BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS.

Evening Post, Volume LXXI, Issue 136, 9 June 1906, Page 13

BRITISH AND FOREIGN NEWS.

SPECTATOR SUMMARY (For week ending Saturday, April 14). THE MOROCCAN CONFERENCE. The "Acte General" embodying the results of the Moroccan Conference was signed by the representatives of the thirteen Powers at Algeciras on Saturday last. • A summary of this document with copious extracts is given in Monday's Time's. The main provisions as regards the Police and the Moroccan State Bank have already been made public. We may note, however, that the rank-and-file will be recruited from Moorish Mussulmans and commanded by Moorish Kaids, France and Spain supplying, in round numbers, some fifty instructors and officers to assist in the organisation of the force for five years under a Swiss Inspector-General, who is to reside at Tangier. The final sitting of the Conference was marked by an interchange of cordial compliments and congratulations, and by Tuesday the exodus of delegates had ended. In the opinion of j experts "honours have been easy" between France and Germany, so far as the immediate and Jocal objects of the Conference are concerned. But by her I failure to shake either the Franco-Rus-sian Alliance or the Anglo-French entente, Germany has 'ost rather than gained ground in the great game of European diplomacy. THE HUNGARIAN SETTLEMENT. At the eleventh hour the deadlock in Hungary has been suddenly and unexpectedly averted by a welcome compromise between the Crown and the Coalition, The basis of settlement was only arrived at on Friday w^ek at a conference between Baron Fejervary and the Coalition leaders, and on the same afternoon M. Francis Kossuth and Count Julius Andrassy were received by the Sovereign, who accepted the compromise. Full details as to the terms have not yet been published, but it seems clear that a General Election will be proclaimed and conducted within the Constitutional time by a new Coalition Government, with Dr. Wekerle as Premior, on the single issue of universal suffrage, all military questions being shelved. The new Government will then l make a declaration concerning the military prerogatives of the Crown ; will ensure the voting by the new Parliament of the Budget, tho treaties of commerce, the economic Compact with Austria, the normal contingent of recruits, and the military credits already sanctioned by the Delegations ; and will then bring in and carry a Universal Suffrage Bill. Finally, on the basis of the reformed franchise, a fresh General Election will be held. The settlement, which Ims been greeted with enthusiasm, averts a grave crisis, since the Constitutional period within which a fresh Election must be announced expired only five days after the settlement, and further postponement of the convocation of a new Parliament by Royal Rescript would have seriously infringed the Hungarian Constitution. A COALITION CABINET. The composition of the new "Cabinet of Transition" fortunately affords a good guarantee of its ability to carry out this formidable programme. Dr. Wekerle, Premier in 1892-94, and noted for his grasp of finance, has justified his reputation as a strong man by securing the adhesion of all the chief Coalition leaders, — M. Francis Ko'ssuth, Count Julius Andrassy, Count Albert Appbnyi, and Count Aladar Zichy, the Clerical leader. As the Times correspondent points out, it must bo no slight satisfaction to Francis Joseph, King of Hungary, to have received the oath of allegiance from the son of the great Kossuth, "sometime rebel against the Hapsburg Crown." It is difficult to apportion the credit for the settlement where so many are concerned,' but while the Coalition leaders are specially to be congratulated on having initiated the compromise, the path was largely smoothed by the universal suffrage movement, started by M. Kristoffy, a member of the discredited Fejervary Cabinet, but now accepted by all sections of tho Coalition and freely endorsed in the new compact. Tho attitude of the Hungarians is all the more to their credit in that under the present electoral system the Magyars have a virtual monopoly of political power, their share of representation in the Chamber being exactly forty times that of the non-Magyar races, while on the basis of population it should be half-and-half. SOUTH AFRICA. The relations between the Home Government and South Africa are complicated by the fact that most of tho leading London papers are bitterly hostile to the policy of the present Administration. In these circumstances, and to avoid misrepresentation, the Government did well to telegraph officially in extenso' to Lord Selborne, for communication to the South African Press, that portion of Mr. Churchill's speech of Thursday week which dealt with, the new Colonies. The result of this action has been to clear the air and dispel a good many misapprehensions. The Times correspondent at Johannesburg says that it "places an entirely different complexion on the situation," adding that "there is a genuine anxiety to meet the Government" ; and the tone of the speeches delivered at a banquet at Johannesburg on Saturday last substantiates the assertion. Mr. Lionel Phillips' said that South Africa recognised the difficulties of the Imperial Government, "many members of which had a sincere desire for the advancement of the country" ; while Mr. Quinn, the Mayor, admitted that iv was possible there had been misunderstapdings on both sides. The Transvaal, he wont on, "had no party axe to grind by harping on the damage already done ; it asked only that British supremacy should bo maintained unimpairod, and that the rights of a selfgoverning Colony should be respected. For the rest, it was prepared to let bygones bo bygones." That is sound sense, and, we hope, marks the beginning of better things. As a further ray of light, wo learn from the Daily Mail | that some of the mineowners are beginnine to contemplate the use of cheap unskilled white labour, and are considering tho possibility of inviting tho aid of Scandinavian and Italian immigrants. The schema is ono to be encouraged, for such white labourers would counterbalance both the Boers and the natives and add a very useful element to the population, Wo all know what the Scandinavian labourers have done in America and tho Italians in tho Argentine. THE EDUCATION BILL. In the Commons on Monday Mr. Birrell introduced tho Education Bill in a spcoch which has been very generally recognised as worthy of tho occasion. Wo will only say here that though there are many aspects in which tho Bill is unsatisfactory, and thougli we should havo preferred, had it been possible, to havo maintained tho settlement of 1902, with such modifications as would have made it more acceptable to Nonconformists, wo are greatly roliovod by tho fact that tho Bill enacts that in all schools provided by public money tho fundamental truths of Christianity as set forth in the Bible may be taught daily. Religious teaching is secured as part of tho daily instruction of tho childron of all parents who do not specifically object to it. Secularisation is thus absolutely rejected. At a time whon religious extremists are joining hands with those j who consider that tho State is rightly I and necessarily a. Godless institution,

