though Mr. Cripps (Stretford, Lancs.) and Mr. Bond (Nottingham, E.) regarded it as demoralising. Mr. Long, who commented on the fact that the front Opposition bench was almost deserted, considered that the question was really one of cost. The scheme before the House, if adopted, would necessitate an immediate expenditure of 10,000,000l. a year, rising to 15,000,000l. in future years; and the lesser of these two figures would mean, say 2d. more on the income tax, and 7d. or 8d. more on the rates. Certainly during the present period of heavy national expenditure caused by the war the Government could not lightly think of proposing additional taxation. The Bill was nevertheless read a second time without a division, but it made no further progress, and it was not altogether easy to look upon the sentiment which had been expressed so generally in its favour as absolutely genuine.

On March 26, when the House rose for the Easter recess, Major Evans-Gordon (Stepney) moved the second reading of a Bill to prohibit compulsory membership of unregistered shop clubs or thrift funds, and to regulate such as are duly registered. The Bill forbade an employer to make it a condition of employment that a workman should discontinue his membership of a friendly society, or that he should not become a member of any friendly society other than the shop club or thrift fund, or join a shop club if he was already a member of a registered friendly society. The Bill also provided that a workman who was not already a member of a registered friendly society should not be forced to join a shop club, except in cases where certain specified conditions were complied with. The measure obtained a fair amount of support and no direct opposition though some criticism. Mr. Jesse Collings (Under Home Secretary) assented to the second reading, while intimating that it would require amendment in the interests of workmen and societies. The Bill was then read a second time, and referred to the Standing Committee on Trade.

Two events of first-class national importance in their potentiality occurred before the Easter recess the introduction of the Education Bill and the beginning of the peace negotiations. Yet another of the long series of war debates took place on the third reading of the Appropriation Bill on March 20, when, as against Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman, Mr. Chamberlain vindicated the acceptance in certain cases of native evidence before courts-martial-refusal to do which, he warmly maintained, would put our civilisation back to the times of slavery. He thought there were probably no more than some 9,000 Boers still in the field against us, and he incidentally referred to the opinion expressed by General Vilonel that the real enemies of the country were those who were carrying on a hopeless struggle. Thereon Mr. Dillon interjected "He is a traitor." Mr. Chamberlain remarked that the hon. member was a good judge of traitors, at which Mr. Dillon

rose to order, but the Speaker told him, in effect, that he had brought the retort (which he did not justify) on himself. Mr. Dillon-" Then I desire to say that the right hon. gentleman is a damned liar." Having refused to withdraw this expression, Mr. Dillon was suspended from the service of the House by 248 to 48, several Radicals voting in the minority. Four days later, on March 24, the British public learned, with profound interest, that Mr. Schalk Burger, Mr. Reitz, and the other members of the "Acting Government" of the Transvaal had arrived in Pretoria from Middelburg, under a flag of truce, and, after an interview with Lord Kitchener, had left for the Orange River Colony, where they were to meet Steyn and De Wet. In answer to a question from the Leader of the Opposition, Mr. Brodrick stated that the Government had assented to the grant of a safe-conduct for the purpose of bringing about this interview, with a view to the discussion of peace proposals between the representatives of the Transvaal and the Free State. There was no slackening in the conduct of the war on the British side in South Africa, or in preparation throughout the Empire for its vigorous prosecution for a much longer period if that should unhappily prove necessary. In view of fresh French and German manifestations of ill-feeling, the Premier of New Zealand had telegraphed on March 14 to Mr. Chamberlain proposing to send a further contingent of 1,000 men from that Colony, and suggesting that the occasion was favourable for obtaining additional troops from Canada and Australia. The Colonial Secretary gratefully accepted the offer and acted on the suggestion, with the result that during the last ten days of the month a body of 2,000 men was promised from Australia and as many from our North American Dominion.

There was a universal feeling of tragedy in regard to the death on March 26 at Capetown of Mr. Cecil Rhodes. Different estimates were held of his work as an Imperialist, and of the extent to which the good he had achieved had been neutralised by his connection with the Jameson Raid. But there was a very wide-spread admiration of his powers and his general aims, and deep regret was felt at his being denied the opportunity of exercising his influence to aid in the re-establishment of peace on lines of justice and of reconciliation between the English and Dutch races.

It was on Monday, March 24, that Mr. Balfour moved for leave to bring in a Bill to make further provision with respect to education in England and Wales. After a brief historical retrospect, he observed that we had, dealing with education, secondary and primary, two elected authorities, the County and Borough Councils on the one side, and in certain cases the School Boards on the other. Between these authorities there was necessarily rivalry; and beside them were the independent endowed schools and the voluntary schools, which were not organised or brought into connection with primary or secondary

educational authorities. It was absurd to suppose that these schools could be swept away. The cost of replacing them would be enormous, and their continued existence was also necessary in order that the wishes of parents in regard to denominational teaching might be met. What seemed necessary in view of the general situation was that there should in future be a single authority for education-primary, secondary, and technical; that this authority, being responsible for a heavy cost to the ratepayers, should be the rating authority for the district; that the voluntary schools ought to be placed in a position in which they could bear their part in the scheme of national education; that, as far as possible, our system should be such as to discourage in future denominational squabbles; and that the education authority, which was also to be the rating authority, should have at its disposal all the educational skill which its district could supply. The authority under the Bill would be the County Council in counties, and the Borough Council in county boroughs. They would work through committees appointed under schemes which would have to be approved by the Education Department. A majority of a committee at least was to be selected by the Council, the remainder would be nominated by other bodies, and would be persons experienced in education. Wales, which had a secondary education authority already, was to be permitted either to retain that authority or to substitute for it the authority proposed in the Bill. With regard to secondary education the provisions of the measures were practically identical with those embodied in the Bill of last year. County Councils and Borough Councils would have a 2d. rate to work upon, and, as in many places that would be insufficient, power would be given to have that limit raised by provisional order. Boroughs already possessed a certain jurisdiction over technical education, and had a rate of 1d. to work upon. It was not proposed to deprive any borough with a population over 10,000, or any urban district with a population over 20,000, of that jurisdiction. The Councils of these boroughs and urban districts might, if they chose, become the local authority over primary education. They retained their existing powers over technical education; and they would become the authority for secondary education concurrently with the County Council.

