THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

New Zealand Graphic, Volume XXVI, Issue V, 2 February 1901, Page 218

THE HISTORY OF THE REIGN

A Record of Unique Progress. The first notable event of the Queen - reign wits the outbreak of a rebel'ion in Canada. The imbecile colonin policy of the British Government towards Canada — almost as suicidal as the mistakes of the pre vious half-century, which culminated in the Declaration of Independencv bv the revolted American States —had fanned into open rebellion the colonists of British North America. It was soon suppressed, however, and I.ord Durham, who was sent out to pacifieate the Canadas, did so wisely, ami established the just principle on which the relations between Britain and her colonies are now based. The early postion of Her Majesty s reign saw the Australasian colonic: first begin to rise into prominence We have grown up so rapidly that we have hardly time to look about us and become conscious of our own sensations. Two generations have hardly passed since w«- began to be. It was in 1537 that the first land sal. took place at Adelaide. In the same year the estimated population of all Australia was considerably under 80.000 persons, and at that time A ictoria, which was included in New South Wales, had a population of only 500 persons. Queensland had been known since 1825, when the Mermaid east anchor in Moreton Bay, but she could not be said to have a population before 1845, and then it was only “computed at about 2257." Tn our own colony it was in 1840 that the Treaty of Waitangi was signed, and Wellington and Auckland were first planted. Otago followed in 1848. and Canterbury not until 1850. The population of Australasia, according to the last census, 1889-90, was 4,474,230 (exclusive of aborigines). our united revenue amounts to £34,384,932. and our foreign trade to £138.000,000. The present year has seen the inauguration of the Australian Commonwealth, embracing the six States of the sister colony, the annexation by New Zealand of several important islands of the Pacific, and the inauguration in New Zealand of penny postage with the United King-

dom and all reciprocating countries. The opening of the reign saw also the general development of the railway system all over England (183739). the construction of the electric telegraph (IS3S). the first successful attempts to make use of steam for the business of trans-Atlantic navigation (1838), and the introduction of the penny postage (1840). The suspension of transportation to New South Wales in the same year (1840) ensured a career of future prosperity to our settlements in Australia. A measure to abolish in various eases the punishment of death was passed. Inquiries into the condition of our poor and labouring classes were the

order of the day. A system of national education, begun in 1834 by a small annual grant towards the erection of schools, was developed in 1839 by the creation of a new committee of the Privy Council for educational purposes. and by a steady increase of educational grants. In Ireland the

horrors of the Tithe War led in 1838 to the abolition of tithes and the substitution of a land tax. A Poor Law was passed in the same year, and a Municipal Reform Act two years later. But although the Ministry were able to carry these and several other beneficial measures, they failed to

win the confidence of the people. The condition of the manufacturing poor was deplorable, and it gave rise to die Chartist agitation for admission Ih equal political rights with the middle classes. For ten years (1838-48) the movement disturbed England. Events abroad added to the difficulties of the Ministry at home. A war was forced on China in 1536. on its refusal to allow the smuggling of opium into its dominion. In India the occupation of Cabul during the same year (1839) ended two years later in a general revolt of the Afghans, and in the loss of a British army in the Kyber Pass. A general election in 1841 resulted in the return of the Conservatives to power under Sir Robert Peel. When the new Ministry assumed office there was a general confidence that the financial genius of Sir Robert Peel would quickly find some way to amend the condition of things, especially in the agricultural districts. Abroad the Government proved itself successful. Peace was made with China by a treaty which threw open five additional ports to European traders; and in India the disaster of Cabul was avenged by an expedition under General Pollock. In 1843 Daniel O'Connell and his formidable agitation for repeal are entitled to the foremost place; but the prohibition of the monster meeting at Clontarf, on October 3rd, broke his power. In India the province of Seinde was annexed to the British dominions.

