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steam charged with burning hot dust may seemingly be accepted as the principal cause of death in the stricken city, it must be admitted that many persons were no doubt killed by falling walls, by nervous shock, etc.

"The blasts which swept St. Pierre on the morning of May 8, and again on May 20, passed through the city with hurricane force. This is demonstrated by the manner in which great trees were uprooted, strong masonry walls thrown down, the lighthouse overturned, etc. The direction in which all these objects were swept was a little west of south, or directly away from Mont Pelée. The most conspicuous evidence of the strength of the blast which wrought the mechanical destruction is furnished by a statue of the Blessed Virgin, referred to above. That statue, composed, I understand, of iron, and measuring over 11 feet in height and nearly 10 feet in circumference at the shoulders, and weighing several tons, was swept from its pedestal and carried southward about 45 feet. All the evidence collected in this connection cannot here be presented, but it indicates that the blast which wrought the havoc referred to passed over the city with full hurricane force."

THE

PRIZE CORONATION ODES.

HE Good Words comes out this July very much enlarged in size and greatly elated in spirit at the response to its coronation ode competition. Prizes of £50, £15, and £10. were offered last Christmas. The final award was given by Stopford Brook, Edmund Gosse, and William Canton. Odes were received from 1,084 competitors, and from almost every part of the empire. The editor is almost swept off his feet by the unexpected number and widely distributed origins of these odes. "The young loyalty has come to its manhood." The empire has found voice as a unit.

To read them, poem after poem, from all parts of the empire, is to become conscious of an imperial force the like of which history holds. no record and the chronicles of the nations show no trace. Turning over ode after ode the beautiful strains of harmonious patriotism blend into a

Protestant, Roman Catholic, Dissenter, Quaker, and Jew. Their pens, some of them, would have run more readily in Tamil or Telugu, Pushtu or Persian or Arabic, but they are all in the language of the ruling race, and cramped of course though they are, they are all of them real and living in thought and sentiment. Of course, the majority of the odes are by writers of our own race. . . . Never have poets sung with such a voice before. Knowledge of the splendid responsibilities of empire with boundaries that encompass the world, and vexed along all their length by the uncharitableness of envious neighbors or the turbulence of tribes that cannot yet understand, give dignity to the singers and noble form to their song."

The first prize falls to Lauchlan MacLean Watt, B.D., minister of Alloa, Scotland; the second to Rev. S. Cornish Watkins, Kingston, Herefordshire; the third is divided between Lucy Eveline Smith, of Dunedin, New Zealand, and F. H. Wood, M.A., Bromley Park, Kent. Perhaps as characterful as any is the passage in Mr. Watt's Ode on the Union Jack:

Ah, 'tis no empty fluttering of a dream,
Our flag's proud gleam:

Many and tired the fingers that have sewn it,

Seam by seam,

Staining it with life's crimson, and the blue

Of northern skies and seas, till winds have blown it Wider than all their wonder and their dream.

Thin red lines of pulsing lives were the thread of it, Pulsing lives that bled away for its sake beneath the spread of it.

Till the wide seas knew it,

And the winds of the wide world blew it.

And the host of England followed the flag till earth trembled under the tread of it.

Up with it into the sky.

Let it blow abroad, let its message fly

Like the gray gull, over the deep,
As glad and free.

The Good Words is so pleased with the success of this experiment as to offer similar prizes for the three best songs of the empire, to be adjudged next Christmas.

"LORD SALISBURY AS A SAINT.”

single stately imperial anthem until the reader SUCH is the inscription beneath a picture of

pausing as it were to listen, finds almost overpowering the glorious diapason of the song.. Very interesting, indeed, is the mingling of races and creeds, when side by side, upon a table in London, lie some eleven hundred odes, written by Brahmin and Mohammedan and Buddhist and native Christians,-negroes of the West, from the Leeward Isles and the Windward, natives of the East, Indian, Burmese and Cinghalese,—

statuary in Mr. F. D. How's sixth paper on Lord Salisbury, in Good Words. It might fitly head the entire article. "The curious and interesting statue is to be seen in the sculpture gallery of the beautiful reredos of the Chapel of All Souls' College, Oxford. The reredos was erected about forty-two years ago, at the time that Lord Salisbury had just been elected to a fellowship of all Souls', and the artist, having determined to give his saints the faces of actual

living people rather than idealized features, chose Lord Salisbury's face as his type of a Christian warrior." Mr. How exclaims against the charge of extreme partisanship on the ritualistic side :

