Renru- of Rcvicu-s.l/3!l3. J^ROGR/'ISS OF THE WO'iLD. 



suddenly in a chair in his room at the 

 hotel where latterly he had lived, with 

 the manuscript of an unfinished shon 

 story King on a table in front of him. 

 Mr. Becke was a native of Port Mac- 

 quane, Xew .South Wales, where he was 

 born m 1855. The spirit of adventure 

 was born in him, and when only four- 

 teen years of age he went to sea with 

 his brother in a schooner bound to San 

 Francisco. It was on this trip that he 

 got his first taste of the South Sea 

 Islands, and though on his return from 

 San Francisco he sought employment 

 in a merchant's office, the call of the 

 sea was too strong to resist, and he 

 soon embarked on a trading venture to 

 the Caroline and Pelew Islands. This 

 adventurous experience ended, Becke 

 tried his fortunes on the new goldfields 

 m Queensland, but two years of this 

 life sufficed, and returning to Sydney, 

 he bought a little cutter, and sailed for 

 Samoa to re-enter the trading business 

 Later he joined the notorious " Bull}' " 

 Hayes on the brig "Leonora." He re- 

 garded those da}'s with Ha\-es. as re- 

 cruiter and supercargo, as the halcyon 

 time of his life. They gave him his 

 material for most of his books. No man 

 knew the South Sea Islands better than 

 Becke, and the success of the thirty 

 odd books which he published, testifies 

 to the good use he made of his know- 

 ledge and experiences, and to his abilit\ 

 as a writer. 



The Primate. 



The xAnglican Primate, Archbishop 

 Wright, is on his \va\' to England, 

 partly for a holiday, and parti}- to un- 

 dertake important business for his 

 Church. Dr. Wright's brief occupancy 

 of the important See of Sydney, and 

 the still more important position of 

 Primate of Australia, has already re- 

 vealed him as a strong man, and an 

 able ecclesiastical statesman. He came 

 to Svdne\- at a time when things were 



considerabl_\- at sixes and sevens in the 

 S>'dne_v diocese, and when the Church 

 badl}- wanted a bold, strong leader. 

 He has more than fulfilled expectations. 

 The prestige of the Church has been 

 raised, new life and vigour have been 

 imparted to the \arious activities of the 

 Churcli, and the clergy and people 

 alike are facing a fuller and brighter 

 horizon. There is nothing spectacular 

 about the .Archbishop. He is a man of 

 thoroughness, a man of initiative, and 

 he believes in hard work. In adminis- 

 trative ability he stands high above 

 his predecessors. He unites to perfec- 

 tion the suaviter hi modo with the 

 fortiter in re. But in everything he is 

 the captain on the bridge — the general 

 in oommand, and his }'ea is _\ea ar.d 

 na)', nay. 



Uniting the Churches. 



A very significant movement was in- 

 augurated at a dinner given b_\- Mr. 

 H. E. W'ooton to representative lea- 

 ders of nonconformit}' in \'ictoria. 

 His proposal is to hold a convention 

 this \-ear with the object of devising a 

 practical scheme for the federation, or 

 actual union, of the Churches. That 

 the time is ripe for closer working 

 arrangements between the religious 

 sects is obvious. Regrettal)le overlap- 

 ping can easih- be a\ oided, but whether 

 actual union can be brought about is 

 an<3ther matter. Federation or affilia- 

 tion avoids the questions of property, 

 education and interchangeability of 

 ministers, which aie rocks a straight- 

 out union would have difficulty in 

 avoiding. The suggested convention 

 would do much good, even if it does 

 not quite attain all the objects and 

 dreams of its earnest promoters. But 

 it must have a strong lead from the 

 Committee which has been formed to 

 organise it. Federation is in the air 

 throughout the English-speaking world. 

 At home it is being discussed in a 