In 1845 England’s supremacy in India was again jeopardised by the outbreak of the Sikhs, who were, however, subdued in the battles of Sobraon, Mooodkee, and Feroztshah The agitation regarding the Cnr i Laws commenced about this time. Peel who had been elected in 1841 to maintain the Corn Tax. in 184 G repealed il, in consequence of the agitation of a great political association called the Anti-Corn Law League, and also becav«o of the difficulty of providing for an impending famine in Ireland. The day that the bill was passed by the House of Lords saw the MinisTy defeated on an Irish Coercion Bill. Lord John Russell succeeded to the Premiership, and carried out the system of Free Trade initiated by his predecessor. In 1845-6 the British forces in India were engaged in a desperate struggle with the Sikhs, who to the number of 40,000 trained men had invaded British territory. The campaign ended in victory for the British, after a series of severe engagements. There was also a war

with the Kaffirs in South Africa. The great O’Connell died in 1847. and in 1848 there were revolutionary outbreaks in Germany, Italy, Austria, and' France, while in England the renewal of the Chartist agitation, and in Ireland the “Young Ireland’’ rebellion, were the principal events. Another outbreak of the Sikhs took place in 1549, and was followed by their complete defeat and the annexation of the Punjaub. Brief wars with China ami

with Afghanistan took place in th* <-ourse of thia rear

In 1849, while the countries of the Continent were still agitated by the revolutionaries, trade and manufactures at home were improving, wages rising, and the popular discontent dying out. Ireland, too, was temporarily tranquil. The year 1851 w> * rendered notable by the opening of the Great Exhibition and the disc awry of gold in Victoria. In the foil wing vear the Volunteer movement sprung into existence, in consequence of tbe popular fear of a French Little wars Burmah and the Kaffirs. ‘ sell's Ministry was defeated on .- Militia Bill, and Lord Derby came into office With Disraeli as ChanceLor■ of the Exchequer. A new constituum. was granted to New Zea-and. Th end of the year saw the death • f . h great Duke of Wellington. The new Parliament was called together in . vember. but the Derby administraui n was defeated on the budget of Mr Disraeli. In a few days the Aberdeen Coalition Ministry was - - ed. With Mr Gladstone as Chancey of the Exchequer, another sweep) g abolition of duties was earned: wa Lord Palmerston al the Home ffi. introduced such useful reforms a-ticket-of-leave system, the of the Factory Acts, and the shut tin, un of gravevards in the metropolis. But the mind of the nation was soon he wholly taken up with foreign affairs. ' , The attack upon Turkey by the Emperor of Russia was resisted hy the allied forces of England and France. War was declared in March. 1854. The invasion of the Crimea (September 14th). and the ™t?ry J Alma .September 20th). were bv the siege of Sebastopol. On October 25th was fought the battle of Balaclava: the sth November ed the successful defence of the heights above Inkerman. The winter tried our troops severely, encamped as thev were on a bleak plateau, w-i.-the commissariat utterly broke down. This caused great indignation in England. and Lord Aberdeen was succeeded as Prime Minister by Ixuvi Palmerston in February. 1855. When operations were resumed in the summer the English army were far outnumbered by its French allies, who consequently gained the greater part of the’ credit of the capture of Sebastopol on September sth. The war was now virtually over, the Congress of Paris opened February 26th. 1*56. and March 30th a treaty of peace was signed. The war had cost England 22.467 lives and £53.000. For some time after the Crimean war the business of legislation proceeded wi ! h languor. Tn India the annexation of Oude Tth. 1856) gave rise to much discontent among the natives, which was afterwards to bear fruit. The seizure of the lorcba (or cutter) Arrow by the Chinese authorities. on the charge of piracy, was the cause of the third Chinese war (October 1855 —May. 1858). The policy of the Government in this matter led to their defeat in February. 1'57: but Lord Palmers:on's appeal to the country brought him back to power with a larger majority than before. The little war with Persia was concluded in April. Soon afterwards the news of the outbreak in India broke upon England with the shock of a thunderclap. A mutiny at Meerut in May was followed by the seizure of Delhi, where the native king was enthroned as Emperor of Hindoostan: by a fresh mutiny and massacre of the Europeans at Cawnpore. by the rising of Oude. and the siege of the Residency o f Lucknow. The revolt was not finally suppressed until August. 1858. At home the new Parliament was engaged for some time in passing the Act for the establishment of a Court of Divorce. This year (1857) also saw the abolition of tbe system of transportaton.

