ENGLAND.

New Zealand Illustrated Magazine, Volume 1, Issue 8, 1 May 1900, Page 644

ENGLAND.

Admiration at the consolidation of the Empire, and the manner in which the Colonies are rallying round their Mother Country, appears to be still the prevailing sentiment in England. The Queen's visit to Ireland, and the Prince of Wales' narrow escape from assasination, caused considerable sensation, but they both tended in different degrees in the same direction. The former was supposed to be a gracious acknowledgment of the services the gallant Irish troops had rendered in South Africa, and certainly was accepted most enthusiastically. The latter, although much to be deplored, drew forth sympathy from all parts of the world, friends and enemies alike. The idea of giving the Colonies a share of the responsibility of defending the Empire was alluded to in a speech by Sir Michael Hicks-Beach at a Primrose League entertainment, and another speaker prophesied that ere long the Colonies will have the right of assisting in determining the policy of the Empire. The Duke of Argyle, of whose death we have just heard, was a man ♦ of many parts. Political, scientific, legal and religious subjects were handled with equal fluency and precision by his facile pen. The various positions he held, amongst which might be noted Lord Privy Seal, PostmasterGeneral, President of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Secretary of State for India, Hereditary Master of the Queen's Household in Scotland, Herditary Sheriff and Lord Lieutenant of Argyleshire, etc., etc., bear ample testimony to his abilities.