Vol. XX\'III., Xo. ^ 



JUNE I, 1906. 



The Rev 



EVIEWS 



EQI.ITA iti.li ltL:il.l)iy(i. MHl.ttnl'Hyiti. 



THE HISTORY OF THE MONTH. 



Matters 

 Politicar. 



Melbourne, Ma\ 10. 

 The political atmosphere is becQiii- 

 ing clearer. Mr. Deakiu's Camper- 

 down speech has made luminous 

 his two previous ones, which now 

 apfjear as part of a concerted plan. On the plan 

 of taking first things first, and then of coming down 

 to- his projwsals for the approaching session, his 

 evident intention was to once and for all reply to 

 critics upon the old matters of dispute between Mr. 

 Reid and himself, which were continually being 

 brought up by his opponents. The new session of 

 Parliament will open almost at the same time as 

 this issue of " The Review of Reviews ' gets into 

 our readers' hands, and then the battle royal will 

 begin. Personally, one cannot help feeling that 

 there is a very good prosp<>ct of carrying through 

 social legislation. Indeed, that is likely to be the 

 only kind of legislation that will be carried this 

 session. It will be a mistake in tactics to put fiscal 

 matters first and social reform afterwards. Matters 

 of social reform are of infinitely more value than 

 fiscal matters, and may be carried through without 

 the former. Indeed, most people would gladly see 

 the continuation of the fiscal peact.. making allow- 

 ance, of course, for the remedying of one or two 

 anomalies, so that social legislation may be pushed 

 forward. 



That Labour matters are ver\- safe 

 Liberal Plus ;„ ^^^ hands of Mr. Watson be- 

 for'"Reform. comes more evident every day, in 

 spite of some ba.seless prophecies 

 that he will soon lose his hold of the party. He is 

 clear-headed and thoughtful, and has the mind of a 

 general. It was a great disappointment to him that 

 at the late Political Labour Conference member"^ 

 generally were not willing to accept his suggestion 

 as to the united support of Government and Labour 

 parties to candidates of liberal views. This was 

 the wisest policy to adopt without a doubt, and the 

 Labour Partv in accepting it would have done a 

 thing which would have brought them universal ap- 

 probation. Not one tittle would they have lost in 

 the w^av of subsequent legislation, and a party would 

 have been formed as strong as the present Liberal 

 Partv in tlie British Parliament. However, it is 



hoped that Mr. Watson's good counsels will take 

 root, and ultimately bear fruit. In the present whirl 

 of parties, it is perhaps too much to e.\pect that any 

 one of them should surrender its own pet scheme, 

 but the days of de\'elopment are sure to come, and 

 every Liberal force will be concentrated to secure 

 the return of men <if [irogressive views. 



The bonds that bind nations to- 

 •■ The Bonds gether are being increased in a hun- 

 that Bind." dred and one ways daily, as State in- 

 terests are becoming more and more 

 involved, and nations find that they cannot do with- 

 out one another. In the midst of all the fraternis- 

 ing of to-day, it is interesting to note that the 

 Universal Scientific Alliance, a Society formed in 

 Paris, recognised by the French Government, and 

 having on its roll many illustrious names, is entering 

 on a new stage of its history. The veteran leader, 

 M. Leon de Rosnv, founded the Society in 1876. 

 Up to the present, the Alliance has been under one 

 President, but there are now to be five General 

 Presidents, one for each of the five parts of the , 

 world— P^urope, Asia, Africa, America and Oceania.. 

 Ihe General Presidency for Oceania is now being 

 established in Melbourne, and the first General Pre- 

 sident is Dr. Macdonald, the veteran missionarv- of 

 the New Hebrides. The appointment is a singularly 

 fitting one. No one is better entitled to it than 

 the worthy doctor. The avowed objects of the So- 

 ciety are:' — "'(i) Tii facilitate the relations of men 

 of science scattered over all the countries of the 

 globe; (2) to assure to them, in their travels, aid 

 and protection in the pursuit of their researches and 

 of their studies; (3) to furnish to them the medium, 

 a« soon as they arrive in a city, of entering into 

 immediate relations with the savants, the men of 

 letters, or the artists who are resident there, and of 

 procuring the directions which may be useful to 

 them for access to libraries and .museums, public 1 r 

 private. To this effect, there is given to the mem- 

 bers of the Alliance, at the moment of their setting 

 out on their travels and on their request to the 

 president of the committee of their city, a kind of 

 scientific passport, called Circular-Diploma, w-hich 

 serves as introduction and confraternal recommenda- 

 tion to the committees established in the countries 