The autumn was memorable by a terrible money panic, and the failures of banks and commercial firms, which led to the suspension of the Bank Charter Act. In the beginning of 185 S Lord Palmerston introduced a bill to transfer the authority of the East India Company to the Crown. In accordance with this Act the government of the company—the famed

-John Company”—formally ceased on September Ist. 1858; and tbe Queen was proclaimed throughout India iu the following No»*mber, the GovernorGeneral becoming her Viceroy- In February. 1859. the failure of Mr Disraeli's Reform Rill necessitated an appeal to the country. The election brought back Lord Palmerston, whose Ministry- lasted till his death in 1865. A commercial treaty with France, negotiated by Mr Cobden, was concluded in January. 1861. The ratification of the treaty of Tientsin by the Emperor in October ended for a time the disturbances in China. A native war was proceeding in New Zealand. The opening days of 1862 were made memorable by a fearful accident at the Hartley coal mine. Northumberland. by which 262 men and boys were buried alive. For the next three years home politics were inactive. In 1663. another war broke out in New Zealand. in the suppression of which 10.000 Imperial troops and 500 colonial troops were engaged. •

Parliament was dissolved in July. 1865. and a large Liberal maiority was the result of the appeal to the country. In the following October. Lord Palmerston died. The new Government introduce!’ a Franchise Bill early in 1866. and resigned, on failing to carry it. in July. This year was also notable for a terrible commercial panic, and the laying of the Atlantic cable. Tn 1867 a further measure of reform was carried by the Conservative Government. and the Parliamentary session was scarcely over when the country was startled by the news of the attempted rescue of the Fenian prisoners at Manchester.

The Fenian movement, organised for the purpose of extorting independence for Ireland by force, may be said to have commenced at the close of the American War. in 1865: but aB attempts at insurrection had hitherto proved abortive. The scheme for the capture of Chester Castle, in Febmarv of this year, was anticipated bv the Government. The gathering at Tallaght. in March, which was to have formed a prelude to a general rising in Ireland, was dispersed by the police. On November 23rd. thre= of the leaders of the Manchester rescue were hanged. On December 13th. an attempt was made to blow up the House of Detention, at Clerk-r.well. Early in 1868. Lord Derby withdrew from politics, and Mr Disraeli became Premier. In July Mr Glad-rime carried his resolutions in favour of the disestablishment of the Irish Church, and in the general ele.-tion ■which followed the Liberals again secured the power. Mr Disraeli resigning without meeting Parliament. The successful conclusion of the Abyssinian expedition, unde- Lord Napier, belongs to the history of -his year. A sad event of 1868 wns the great massacre of settlers by natives in Poverty Bay. New Zealand. During the session of 1869 the Disestablishment of the Irish Church was carried, and the Irish Land Bill, accirding a sort of tenant right, was also passed in 1870. while a little later in the same year the Education Bill became law. Tn 1871. the long-pend-ing dispute between Britain and America re the Alabama claims was settled. Great Britain having to pay about £3.200.000 indemnity money. 1872 was remarkable for the agitation among the agricultural labourers and the formation of their Triion. an event which even the first Tich borne • vial, now drawing to its close, failed to throw into the shade. A fre.-h step in Parliamentary reform was trade by the passing of a measure which enabled the votes of electors to L-e given in secret bv means of the ballot. Meanwhile, the time had come when the nation was no longer in reforming mood. 1873 proved a trying time for the Liberal Government. The Irish Home Rule party now < ame into prominence, under Mr Isaac Butt, and put them in a new difficulty. Defeated on the Irish University Bill, they resigned in March, but Mr Disraeli prudently declined to accept office without a working majority. By the death of the ex-Emperor of the French at Chiselhurst, on fanuary 9th. a name of enormous power passed out of the living world into that of history. Nine days later died Lord Lytton, who. if he did not in every walk achieve distinction, yet failed in none. Early in 1874 Mr Gladstone suddenly resolved to consult public opinion by a dissolution of Parliament, and the return of a Conservative majority of nearly seventy members led to his