Lord

"No greater mistake could be made. Salisbury is a high churchman, but of the most wide-minded and charitable kind. He is no friend to the advanced school of modern ritualism, neither does he fail to appreciate at its full value the piety and learning of Evangelicals' with whom he may not be in all matters in perfect sympathy. It is only necessary to notice the advice that he has given to the crown as to the appointments to bishoprics to be assured of the impartiality and wisdom of his views."

A RECORD BISHOP-MAKER.

And then Mr. How recalls the extraordinary fact that as prime minister Lord Salisbury has been concerned in the appointment of thirtyseven bishops ! This surely establishes something like a record in bishop-making. Yet Lord Salisbury used to say there were few whom he considered eligible for the episcopal bench, and few whom the Queen considered eligible, but the number whom both he and Her Majesty thought eligible was very small indeed.

SUNDAY AT HATFIELD.

After describing the chapel in Hatfield Hall, Mr. How proceeds:

"The services in this chapel include daily morning prayer at 9:30 (the general breakfast hour being 10); and on Sundays an early celebration at 9:15, with afternoon service at 3:30. These services are taken by one of the curates at the parish church; but when there is no one staying at Hatfield, the morning service on Sundays is given up, Lord Salisbury and Lady Gwendolen Cecil coming to the church instead. These arrangements are all the easier to make, as the rectory of Hatfield is held by Lord William Cecil, which recalls the fact that the rectory of Hawarden is held by the son of the late Mr. Gladstone, the rival statesmen each having had the happiness of being ministered to by one of their sons. Another coincidence is the circumstance that both rectories are of exceptional value.

A portrait of the rector of Hatfield has a strange resemblance to the bishops of Worcester and Rochester. Mr. How has shown "the thorough attachment of Lord Salisbury to the Church":

"His love for her has always been sincere and unostentatious. He has made few professions, he has not taken prominent part in her services except as a regular worshiper, but the

one thing which has had the power to rouse him to an outburst of indignation has been an attack upon her by her so-called friends."

SAINT AND SCIENTIST IN ONE.

It is significant that this devout churchman and maker of bishops has been at the same time and in this critical age a noted man of science:

What is sometimes called Lord Salisbury's den,' consists of a laboratory, a dressing room, and a bathroom on the ground floor. Though not nearly so much used of late years, there yet remains plenty of evidence in the paraphernalia of the former of the industry with which at one time its occupant pursued his scientific researches. It has already been stated that Lord Salisbury is a geologist of the first rank. He has also given time to photography, and to the practical study of electricity; the splendid electric lighting at Hatfield House having been carried out under his direction."

HIS PERSONAL HABITS.

Mr. How brings to a close in the July Good Words his valuable series of sketches of the veteran premier. He touches on several personal characteristics. He first mentions Lord Salis

bury's calm, and next his good health:

Always an advocate of regular exercise, he still tricycles every morning when the weather permits, and at 8 o'clock is to be often seen thus wheeling along the London streets before the traffic of the day has assumed formidable proportions. proportions. Some years ago he was a tennis player of some repute."

His mental aloofness" comes in for frequent comment :

Trifles are not allowed to disturb his rever ies. An eye-witness described how she watched him walking up and down the platform at King's Cross, while the rug which he carried trailed along the dusty pavement. At last a man approached and said, I beg your pardon, sir, but your rug is trailing on the ground.' 'Ah!' said Lord Salisbury, with a smile, it generally does.' This little story forcibly reminds one of the occasion when Dean Stanley, who was staying away from home, came down to dinner with his collar hanging down attached by one button only. His hostess went up to him, and gently pointed out the fact. 'Do you object?' said Dean Stanley. 'Oh, no!' was the only possible reply. 'Well,' said the dean, 'no more do I !'

