Iteviev of Revimet, 119/06. 



History of the Month. 



The War-Curse 



of 



Mankind. 



new era of fruitful democratic finance. Mr. John 

 Burns in March advised the promoters of pensions 

 to bring to bear on the Government " reasonable, 

 systematic, well-disciplined pressure." His ndvice 

 has been taken. Organised Labour has adopted as 

 its rallying cry for the remainder of 1906 '' Old 

 Age Pensions next year." 



It is to be feared, however, that 

 the pious aspirations of Mr. As- 

 quith in England, and M. Clemen- 

 ceau in France, with regard to Old 

 Age Pensions, will be doomed to indefinite post- 

 ponement unless sometfiing definite and effec- 

 tive can be done to cut down militarj' ex- 

 penditure. That is the Alpha and Omega of all 

 social refonn. Hence the demand of M. Jaures 

 and the French Socialists for an International Con- 

 ference of the Peoples to demand the simultaneous 

 reduction of armaments and the establishment of 

 Free Trade. If the French Socialists summon such 

 a Conference, it will be hailed with enthusiasm by 

 «very Liberal and Radical Britork The Old Govern- 

 ments of the world will find themselves weighed in 

 the scales and found wanting if they cannot con- 

 trive to insure their peoples against war at a lower 

 rate of insurance than the premium which they are 

 paying to-day in the shape of their army and navy 

 estimates. Unless a halt is called from below there 

 •will be no rest of armaments from above. If only 

 we had accepted the Tsar's stand-still proposition 

 in 1899, we would have had money enough and to 

 spare for Old Age Pensions to-day. If the So-^alists 

 would join forces with us in a new Peace Crusade 

 we might force the Governments to do something 

 practical at the Hague next April. But if there is 

 no international agitation there will be no inter- 

 national arrest of the continual armaments. 



The crowning of the new King of 

 The Crowning ^^^^_^^, ^^^,. ^^^^^ ,^^j ^^^^^^^ 



King Haakon. amid great popular rejoicings. 

 There is now an English Princess 

 -n the throne of Spain and on the throne of Norway, 

 ind some wiseacres see in this fact a great exten- 

 sion of the influence of the British Crown. Tliey 

 forget that although the Kaiser is the son of a 

 British Princess, he is not exactly within the sphere 

 of the influence of the British Sovereign. No one 

 in his senses can deny that royal alliances play a 

 •certaini subordinate part in the affairs of nations. 

 But neither Queen Ena nor Queen Maud will ever 

 exercise as much direct influence upon Spanish and 

 'N(»r\vegian politics as is wielded to-day by unknown 

 and unnamed newspaper <'ditors in Christiania and 

 Madrid. The significance of the coronation of King 

 Haakon lies in the evidence it affords of the appear- 

 ance of the tendency which threatens to dominate the 

 new cfiitun,- — a tendency to break up artificial com- 

 binations and to re-establish smaller national king- 



Trondhjem Cathedral, Where King Haakon and Queen Maud 

 were crowned on June 22rd. 



Trondhjem. tlie third commercial port in Norway, is the 

 traditional scene of the Coronation of the Norwegian 

 Kings. Tlie Catliedral, where the ceremony of June 22nd 

 took place, was founded in 1093. 



doms. It ought to carry with it an extension of the 

 authoritv of the Hague Tribunal, so that the 

 growth of the International World State should keep 

 pace with the decentralisation of nationalities. 



The House of Commons has been 



Biirin*'"" •^"''•'y -engaged in discussing the 



Committee. Education Bill. The Government 



by the aid of the Closure has carried 

 Clause 4, after making the conce.ssion, that there 

 shall be an appeal to the Board of Education in 

 cases where the local authorities refused to take 

 over a voluntary school, and that, if in special 

 circumstances it should appear expedient, voluntary 

 schools should continue to receive the Parliamen- 

 tary grant on their deciding to do without rate aid. 

 No rent is to be paid for schools which are to have 

 extended facilities for denominarional education. 

 An amendment making Clause 4 mandatory on all 

 local authorities was rejected by a majorib,' of 103. 

 The clause it.self was carried bv a majority of 170, 

 a similar majority being recorded against a pro- 

 posal to allow extended facilities in single .school 

 areps. The question whether tht- parents of four- 



