Some Striking Views. GEORGE MEREDITH ON THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY.

Evening Post, Volume LXVIII, Issue 56, 3 September 1904, Page 10

Some Striking Views. GEORGE MEREDITH ON THE QUESTIONS OF THE DAY.

Mr. Henry Nevinson recently interviewed Mr. George Meredith, tho veteran novelist,, for the Daily Chronicle. Tho interview has been much quoted in the British and foreign press, and makes exceedingly interesting reading. Speaking • of^ the war to Mr. Nevinson, who has done much work as a war correspondent, Mr. Meredith snid:— > "It must huvo been a great dis-

appointment for you not to go to Japan for this wnr. It was a gieut pity you couhl not go. Much ur you havo seen, it would have been a bigger thing thun all else to have witneps'ed thut remaik11 hie people carrying out their campaign. They me a people capable of great ideas, and at tho same timo of an exact mitstcry of detail. They have known what to do ; they have never botched or muddled. Besides, tln?y are an artistic people, full of invention ; and tho whole race feels a genuine love of nature a henso of the beauty of landscape and flowers. The English people have little real love- for nature. The highest English ideal of beauty in nature is the southerly wind and cloudy sky that proclaim it a hunting morning. Of course thore have been a few great writerswho liavo done better than that, and their influence is slowly spreading downwards. Oh, yes ; people are improving. The whole world is improving— I am a little doubtful about the English race. THE MANLY JAPANESE. "As to the defeat of a European nation by Asiatics, that does jiot trouble me in the least. Natures gives free play for the best to win. We think of the Russian chiefly as dogged, but Inkerman always remains a mystery to me. If the Russians had been really dogged and wanted to come on, I cannot believe that fellows of the foolish class our officers are drawn from could have defeated them. Of course, it has been called especially the soldiers' battle. All our battles aro soldieis' battles, and our Army will remain a chaos as long as it is controlled by a singularly uuinlelkcfru«), ni-cdvcatod, snd unbusinesslike class. The Salvation Army might teach them a lesson ; or, as Mr, Maguire suggests in your columns, our railway companies. With their Buddhism, self-devo-tipn, restraint, fearlessness of ddath, and artistic sense, it may very well be that the Japanese aro a more valuable race than the Russians from nature's point of view. I admire them as a manly people. FEARLESSNESS Ol? DEATH. ' "Certain 1)', fearlessness of death is a nece«*iry quality^ It is essential for manliness. Doctors and parsons are doing a lot of harm by increu&ing the fear of death and making the English less manly. No one ahuuld consider death or think of it as worse than going from one room into another. The greatest of political writers has said, 'Despise your lile, and you a»e master of the lives of others.' Philosophy would say, 'Conquer the fear of death, and you are put into pob&cbaion of your life.' I was a very timid and sensitive boy. I was frightened of everything; I could not enduie to be left alone. But when I came to be eighteen, 1 looked round the world (as far as a youth of eighteen can look) and determined not to be afraid again. Since then 1 have had no fear of death. Every night whea I go to bed I know I may not rise from it. That is nothing to me. I hopo 1 shall die with a good laugh, like the old French woman. The cure come wailing to- her about her salvation and things like that, and she told him her best improper story, and died. Tho God of Nature and human nature does not dislike humour, you may be sure, and would rather hear it in extremity than the formless official drone. Let us believe in a hearty God — one to lovo more than to fear." "That fear of death is the real cause of tho English objection to conscription. Men coin© to me and say their trade would suffer, or they could not spare two years from their apprenticeship. Their real meaning is they aro afraid