The GENERAL COMMITTEE will meet Oil Thursday, January 8th. Correspondence denlin(;: with matters for consideration should be forwarded to the Secretary at the earliest possible moment. AIi matters relating to finance sbould be addressed to tbe Treasurer.

HONORARY OFFICERS.

TYlaSltr<r Pm T.m.: JOHN ALDRED, 55 Berners Street, W. Secrtlary: Mrs. C. FLETCHER SMITH, 38 Manor Road, Stamford Hill, N. Rtgistrnro/ Mtmbtrs allcl Associates: Mrs, HAROLD SRYLF.R, loa Fcatherstone Btdgs., Holborn

Editor of li[ngazilJe: W. J. REYN9LDS, Varna, Fox Lane, Pahners Green, N. . . fMiss MAR\, RAWLISOS, 406 Marc Street, HOIckncy, N.E.

L,brarlans ',WALLIS MANSPORD, Cberry Tree Court, 53 Aldersgale Street, E.C.

Re.buUdiu"" F1I11d T,."st,es \ \V. RAWl.lNGS, .. 06 Mare Street. Hackney. N.n. , I J. R. CART~I<, Court field, Ross Road, WallinHtoll, Surre).

l:IuildlOg Concert Decoration .. Discussion Society House

lnstitute

Library MagaZine ." Music Season Ticket Soiree Sunday Morning

Lecture .. .

Secreta/'us of Sub-Committees. T. C. lIARRISON, 71 Helix Road, Brhlon Hili, S.W. ALFRED J. eLEMENTS, 25 Camdcn Road, N.W. Miss IRENE M. REYNOLDS, Varna. Fox Lane, Palmer's Green, N. H. CRosspn;LD, 133 Iligh Road, Lee, S.B. Mrs. LIDSTONE, 96 Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park, N.

I W. SHEOWRING, 24 Betbune Road, Slamford Hill, N. J. HALLAM, 18 St. Mark's Crescent, Regent's Park, N.W.

ERNEST A. CARR, 91 TllUrlestone Road, West Norwood, S.E. E. ~f. RRISS, '1.7 Gresham Road, BrixlOB. S.W. WAI.L1S 1IIANSFORD, Cherry TrceCollrt, 53 Aldersgate Street E.C. :'.11'<. TAIT, 36 Lambolle Road. S. Hampstead, N.W.

} W. RAWLINGS, 406 Mare Street, Hackney, N.B.

Sunday School Superintendent MISS F. A. LAW, 39 Clayton Road, Peckham, S.E. Organist H. SMITH W~usn;R, 2 Tufnell Park Road, N.

The Building is to be let for Meetings, etc. Forms of application may be had 01 the C,,~etaker, 11 Soutb Place, E.C . ; and when filled ul' should be sent to Mr_ N. Lidstone, 96 Blackstock Road, Finsbury Park. N.