retirement from office. Mr Disraeli again becoming Prime Minister. February 2m h was the 168th and last day of the trial of the Tichbornc ’.Taimant for perjury. Sentence of fourteen years’ imprisonment was passed. The Ashanti war—“one of the least of all our little wars”—was brought to a close in March. About this time 1677-78) the Home Rule party, under the leadership of Mr Parnell, who had displaced Mr Butt, began to make its power felt in the House of Commons. The new leader availed himself of the distress caused by bad harvests in 1878-80. and of the repeal of the Convention Act in 1879, to organise the formidable Land League movement. Throughout 1876 and 1877. during the Russian invasion of Turkey, a guarded and even hostile attitude towards Russia was maintained, and when tbe Russians seemed about to enter Constantinople the British fleet was ordered to the Dardanelles and an Indian contingent was brought to Malta. W hen a treaty was concluded between Turkey and Russia at San Stefano Mr Disraeli. now Lord Beaconsfield, insisted that it should be submitted to the great Powers. A general Congress at Berlin followed, which Lord Beaconsfield attended as representative of England, and in the summer of 1878 the Eastern Question was temporarily set at rest by the Treaty of Berlin. Cyprus now became a British possession. The death of Earl Russell, May 28th in this year, removed from the political world the shadow of a great name. Abroad, the repulse by the Afghans of a British mission led this year to a fresh Afghan war (November, IS7S. The Afghans made but a poor resistance, and the British troops soon occupied CabuL A treaty was concluded at Gandamuk with Yakoob Khan, who had succeeded to power on the death of his father. Shere Ali. in May. 1879. but all its provisions were scattered to the winds by the murder of Sir Louis Cavagnari. who had been deputed as English Envoy to Cabul (September). The British army promptly advanced on the capital, and on December 24th Cabul was again occupied. Matters were now settling down, but the approach of the Sirdar Ayoob Khan kindled anew the flames of rebellion. This pretender having defeated General Burrows at Maiwand in July, proceeded to invest Candahar, but he was utterly routed in his turn by General Sir F. Roberts (September), who had effected the difficult march from Cabul with consummate generalship. The government of the country was ultimately ieft in the hands of Abdur Rahman (July. 1880). The year 1879 began inauspiciously with the war between the British and the Zulu king. Cetewayo. owing to the refusal of the latter to make reparation for the raid by his subjects opin Natal. A force under Lord Chelmsford crossed the frontier and after several reverses inflicted a crushing defeat on the Zulus and captured Cetewayo. At home the next general election sent the Liberals back to power with a large majority. The new Parliament met May 2Oth. and the state of Ireland soon absorbed attention. The Relief

of Distress Bill passed uneventfully into law. but the Compensation for Disturbance Bill, haring for its main provision that in certain districts tenants might lie compensated for eviction in the case of non-payment of rent, was unceremoniously thrown out of the House of Lords by the overwhelming majority of 231. In June the King of Greece. George 1., made a short stay. In South Africa the annexation of tbe Transvaal to the British dominions ( April. 1877) had caused much discontent among the Boers, which in December of this year. 1880, took the form of open rebellion. A most disastrous campaign followed in which the British sustained three defeats. An armistice, proposed by the Boers, was accepted in March. I'Bl. and peace was finally concluded on the 22nd of the same month. By the Convention of Pretoria the Boers, while retaining self-government, acknowledged the suzerainty of Great Britain, and thus the Transvaal practically became an independent State.

The Ministry re-assemb!ed both Houses on January 6th. 1881. and at once set to work at further legislation for Ireland. Two repressive measures—a Preservation of Property and an Arms Bill—became law, after a desperate fight on the part of the Parnellites; and the Government were free to introduce their "message of