"In addition to this mental aloofness,' as it has been called, Lord Salisbury is extremely short-sighted, and is also one of the shyest of When traveling in a train he buries himself instantly in a book,-probably a novel, for

men.

he is a great reader of this class of literature,and spends much of his spare time when indoors in this manner. Music and art have few attractions for him. He has, indeed, been known to express his inability properly to appreciate the compositions of Wagner!

"When he is at work he is, however, a different man. He is phenomenally rapid, not only in his grasp of a subject, but also in his method of getting through his business. He writes far more letters himself than is usual for a man in his position, although he still (since, that is, he has resigned the Foreign Secretaryship) retains the services of two private secretaries."

His relation to boys mentioned in the following paragraph will come as a pleasant surprise

to many:

"Of Lord Salisbury's attachment to his family it is scarcely fitting to speak during his lifetime, but it is well known that it is intense. His fondness of children is perhaps less notorious, but is none the less true. He is especially jolly' with boys. There is one tiny bit of evidence in Hatfield House that the young ones are not forgotten, for a miniature children's billiard-table occupies a prominent position in the cloisters."

These sketches will be read with intense interest by men and women of all political parties, and will help to deepen the personal regard entertained for the venerable statesman.

THE

DOES BRITAIN STARVE HER BLUEJACKETS? HE question of food for the men who man her fighting ships is becoming a burning one in England. Mr. Arnold White, after making a special investigation in Germany, states in the National Review for July that a sufficiency of well-cooked, plain, good food, equal to their necessities, is given to the bluejackets in the German, American, and French navies."

But, it will be said, was not the whole subject inquired into? It was, and certain recommendations were made, which will not be carried out until some time next year. Mr. White says:

The committee were desired to inquire into the sufficiency of the present ration. The ration was pronounced insufficient. They were desired to inquire into the question of meal hours. It was recommended that there should be five recognized meal hours instead of three, as at present, and that the time allowed for these five meals should be three hours thirty-five minutes instead of two hours thirty minutes allowed for the three meals at present. Under the present system no food is served out by the state to the British bluejacket after 4.15 P.M. If he feels hungry between 4.45 P.M. and his cocoa-time

next morning, he is compelled to buy what he wants at the canteen and stint his wife or him. self of other things."

"The private outlay of the seaman, stoker, and marine is not less than 6d. a day, and it does not seem that this aspect of the problem has been taken into consideration by the Rations Committee. Surely every possible influence should be brought to bear on Parliament and on public opinion to increase the amount due from the country to the navy for the leveling up and improving of its rations."

BRITISH AND GERMAN NAVIES COMPARED.

THE

HE English reviews are publishing comparisons of the British with the German navy which are by no means flattering to the former. Herr Ernst Teja Meyer's "Los von England," a translation of which appears in the Contemporary for July, declares that, apart from the number of ships, England's navy will find a superior enemy in the marine of every great power which is abundantly provided with all that gives force at sea."

THE BRITISH FLEET MADE IN GERMANY."

Herr Meyer passes in review the whole British fleet, and its bases, the coaling stations, etc. He maintains that in every respect the establishment, when weighed in the balances, is found wanting. In everything but numbers England's navy is inferior to those of other nations, and, Herr Meyer would have us believe, immeasurably inferior to that of Germany. England cannot build her ships without buying materials from Germany. The guns and shells are bought from Krupp and Erhardt. Steel for English bayonets comes from Solingen, brown powder from Westphalia, and new boilers for the ships are to be supplied by German workshops. It is also recommended that armor plates should be bought from Krupp. The whole British navy, so far as there is any good in it, ac-* cording to Herr Meyer, will soon have to be labeled "Made in Germany," while Germany, for her part, builds her ships from her own resources in her own shipyards, with her own workmen, and is independent of England and every other power.

A MERE PLAYTHING.

Not only are the British ships inferior in the weight of broadside and in tactic value to the German ships, but so many accidents and mu tinies take place on British vessels as to reveal a state of things which recalls the sorry and deplorable condition of the Spanish navy at the outbreak of the war with the United States.