of being called out and getting shot at, So they pay others to do the killing and dying for them. ETery manly nation submits to universal service. In the present state of the world it counts among the necessities for safety. But nothing short of an invasion anS the capture of London — some great intestinal disturbance — would induce England to think of it seriously. As it is, 80,000 Germans could match through England from end to end. As you know very well, no Volunteers could stop them. Many would then be ready to die, bub tho sacrifico would bo fruitless. CHAOS OF CHURCH AND ARMY. "Newspapers and magazines are often full of exclamations about 'Pagan Eng. land' — 'Pagan London I' It is curious. Forty years ago I had to give up going to church because I could not listen to tho nonsense I' heard spoken there any longer. The parsons wero worse than uneducated. At our own village here a, ludy called tho parson to a dying girl.. 'Is it really urgent?' he asked, being very unwilling to go. 'Yes, the girl is dying, and asks for spiritual consolation,' sho replied. And ao they went through the fields he asked again, 'You say ahe doesn't mind dying. 1 'Not at all,' she replied, 'if she ha- the rites of tho Church.' 'The reason why tie poor don't mind dying,' ho reflected, 'is taut they are deprived of our great advantages — ai-t, beautiful pictures, statuettes, excellent wines.' That was an exceptional "case. The deadly monotony of the Sunday sermen is constant, and should have episcopal supervision. "The Church is like the Army now — a chaos of men without overseers. The clergy are drawn from tie same narrow and incompetent class hb the officers, and they get tho samo insufficient education. Of ceurse, there are some good Bishops. The ' Bishop of Hereford—now, there's a brave man! Ripon is good, too. THE POLITICAL OUTLOOK. "As to politics just now, I do hope the Liberals, when they como in, will be able to look a little further than their party interests. It is by thinking only of their party interests that the present Ministers have brought upon the country tho Education Acts and the Licensing Bill — fatal retrograde steps. They hope to secure the v«tes of the parsons aud publicans for all time. But I trust tho Liberals will not- come in as an army without a staff. It would be an extreme disaster to come in M'ith a great majority for two years, and theu to show nothing but failure. John Stuart Mill called, tho Conservatives the stupid, party,' but that was unfair. Many stout* Conservatives I know well, arid I find plenty of brains among them. I should rather call them 'the inanimate party.' They are inanimate because they are not inspired by a great active principle. Their natural attitude is critical and generally distrustful. On those terms they hold together. But if tho Liberals became inanimate, if they ceased to be inspired with great «ctive principles, thoy would necessarily ceaso to exist. "Of course, a certain opportunism is unavoidable in daily politics, and in all great political leaders. We must aim at getting what we ca-n, and to refuso to act for fear of being called opportunist is only tho way to impotence. A politician who is not something of an opportunist is like a piiate ship, which goes sailing about on its own account, but does nothing for the fleet. THE NEXT PREMIER. "If the Liberals come in, I do not suppose Lord Rosebery will head the Cabinet. I think he has not sufficient ooufidence in his health to allow of his return to active political life CampbellBnnnernvan would be a good lender, though unhappily ho lost the people's confidence by indiscreet language about , the Army during the war. Just or not, j it was indiscreet, and lost him much influence. Then there is Asquith, a most able and capable man. Certainly, he ] does not move tho people either — a eei<tain coldness with him, perhaps — but a most able man. A notable politician has been saying that both he and John Mbrley must be excluded fronv office. Think of a Liberal Cabinet without John Morto.y I I don't know what position |