peavt-." the new Irish land Bill, by which the whoie system of Irish tenures was transform'd (April 7th). After endless obstruction tbe Bill received the royal assent in August. The remainder of the session was devoted chiefly to army reform. By the Army Discipline Act flogging was totally abolished. The evils of the shortservice system were decreased, the prospects of junior officers were improved: while by a strict method o! localisation more troops were ready for service at a particular moment. In Ireland, the triumphal acquittal of Mr Parnell and his coadjutors had added to the strength of the agitators, while they condemned the Land Act by anticipation. The Government, seeing little prospect of the Land Act being allowed fair play, availed itself of the "unexhausted resourceof civilisation," by lodging Mr Parnell and five of his allies in Kilmainbam Gaol. Ten days later the I-and League was proda'med as "an illegal and criminal association.” but it immediately revived as the National League. On April 19th Lord Beaconsfield passed away, full of years and of such honours as the State had to bestow. H-s last public utterance had been in the House of Lords on the occasion of the assassination of the Emperor of Russia in the previous Marell. The session which opened February 7th. 1"2. was devoted, like its predecessor. almost entirely to Irish affaire. A fresh trouble was prepared for the Government by the adoption of a motion in the House of Lords for a Select Committee to inquire into the working of the Irish Land Act. The release of Mr Parnell and other "suspects” on certain conditions—jocosely referred to by the Opposition as the "Kilmainham Treaty”—gave rise to much heated debate (May). These incidents seriously interfered with the discussion on the new Rules of Procedure. It was hoped there would be more expedition after Easter, but a terrible crisis—the assassination of I .ord Frederick Cavendish and Mr Burks, the Chief and Under Secretaries for Ireland, in the Phoenix Park. Dublin, on May 6th. compelled the Government to resort to a totally new departure. A stringent Prevention of Crimes Bill was forthwith introduced (May 11th). which on becoming law (July 12th) put a stop to the worst of the atrocities. In spite of the most extreme provocation the Ministry introduced one more remedial measure for Ireland, the Arrears of Rent Bill, which received royal assent. August 18th. The other measures of the session included in the Commons the Parcel Post Bill: in the Upper House, the Married Women's Property Bill—which places the married woman precisely upon the same footing as her husband in everything relating to the ownership and disposal of propertyand the Settled Land Bill were carried. The Procedure Resolutions were finally passed in an autumn session (October 24th to December 2nd.) Abroad. the Egyp s,aD difficulty came to a head by the uprising of the "National Party” under Arabi Pasha. On May 17th. 18-83. the English and French fleets were ordered to Alexandria to support the authority of the Khedive. June 11th a riot broke out in the city, and the European colony in alarm began to leave Egypt. Mercantile enterprise was checked, and it was probably owing to financial pressure that armed intervention was then decided on by Mr Gladstone. The "Bondholders' War" began with the bombardment of Alexandria by the English fleet on July Uih. with the result that on the second day the town was evacuated by the National ists. who. as they retired, took care to burn down the European quarter of the city. Loss estimated at £ 4.000.000. Finally, September 10th. the campaign was ended by a night attack on Tel-el-Kebir. Cairo was saved from the fate of Alexandria by a forced inarch of cavalry, September 14th. and Arabi was eventually banished to Ceylon. The year 1883 saw the long-baffiee efforts of the executive to bring the Phoenix Park murderers to justice completely successful. The actual assassins were hanged: their accom plices sent to penal servitude for life. The dynamite conspii .tors revealed their presence in London by attempts to blow up the Local Government Board and "Times” office*

(March 13th), and by explosions on the underground railway (October 30th). These outrages necessitated the passing of a Hill for amending the Act of 1875 relating to explosives, April 10th. The severity of this measure, and of the sentences inflicted upon four of the gang in June, checked the movement for a brief while. Parliament met February 15th. Among a large number of legislative failures were such important measures as the Criminal Appeal and Code Bills, and the Bill for the Reform of the Municipality of London (all three “dropped.”) The International Fisheries Exhibition, which was opened on May 12th, proved the event of the London season, while it doubtless gave considerable impetus to one of the most important of our industries. Meanwhile the prospect in Egypt grew gloomier day by day. Although the Government had repeatedly declared that the army of occupation would be withdrawn, they had overlooked the fact that the Khedive was engaged in a desperate struggle with the Arabs of the Soudan, who, led by a religious fanatic, Mahomet Achmet (the Mahdi), totally annihilated an Egyptian army under Hicks Pasha, November 3rd. This success the Mahdi followed up next year (1884) by cutting to pieces, at El Teb, near Suakim. Baker Pasha’s rabble of Egyptians, Bashi-Bazouks, and negroes. February 4th, and England now felt called upon to go to the rescue of her new dependent. About 4000 troops under General Graham were sent, and engaged the Soudanese commanded by Osman Digna at El Teb (February 29th) and Tamanieb (March 13th), but no practical result followed. In the meantime General Gordon, at the request of the Government, had left London for Khartoum on January 18 to assume his old post of GovernorGeneral of the Soudan. The main object of his mission was to effect the withdrawal of the garrison and of the Christian population in Khartoum: but in August, when all too late, it became necessary to despatch an army under Lord Wolseley to his relief.

At Home. 1884 brought about a further measure of reform. Parliament assembled on February sth. The third reading of the Franchise Bill was effected in the Commons on June 26th, but the Lords would have none of it unless (so they alleged) it was accompanied by a Redistribution of Seats Act. The Ministry had therefore no alternative but to hurry on the remaining business in order to pass the Franchise Bill again in an autumn session. Parliament met again on October 23rd, and shortly afterwards an agreement was arrived at between Ministers and the Opposition leaders. A Redistribution Bill was drafted in concert, and the Franchise Bill was passed in the Lords on December 6th. The agricultural labourers were thus added to the constituencies. Domestic science was furthered by the opening of the National Health Exhibition on May Sth. The death of Mr. Fawcett. Post-master-General, occurred on November 6th. In December a determined attempt was made to blow up London Bridge with dynamite.