The British fleet is little more than a national plaything. Instead of naval maneuvers and squadron practice, there are holiday cruises from port to port, in which everything is subordinated to regattas and banquets. Herr Meyer maintains that the British naval officer would come out of action just as hopelessly discredited as his military brother.

"To most officers in the British navy the service is but a business. They all suffer from their hereditary complaint,-national pride, together with an inordinate self-conceit, an incredibly boorish ignorance, and a scorn of all foreigners."

BRITISH SAILORS MUTINOUS.

The bluejackets are, Herr Meyer admits, better than the "mercenary blackguards in red or in khaki" who are recruited for the army. But it would be almost an insult to compare them with German sailors, for "they lack, above all, that deep moral seriousness with which our bluejackets win hearts the world over; that unselfish devotion; that firm, I might say pious, sense of duty." The men are discontented, and rightly So. On the one hand, they are treated arrogantly and offensively; on the other hand, they are neglected. The English fleet is the only one in the world in which serious mutinies occur.

But Herr Meyer says that on the Majestic the entire crew rose because shore-leave was refused it; and in the flagship Barfleur the crews mutinied because they got nothing out of Peking plunder. Whether the men are bad or good, there are not half enough of them. The question of personnel is entirely unsolved. Therefore, Herr Meyer concludes that the navy of England is just as little prepared for hostilities as the army, and that it will fail just as much, though it is certainly incomparably better than those hordes which despise everything most needed for the welfare of a world power and a civilized state. The midshipmen should prove themselves strategic geniuses."

So says Herr Meyer, and he concludes by declaring that the English will not listen. They deride and despise plain lessons and experiences of history; the coming collapse in a war with a great European power will at last and forever demolish the old boast, "Britannia rules the waves."

A British Estimate of the German Navy. Mr. Archibald S. Hurd contributes to the Nineteenth Century for July a very good article entitled "The Kaiser's Fleet." His study is necessarily largely comparative, for while he writes of the German navy he has always the British navy in his eye. The German navy bill

of 1900, which authorized an expenditure of $365,000,000 on new men-of-war and $65,000,000 on dockyards, in which they can be prepared, contrasts very favorably with the British Naval Defense Act, inasmuch as the German measure takes account of all the needs of the fleet which it is to create. It makes provision for every detail of the ships down to the last rivet, while the extension of the organization of the great naval ports will proceed pari passu with the construction of the men-of-war. In 1920 the German navy will consist of 38 thoroughly modern battleships and 17 older reserve battleships, making 55 in all. Behind these battleships there will be 52 cruisers. In that year the British navy will only be three battleships stronger than that of Germany. Germany will, therefore, be the second greatest naval power in the world, and her battle squadrons will exceed in value such ships as England will be able to allocate to the defense of the near seas. The preamble of the navy bill shows that the purpose of the German fleet is to be strong enough to cope with that of Great Britain.

THE GERMAN FLEET UNDER INSPECTION.

Mr. Hurd speaks very highly concerning the efficiency of the fleet and the inspiration which it receives from the Kaiser. During the visit of Prince Henry to Ireland, Mr. Hurd had an opportunity of seeing the German ships at sea. He says that their color is the nearest approach to invisibility which can be obtained under the usual conditions. The painting of the ships is provided for out of the national funds, whereas in the British navy much of the expense falls upon the officers. One feature of the German ships is that there is no wood to be holystoned, and no brasswork to be polished by the crews. From end to end of the ships there is no gleam from a square inch of metalwork, brass, or steel. The weather decks are laid with a light reddish colored cement, which can be cleansed easily by the turning on of a hose. The cement will not splinter or ignite under gunfire, and nothing. can look smarter than this hard and even material. There are very few wooden fittings, and though the insides of the cabins are made of wood, these could be cleared away in a few hours before going into action. The comfort of the crews is considered more than in British ships. The vessels are ventilated mechanically in hot weather, and heated in cold weather by pipes that run everywhere. There are baths for the officers, and for the men numerous hand-basins with water laid on in comfortable airy spaces. The food is good, is supplied in excellent quality and in ample quantity. The men have a dif