Morley would take. It io nardly to b» Nupposed he wculu go back to Ireland, excellent though that would be, and Horn© Rule is quite certain to come — of itself, as it were, like the emancipation of woman. Morley could not be put at the Home Office. The signature of deathsentences would be intolerable for him. I know he is ono of those who has less power in tho House than outside, but his influence in the country is always right. And John Burns, too— what a fine fellow! They will not give him a very high position, I suppose ; but what admirable work he could io as the head of some Board of Works Department. Then there is JJryce— he would make an excellent Foreign Secretary, with hia wide knowledge of international affairs. But the head is not yet visible, tin* happily. AMITY AMONG THE NATIONS. "There is one thing I have long been anxious to say about foreign affairs, and lam glad of this opportunity. In sp£ak« ing ol a foreign nation, we must a 1 ways try to realise what it has done for tha world — the very best it has done — instead of always criticising and dwelling on ita weakest points or on its malevolence towards ourselves. The oilier day 1 warn loading a spirited atUck upon the Ger» mans. The writer found their manners very distasteful. Weil, I daresay they are distasteful, though there ifi' still a simplicity about Germans thuV elaborate gesticulation. But iußtead of finding fault with their manners h« ' should have remembered aJI they hay« done for the world — done as philologists, < editors, scientific observers, aveners of diseaeo, or 'again as artists and musicians. And besides, they -produced Uoethe. I theink there Ms no race to which the world owes more. "Of courhe, as you know, I have always been deeply attached to France. She has giyeu v us a splendid literatuie — think of Montaigne and Rabelais and Moliere — great things in art, and, above all, manners. France has shown heiself capable of the rery highest as well as, by fits, of the lowest. Take America ; eh» has been the shrewdest leader of men ; has given us Emerson, that very great writer. The Americans have dowered the world with priceless inventions, promise of tho' grest things to be expected of them. And they are a humane, a large hearted people ; but they are a very young people still, and hitherto perhaps tho country has been rather 100 large for them. What I want to make plain is the necessity of insisting on the best in each people — -on its highest wvice -to mankind. That is one of the ways to the sentiment of brotherhood, to tho reign of amity an g nations. We will not -dwell an. our own virtues. But foreigriers might remember that England emancipated: the slave, and at a cost ; that she has ■ been the example of free institutions, a light of freedom ; and that she has like\i ise a, noble literature. ' DISTRUST 1 . THE PEOPLE. v , "It is ' strange how many politicians still distrust the people. But it is ex« actly the -sania tiling with regard to women. Women are not trusted because it is feared they would make a revolution if power were theirs. But the real danger is exactly the opposite. There are of course women, just as there are men, in whom Nature is very strong. They are always likely to run on a rather eccentric orbit. I do not wish to blame them in the least. But for most women, peace is the first necessity. Peace is what they want for child-bearing and the nurture of the child. They have a physical requirement for established security. I should only ask that all avenues bo open to them to enter if they chose. Thero are some things, perhaps, febey would not do. Few of them would settle down like a. -German for « thixty years' devotion to ■a point in phi.mogy. But they ought to be ■ parsons — they would make excellent parsons. And most women have a special talent for .pigeon-holing. They take much dolirht in organisation, arranging things, ana putting everything in order. They ought to bo admitted into all Gavi eminent offices — yes, I suppose, including the War Office. It has been proved what good 'doctors they make, and there is no reasen why they should not be barristers, too. They would plead a case remarkably well. There will always bo plenty of them fairly content with marriage and the care of the young. What we must aim at besides is to allow all avenues to stand open to them, so that they may pass into them if they choose and escape frost the snare of toe physical attractions or from the insufficiency of tkwn. A BODY OF CSUTiCSSM. "The main dirty swf j> japtr like years just now is to ions * iwihr of criticism. Art demands a teJ *ai2itfs»re, aod Uul caa only be fais**! ibnr * ifiincEftSße of criticism. Ttos » races ra&Bi in xh* theatre. We skooH spet $**s&T «ff $wd plays if ye had *a JH&£eiiE# xSkaA koew good from ba«E, *m£ *w«w awt so **sHy satisfied with tmiaJsujr. Cs&Ka tss*d to lay about them with & To W swe, it was rather a brwidsirarvi aaadl bludgeon Style. Tke Esglhh k»v* never h»d the mastery of the rar-wr thrust that you see in aay Trench critique. Bu* now, I fniut. criticism is becoming almost (00 urhace. It is true the general level of literature haw itmneasefy improved. In my v\H»th "we had & few great names— T»<ekens, Thackeray. George Eliot. I think you b*ve nothing to compare to them now in tha front tank. But in the rank close behind the front your attainment is certainly much highee thsn anything we then possessed. ■< GOVERNMENT BY NEWSPAPER. "But. as I said, it is most likely that practical journalist*, like- practical -poli* ticians. will have to go largely on opportunist lines. Though most- of my work has been imaginative, I have done ft certain amount of journalism, and I recognise its difficulties. But it has extraordinary power, too, and great opportunity for fine influence. It has almost taken the place of Government. It ia tme that the 'leaders' in nearly all newspapers have fallen off very much, T only quite recently, in power and character. I don't know what the reason for. tha* is. But still you have a very great influence. The power and functions of Government are undoubtedly diminishing. I don't know whether ,wo . 'shall reach the timo when there will be no > Gevernwent at all, as some, people .hope. But certainly that is the tendency. ;Ty ran "s*» which is the complete form of .Government, has beon tried and proved io bo impossible. We shall never have Jk\\nb again, unless Democracy betray* itself.'" ___-_, Save Your Saucepans.— An easy' way to keep enamel saucepans, pie dishes, etc., clean : Take a small piece of eniery cloth, damp it, and rub all soiled parts} rinsß well first in soapy, then clean, water, when they will be found quite spotless and quite new. f