that is something to be devoutly thankful for. THE DEBATE. In the course of the debate which followed Mr. Birrell's speech, Sir William Anson strongly criticised the Bill, and declared that the Government were proposing to endow a form of religious teaching which was acceptable to many of their own supporters, but not acceptable to a very large number of parents who desired for their children definite religious instruction. It was essential, in their opinion, that a child should be taught as a member of a religious community. Parents who held these views would not be satisfied with simple Bibleteaching. The Bill, if it became law, would bear bitter fruit, and educational peace would be postponed for years. Mr. I Masterman — who, we understand is a High-Churchman and a Socialist — declared that there was only one solution of the religious difficulty, and that was that the State should subsidise no form of religion at all. The Government Bill violated the principle on which "passive resistance" was founded, since there were numbers of persons who said that undenominational teaching was not in- conformity with their, consciences. Mr. Masterman's plea for secularism was supported by Mr. J. R. Macdonald, the Labour Member. He would oppose, he declared, any attempt to teach "this extraordinary skeleton form of religion as a means to secure the allegiance of the children to religious faith." Dr. Macnamara in an able and moderate speech pointed out that the Cowper-Temple Clause by no means thrust the Bible, willingly or unwillingly, upon anybody. On the contrary, the clause represented the widest form of loca' option. The real difficulty of the situation was a possible coalition to push the Bible out of the schools, and that he thought would be disastrous. Mr. Wyndham, who spoke_ for the Opposition, declared that in this Bill, for the first time in the history of our country for many decades past, the State made it its business to say what form of religion should have the advantage. LORD CECIL'S IDEAS. L-ord Robert Cecil, who also' opposed the Bill, declared that it was certainly the establishment of one particular systeiiyof religion, and that to force undenominationalism upon parents was as intolerant as to force them to accept for their children the teaching of any other body of religion. Undenominationalism was utterly foreign to the nature of tho child. The cause of religion was so hard pressed that he was prepared to give to the Nonconformists more than they were entitled to, if only they would leave Christianity as part of the education of the country. One would imagine from Lord Robert Cecil's speech that the proposal to teach Bible Christianity in our schools was something absolutely new and untried, and something which might very possibly de-Christianise the nation. Yet in reality this teaching has been applied since 1870 in half the schools of the country -<-ith the best possible results. If undenominationalism is the terrible and odious thing which Lord Robert Cecil and those who agree ,with him seem to imagine, how is it that they have quietly endured for so many years its steady propagation throughout the country? There was no attempt to divide the House, and after a short reply from Mr. Birrell, the first reading of the Bill was agreed to without a division. We cannot, summarise all the expressions of approval or dissent that have been made public in regard to the Bill, but must note that the Archbishop of Canterbury condemns the measure, which he regards as unfair to the Voluntary schools, and that the Bishops assembled at Lambeth on Wednesday passed a resolution declaring that the Bill must be vigorously opposed. LORD CURZON ON THE EMPIRE. Lord Curzon was entertained to dinner by the Pilgrims' Club on Friday week, and concluded a most interesting speech by summarising the lessons he had learned from Eastern government as follows : — Remember that you are not in India or any foreign dependency for the benefit of your "nationals," but for j the benefit of the people of the country. Second, as far as you can, trust the man on the spot. And thirdly, never sacrifice the interest of a subject dependency or possession to exclusively British interests. Lastly, he appealed to all peoples engaged in Empire-making to send out the best men they could tempt or train to the ends of the earth, where they would always have opportunities for doing noble and unselfish deeds. With Lord Curzon's statement of principle we are in the heartiest accord. If onco we look upon the Empire as a great estate, or regard it as a place where the British nation is to draw dividends, the Empire is doomed. To exploit the Empire is not merely to ruin it, but to ruin ourselves. THE EYE BY-ELECTION. The polling on Friday, 6th April, in the Eye Division of Suffolk, made known last Saturday, resulted in the return of Mr. Harold Pearson, the Liberal and Free-trade candidate, by a majority of 197 over Lord Graham, his opponent. At the General Election Mr F. S. Stevenson, the Liberal Member whose retirement led to the by-election, was returned unopposed. In 1900 the Liberal majority was 1,7.17. The reduction of the majority is, of course, very great, but the contest affords no evidence that the support afforded to Free-trade is in the least degree on the wane. Politics play ed a very small part in the election, which was chiefly conducted, by the female supporters of the two candidates, Lady Mary Hamilton, the fiancee of Lord Graham, and Mrs". Pearson leading their respective legions. The contest, indeed, very_ soon degenerated into an orgy of sentiment. Since Lord Graham was in fact, if not in name, tho Protectionist candidate, and was supported by the Tariff Reform League, we are of course flad that the Free-trader was successful ; ut if fiscal considerations could be put aside we should greatly like to see Lord Graham returned to Parliament. His first-handed knowledge of sea life — he served during several voyages as a sailor before the mast — and his keen interest in a multitude of important public questions, would make nim a most useful Member of Parliament.