over a period of twenty years, together with a project for establishing government monopolies of industries. These undertakings, as described by Dr. Goto, include (1) the laying of a trunk-line railway extending over the whole length of the island; (2) the surveying of lands; (3) the construction of harbors, and (4) the building of gov ernment offices and residences. To meet the expenditures required for these works, the Formosan government was authorized to raise loans to the amount of 35,000,000 yen, of which the principal and interest was to be paid out of the revenues of the island. It is estimated that the railroad work alone will require 28,810,000 yen, the construction of the harbor of Kelung 2,000,000, the land-surveying 3,000,000, and the building of government offices and residences 1,200,000. It is believed that the railroad will be finished much within the ten years' time originally assigned to the work, and that it will have a remarkable effect in stimulating industries on the island. Revenues accruing from the part of the island now open to traffic are greater than they were expected to be. The completion of an accurate land survey will confirm rights over land, will make landed property secure, and will greatly facilitate transfers. This work, by the way, was undertaken by the Chinese governor some years ago, but without success. As to the projected harbor works at Kelung, this is only the beginning of improvements for that port which will involve the expenditure of tens of millions of yen. It is the intention of the government to make this the chief port of Formosa, and it is believed that the grow ing industry and commerce of the island justify all the expenditures that have been projected. In the erection of public buildings great care has been taken in regard to sanitary arrangements, and the structures already built or in process of completion will serve as models for the whole island.

GOVERNMENT MONOPOLIES.

With a view to the gradual abolition of the pernicious habit of opium smoking, the Japanese government has established a monopoly of the article in Formosa which yields an annual revenue at present of about 4,000,000 yen. Under the restrictions established by the government, only those who have been already poisoned by opium to such an extent that they are unable to abandon the habit of smoking without great pain are allowed, by special warrant of the government, to use it as a medicine. The formation of the habit is absolutely forbidden, or, in fact, its continuation in cases where poisoning has not advanced so far as to make abstention impossible.

There is also a salt monopoly yielding

700,000 or 800,000 yen, and this commodity is now exported to Japan in considerable quantities. It is produced by permitting salt water to flow into fields, and then causing it to evaporate by the heat of the sun. Almost the whole supply of camphor of the world comes from Formosa. When Japan acquired Formosa a camphor monopoly was established, with a view to protecting the camphor trees, improving the methods of manufacturing, and putting the industry on a secure basis. The production is now regulated according to the demands of the world's market. The revenue yielded by the monopoly is now about 4,000, 000 yen. The present governorgeneral has also formed a plan for eventually making the Formosa finances entirely independent of imperial aid. The imperial government began the administration of Formosa with a grant of nearly 6,900,000 yen, and this grant has been annually diminished until the present time. cording to Baron Kodama's project, which was adopted by the Diet, the grant will be steadily decreased until it will entirely disappear in 1910.

Ac

The possibility of this gain of financial independence may be seen when we consider the re cent remarkable increase of the revenue,—from 5,000,000 yen in 1897 to 14,000,000 yen at present, with the provability of an increase to 20,000,000 yen in two or three years, this increase being largely secured as a result of the operation of the monopolies, the adjustment of the land tax, and other financial reforms. As the total expenditure incurred by Japan in connection with Formosa up to the end of the last fiscal year, March 31, 1901, amounted to 150,000, 000 yen, including the military expenses, while in the same period the revenue amounted to only 40,000,000 yen, the financial burden to be charged to Formosa may be reckoned as 110,000,000 yen in all. As the annual revenue derived from Formosa is now from 14,000,000 to 20,000,000 yen, it may be said, as Dr. Goto points out, that the capital invested by the imperial government is bearing interest at the rate of 15 to 20 per cent. The import of Japanese commodities into Formosa is now about 15,000,000 yen. Supposing the profit of this trade to be at the rate of 20 per cent., the annual gain of Japan is about 3,000,000 yen, which nearly covers the present amount of the grant which the Formosan government receives from the imperial government.

RESOURCES OF THE ISLAND.

Among the more important products of Formosa named by Dr. Goto are tea, rice, sugar, hemp and flax, indigo, paper, silk, minerals, cattle, and marine produce. Dr. Goto predicts that

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