Review of Eevieu-s, IJil 13. PROGRESS OF THE WORLD. 



T19 



Caesars wife. 



Like Caesar's wife, no British Alinis- 

 ter dare ever give the sHghtest cause 

 for the breath of scandal. He must 

 keep clear of anythmg which could 

 possibly be twisted into a charge of 

 corruption, and specialh' must he avoid 

 having any financial interest m any 

 company or firm with which the Gov- 

 ernment have a contract. Judge then 

 the sensation which was caused when 

 it became known that Sir Rufus Isaacs, 

 the Attorney-General, and Mr. Llo}-d 

 George, the Chancellor of the Ex- 

 chequer, held shares in the American 

 Marconi Company. The Government has, 

 of course, a contract with the British 

 Marconi Compan}', of which Mr. God- 

 frey C. Isaacs, the Attorney-General's 

 brother, is the chairman. The matter 

 came out in the libel action brougnt by 

 Sir Rufus Isaacs and Mr. FI. Samuel, the 

 Postmaster-General against "Le Matin," 

 of Paris, which had accused them 

 of trafficking in Marconi shares. Sir 

 Rufus stated that he purchased 10,000 

 shares in the American Marconi Com- 

 pany, and sold some to Mr. Llo>'d 

 George, and some to Viscount Elibank, 

 late Lil:)eral Chief Whip. He had lost 

 £\,(i'jo on the deal, but would have 

 made a profit of ^^2,500 had he sold 

 out the da_\ after he bought. The 

 American Compain' had nothing what- 

 ever to do with the British Marconi 

 Company. " Le Matin " withdrew its 

 allegations unreservedh'. The matter 

 again came up before the Select Com- 

 mittee of enquiry into the Marconi con- 

 tract, and has been the subject of 

 questions in Parliament. The great 

 outcry that has been raised shows how 

 careful it behoves Ministers to be, and 

 how jealous Parliament is of the good 

 name of its leaders. 



Mexico. 



General Huerto by no means finds 

 the Presidential chair a seat of roses. 



The Palace guards plotted to kill him, 

 but the attempt was frustrated, and 

 Mexico City was promptly placed under 

 martial law. Insurrections are spring- 

 ing w\i everywhere, and tlie Go\'ern- 

 ment forces are by no means always 

 victorious. It is increasingly clear 

 that an iron-handed ruler is imperative 

 in that distracted land. It is encour- 

 aging, though, that so well-known a 

 diplomatist as de la Barra has taken 

 the portfolio of foreign affairs in the 

 provisional Government. He was a 

 highly respected member of the last 

 Peace Conference at the Hague. Feliz 

 Diaz is not in the Cabinet, but is work- 

 ing loyally with it ; he will doubtless 

 be a candidate for the Presidenc}- when 

 the elections take place at the end of 

 the }-ear. It is to be hoped that the 

 elections will not give rise to the usual 

 sanguinar}^ encounters, followed by 

 civil war. It is freely asserted that 

 General Madero, the late President, 

 was deliberateh' murdered, and not ac- 

 cidentia' killed as was at first stated. 



Some Notable Deaths. 



The death of Mr. Pierpont Morgan 

 at the age of sevent}'-five removes one 

 of the most influential financiers the 

 world has ever known. On \arious 

 occasions it has fallen to his lot to 

 rescue the Go\ernment of the L'nited 

 States when in financial difficulties, 

 and he has time and again sta}-ed 

 panics in Wall-street. His recent evi- 

 dence before the Commission which en- 

 quired into the alleged mone_\- trust 

 created quite a sensation. He was a 

 great collector of valual)lc works of 

 art, and has gi\cn immense sums for 

 hospitals, universities, and other insti- 

 tutions. His gift of the electric light 

 plant to St. Paul's Cathedral aston- 

 ished peo])le at home. Tliere was no 

 large financial enterprise in the L'.S.A. 

 duriivj: the last liftx- \-ears with which 