The earliest days of 1885 f<Ml upon trouble, both at home and abroad. Simultaneous attempts were made (January 24th). in broad daylight, to blow up the Houses of Parliament and the Tower of London by dynamite. For complicity in these outrages, two men. Cunningham and Burton, were convicted and sentenced to penal servitude for life in the following May. On February sth. the news of the fall of Khartoum and the assassination of its heoric defender thrilled the country. A more unpropitious moment for Parliament to reassemble could hardly have been chosen. When it met (February 19th) the Opposition gave notice of a vote of censure on the Government for their conduct of the Soudan campaign. The Government just escaped in the Commons by a narrow majority of 14; in the Lords their policy found but 68 fmpportors. They now resolved on “smashing” the Mahdi, but after four millions and a-half had been voted for that purpose, they as suddenlv changed their minds and determined to abandon the Soudan to its fate (Mav 11th). The Redistribution Bill had been meanwhile steadily pushed onwards, and received Royal assent. May 21st. Defeat came at length on the Budget Bill, the Ministry resigned June 12th, and Lord Salisbury bezame Premier for the first time. The remainder of the session was employ-

ed in passing Mr Balfour’s Medical Relief Bill, Lord Salisbury’s Housing of th«e Working Classes (England) Bill, the Land Purchase and Labourers’ (Ireland) Bills, and the Crimiual Law Amendment Act, a measure which may be said to be still on its trial. Scotland at last received a Chief Secretary and a Vice-President of her Education Department. Just before the prorogation, Lord Iddesleigh announced the proposal of a Royal Commission to inquire into the causes of Depression of Trade, August 10th. Tn April the Prines and Princess of Wales paid a three weeks’ visit to Ireland, and received a cordial reception in most places: the ■’oilowing month they opened the International Inventions Exhibition at South Kensington. The Exhibition proved hardly so attractive as its predecessors, while financially it resulted in a loss of nearly £5,000. Many eminent names are found on the death list of 1885. The 2nd April saw the unexpected death of Earl Cairns. The veteran statesman. Viscount Halifax (Sir Charles Wood) passed away on August Bth. The death of the illustrious philanthropist, Lord Shaftesbury, October Ist, was mourned by all classes. The elections which came on in November were remarkable for the success of the working-men candidates. The result showed an absolute tie, provided the Home Rulers, now’ mustering 86 members, obeyed the instructions of their leader, and voted with the Conservatives. Suddenly’ it was whispered that Mr Gladstone had become favourable to the establishment of a parliament in Ireland dealing with purely Irish affairs, and had even prepared a scheme. Tn the same month war was declared against the King of Burmah for persistent violation of treaties, and on the reassembling of Parliament, 12th January, 1886, the annexation of his dominions was announced. A fortnight later the Salisbury Administration was defeated on the Allotments amendment of Mr Jesse Collings, and Mr Gladstone once more assumed the reins. It w’as well known that he entered office pledged to Home Rule measures. After an interval of suspense, a Government of Ireland Bill was brought in on Bth April, but preceded by the resignation of two Cabinet Ministers, and by the secession of numerous minor members of the Liberal party, who found themselves unable to support the measure. A Sale and Purchase of Land (Ireland) Bill followed, 16th April. The first measure, the Government of Ireland Bill, was defeated on the second reading in the Commons by a majority of thirty (30th June), and the split in the Liberal camp was for the time complete. A general election, w’hich returned Unionists, Dissentient Liberals and Gladstonian Liberals, restored the Conservatives to office, Lord Salisbury again becoming First Minister of the Crown.

The most momentous colonial event was the eruption of Mt.Tarawera.New Zealand, which buried several square miles of country under mud and ashes, and caused the loss of one hundred lives. February Bth of this year acquired the unenviable sobriquet of “Mob Monday,” from the riots which took place in the West End after a meeting of the unemployed in Trafalgar Square. The death of Mr Forster, April sth, removed an occasionally useful and an always prominent though not always popular minister. The year’s obituary also contains the name of Lord Cardwell, a name associated with the abolition of purchase in the army. The magnificent Colonial and Indian Exhibition, opened by the Queen in May, brought home to us for the first time the development and progress which had been made in the various parts of the British dominions. The Exhibition was a great success, having been visited by no fewer than 5,550.745 persons during the six months it was open.