Whether the schools in a district were voluntary or rateerected, Mr. Balfour went on to point out, the local educational authorities created by the Bill would in future have absolute control over all secular education. In the case of rate-erected schools they would acquire control as heirs of the School Boards. As regarded voluntary schools they obtained it by the direction in the Bill that they were to have the control, also by a right to appoint one-third of the managers, by the right of inspection, and by the power of the purse which belonged to them. They also obtained it by the right of refusing on educational grounds

the appointment of any teachers whom they thought unfitted to carry on the work of secular education. On the county authority would be thrown the whole cost of maintenance of every elementary school in its area. The managers of the voluntary schools would remain responsible for keeping their buildings in good repair, and for making all reasonable alterations and improvements. Where the real needs of a district required a kind of education not supplied by the voluntary, or again by the Board, schools in that district, it was provided that new schools could be erected under reasonable limitations. Where there was a difference of opinion as to the need for a new school, the Education Department was to be the arbiter, and would take into consideration the interests of the education of the district, the burden that would be imposed on the rates, and the wishes of the parents of the children. The scheme which he had sketched out was to apply to the whole country with two important and, he hoped, transitory limitations. In the first place, London, which required separate treatment, was excluded from the operation of the Bill. Secondly, the Government recognised that their scheme might cause disquiet and even alarm in some parts of the country; and, as they could not hope to work it successfully without the co-operation of the local authorities, they proposed that the adoption of the elementary education portion of the measure should be optional.

Sir H. Campbell-Bannerman (Stirling Burghs) realised that there was abundant room for improvement in elementary school teaching, that the organisation of secondary education ought to be taken in hand, and that other reforms ought to be effected; but in effecting them the paramount importance of securing really popular control and management ought always to be kept in view. He trusted that the financial aid which was to be given to Church schools would be accompanied by real popular control. If the Bill were found to be open to the suspicion that it was, after all, only an effort to secure specially favourable terms for the Church schools, its chances of passing would not be very great. However, until the Bill was printed, he should reserve his opinion upon its merits. Sir R. Jebb (Cambridge University) welcomed the Bill because he believed it contained the makings of a really satisfactory and comprehensive measure. But he strongly urged the Government to give it a mandatory character. Dr. Macnamara (Camberwell, N.) said that if the Government really meant that the anachronism of education depending on charitable contributions should cease, the permissive clause should come out of the Bill. He feared that there would be a long and acrimonious controversy over the proposition to aid denominational schools out of the rates. Earl Percy (Kensington, S.) believed that, on the whole, the Bill would lead to increased efficiency. Mr. Haldane (Haddingtonshire) found enough in the Bill to make him well disposed to it, and Sir W. Anson (Oxford University), while objecting to the

optional features of the measure, described it as a sincere attempt to co-ordinate elementary and higher education. Mr. Rickett (Scarborough) said that the Bill was practically an invitation to the Nonconformists to establish new schools, and the accentuation rather than the diminution of religious differences would be the result. Until a better system could have been devised, Free Churchmen would have been prepared to allow a certain amount of rate-aid to be given to voluntary schools, provided that some popular representation went with it; but the proportion proposed in the Bill was insufficient. Sir A. Rollit (Islington, S.) was glad to notice a more general recognition that the municipal authority was on the whole the best. It would be a great improvement that the responsibility for both levying and spending should be vested in the same authority. Mr. Bryce (Aberdeen, S.) regretted that the Government had not been content to make the measure merely a Secondary Education Bill. The provisions in regard to secondary education might do good, those affecting elementary education disclosed serious prospects of friction. He disapproved of the contemplated supersession of School Boards, and of the perpetuation of the denominational system. The AttorneyGeneral, Sir R. Finlay (Inverness Burghs), who replied on behalf of the Government, in the absence of Sir J. Gorst, maintained that the chief merit of the measure was that it dealt with primary and secondary education as an organic whole. Leave to bring in the Bill was granted by 176 to 23 votes, and the Bill was read a first time.

A Government measure hardly less complicated, but, as it never reached the Statute-book, not calling for such full treatment in this volume, was introduced on March 27. This was the Irish Land Purchase Bill, in explaining which Mr. Wyndham (Dover), Irish Secretary, pointed out that one of the chief reasons which made fresh legislation necessary was the contentious result of the provisions in the former Acts for the judicial fixing of rents. There had been an enormous number of appeals under the Acts, and the arrears of the courts were accumulating to an extent which threatened serious inconvenience. On the other hand, State-aided purchase, so far as it had been carried out, had proved a distinct success. They had now 30,000 purchasers paying instalments which amounted to 171,000l. a year. There were no bad debts, and even tardiness in payment was extremely rare. There had, however, been a great shrinkage of late years in the volume of purchases, the number of landlords who were willing to sell under the existing conditions being, as it would seem, nearly exhausted. That was partly due to the excessive cost of transactions under the present system, but it was also lacking in adaptability to various needs. Under the new Bill, Mr. Wyndham explained, it was proposed, in the first place, that within certain limits and after the fulfilment of certain conditions, the Government should