Leading Articles in the Reviews. 



587 



IS ENGLAND DECLINING? 



OliSKKVATloNS OF A GERMAN WRITER. 



In tlie iiovembet numhei of the £>(u/sc/i^ Jiu)ii/ir/ia" 

 C.raf Vay von Vaya has an article bearing the title 

 " England and the Signs of Her Decline." 



ENciLANO'S GREATNESS UNDER ELIZABETH AND 

 VICTORIA. 



Tiie Count, who seems to have passed some time 

 ill England, records apparently his personal observa- 

 tions. He begins by contrasting the last quarter of 

 the nineteenth century with the first decade of the 

 twentieth. In the reign of Queen Victoria, England, 

 he says, was at the zenith of her powers. Under the 

 sceptre of the Queen the country continued to expand 

 to the most distant regions of the globe, and she was 

 the first sovereign to be proclaimed Empress of India. 

 During her reign England acquired great wealth. 

 Remarkable as it may sound, in the two greatest and 

 happiest epochs for the English ijeople a queen was 

 on the throne, the fame of the Elizabethan era resting 

 upon the intellectual greatness of the nation, while 

 the Victorian era represents the material welfare of 

 the great Empire. Never was a country greater and 

 wtallhier than England under Queen Victoria, and 

 the Jubilees of 1887 and 1897 may justly be regarded 

 as the apotheosis of her power. 



RESULT OF THE BOER WAR. 



But >oon, alas I came a national visitation in the 



form of the Boer War. Public opinion became 



divided into hostile camps, and the marvellous disci- 



"pline of the English people suftlred the first breach. 



.\t what a price did the war end in victory for the 



I'.ritish army ! England's unique position ceased to 



>-■ undisputcdly supreme. Meanwhile other younger 



;itions had been developing with unexpected rapidity. 



.crniany and the United .States became important 



rivals both politically and commercially, and the 



markets of the world were no longer monopolised by 



the English. 



THE DOIBTFLI. RIGHT OF FREE SPEECH. 



Connrt^ng to a closer examination of the present 

 condition of England, the writer finds that the signs 

 of decadence are revealed in the intellectual domain 

 rather than in the field of action. Those great 

 ijualitics which used to be the admiration of the 

 world— a deep sensL- of duty, untiring energy, pure 

 mora! feeling, and wonderful discipline — are said to 

 be declining amongst all classes. Referring to the 

 .ocial (luestion, the Count notes that the beginnings 

 f disorder date much further back. The result of 

 ihe dissemination of the new ideas among the working 

 classes is a new class with a Labour I'arty in Parlia- 

 m'.nt, while the so called Socialism is more anarchy 

 than anything else. The writer was astonished that 

 orators in Hyde Park and in public halls should be 

 allowed to preach such revolutionary [iropaganda and 

 express such anti-patriotic views as he has heard. 

 He has been quite shocked at the criticisms of 



Parliament and other institutions, and he thinks the 

 influence of anarchists on the working classes of 

 (Ireat Britain highly dangerous. 



CORRUPTION OF THE UPPER CLASSES. 



Not less surprising is the revolution in the bearing 

 of the upper classes, he continues. He makes many 

 sweeping statements about their luxurious and indolent 

 existence. Such a change as that which has taken 

 place in the present century is scarcely realisable, and 

 the evil influence of the upper ten thousand cannot 

 fail to make itself felt among the people. \\"ith the 

 smart set wealth is everything, and consequently 

 wealthy people flock to England in great numbers to 

 become the ruling elements of the country. American 

 women are also blamed for introducing American 

 manners and customs. Having entered the most 

 exclusive circles, the aristocracy has acquired a large 

 element of Yankee blood, which has not been to the 

 advantage of the character of the present generation. 

 Traditions have no further value. Nothing, indeed, 

 is respected which interferes with personal desires. 

 There is no restraint, no sense of duty, and the aim 

 of existence is to be amused. As the sons of the 

 nobility are not brought up to work, the most lucra- 

 tive thing to do is to marry American heiresses. The 

 husband provides the name, the wife the money. 



EVIL EFFECT ON THE PEOPLE. 



Could anything be more enervating than incessant 

 amusement and entertaining ? And the worst is the 

 evil effect on other classes. Everyone is coming to 

 take his calling in life less seriously. The hours of 

 labour are reduced ; Sunday is not sutificient for rest, 

 and Saturday is added for amusement. In no 

 country are the working hours less than in England. 

 Everyone is trying to better his social position, and 

 the struggle for life has become a struggle for high life. 

 The seriousness which once characterised English 

 politicians threatens to disappear. Lack of discipline 

 is one of the most important signs of weakness, and in 

 no class is thirst for power so great as among 



politicians. 



A New Chinese PeriL 

 l)K. Dillon, in the CoitUml'oi\iry Rcviau, recently 

 reported that the formation of the Chinese National 

 Militia, which was to oust the land-grabbing foreigner 

 from China, has had an unexpected recoil on the 

 Chinese Government itself : — 



Tlicbf armed forces cl.imour forspeoly reform. Too late the 

 Uovcrnment realised the mistake whicli it had unwittingly 

 committed by calling these formidable forces into being. Tic 

 demon conjured up against the foreigner was found to ha\e 

 turned against his master. Imperial edicts were issued for- 

 bidding the recruits to mobilise ; instructions were given that 

 they should disbaml ; pains and penalties were decreed against 

 the recalcitrant. Kut Iwhcsis and exhortations were unavailinij. 

 The movement -pread like wildlire. Kroni the depths of the 

 provinces came eager recruits bringing their subscriptions, and 

 olfcring their time, and labour, and lives, if need were^ .\nd 

 the Militia, which was created in order to .issert Chinese 

 sovereignty over Mongolia and Manchuria, has been transformed 

 in .1 twinkling into what may at any moment reveal itself as a 

 I evolutionary army. 