The year 1887 was distinguished by the splendid national celebrations in honour of the Queen’s Jubilee. The verdict of the country against Home Rule in 1886, and the large majority with which Lord Salisbury came into office, enabled him to put the Irish question, which had dominated Home politics for several years, into a more subordinate place, and to maintain his position at the head of the Government for six years. His dependence upon the Liberal Unionists, and the necessity to conciliate that party, gave a more liberal tone to the policy

of the Cabinet than we might have looked for under other circumstances, and several useful measures dealing with Irish affairs were passed. In the session of 1888, the Local Government (England and Wales) Bill was introduced by Mr Ritchie, President of the Local Government Board, and w&s carried through with amendments. It established a council for each county with large powers. This measure has greatly improved the system of local government in England, and with .subsequent legislation has provided efficient machinery for the government of London. The new Council of the metropolis took over the powers, duties, and liabilities of the pre-ex-isting Metropolitan Board of Works. Some useful Labour laws were also passed into law. An Act was passed providing for the creation of life peers. Lord Salisbury in 1891 entertained the Emperor of Germany and Trince of Naples at Hatfield. Among the foreign questions which occupied a good deal of attention during this period of Lord Salisbury’s administration were the Canadian and Behring Sea fishery disputes, which were finally referred to arbitration, the latter resulting in an award against the United States. The year 1891 saw a number of distinguished figures disappear from the political arena, the most noted being Mr C. S. Parnell, Earl Granville, Mr Bradlaugh, Mr W. H. Smith, Sir C. Foster, and Mr Raikes.

In the election of 1892 Mr Gladstone’s magnetic power over the people was once more displayed when he secured an endorsement of the policy of Home Rule for Ireland which the electors rejected some years before. The passing of that measure in the House of Commons and its rejection by the House of Lords occurred too recently to require detailed description. In March, 1894, Mr Gladstone, being then 85 years of age, resigned the Premiership, and also his seat In Parliament. Under Lord Rosebery, who succeeded him, the Liberal party, internally disunited, quickly showed signs of disintegration, and sustaining a defeat on a minor issue in July, 1895, Lord Rosebery resigned without appealing to the country. The chief measure which resulted from his brief tenure of the office of Prime Minister was the voting of large sums to increase the strength of the Navy. Lord Salisbury once more took office. The most notable incidents of his later administration are the conclusion of a treaty of arbitration with the United States for the settlement of the longstanding dispute over the Venezuelan boundary, and the negotiation of a larger treaty for the reference of all disputes with America to arbitration. The latter agreement, however, the U.S. Senate has so far failed to ratify. The achievement of a concert of the Great Powers in connection with the affairs of Turkey ,which has stood the trial of a war between that country and Greece, is also believed to have been brought about mainly through the diplomatic skill of the English Prime Minister. The incident of the Jamieson raid in the Transvaal also gave scope for the exercise of the administrative capacity of his Colonial Secretary, Mr Chamberlain.

More recent events may be passed over very briefly, being fresh in the memory of our readers. The year 1895 saw the Salisbury Administration again in power (and they still hold office, with some alterations in the personnel of the Cabinet). Queen Victoria in 1897 achieved the record reign of any British sovereign, and the event was suitably recognised throughout the Empire. In 1898 Mr Gladstone died, and the same year Prince Bismarck passed away. The AngloFrench Fashoda crisis made 1898 an eventful year, threatening a serious rupture between these two great Powers, but the affair was fortunately adjusted by mutual agreement early in 1899. In the ensuing year Faure died, and Loubet was elected President of the French Republic. The Empress of Austria met her death at the hands of an anarchist in 1899. In 1898-99 America and Spain were engaged in a war which ended in the former getting possession of Cuba and the

Philippines, after enormous loss of life and money. The year 1899 was also notable on account of the Peace Conference held at The Hague in response to proposals made by the Czar, and which resulted in a convention for the pacific settlement of international disputes, concerning the laws and customs of war, etc. The year 1900 saw the capture of Osman Digna, the assassination of Humbert, King of Italy, the Transvaal war, and the war against China, in which latter the Allied Powers are still engaged. The saddest feature of all is that the reign of a Queen of so peaceful a disposition as our beloved Queen should have terminated—possibly the end hastened — by the Empire being involved in such a long and sanguinary struggle as that which is now proceeding in South Africa.