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To-day, when the national budget exceeds two hundred million pounds a year, and when from a hundred quarters the cry ;s raised for the spending of many millions rnoi-c--iii most crxes upon objects for wbichl at least a plausible case can be made out- besides the incurring of obligations involv- ing commitments upon a scale that cannot be more than vaguely predicted, a certain amount of pessimism is natural. But there are certain reflections of Macaulay made some seventy years ago which are as applic-I able to-day as in the forties, a time when the wealth, population, and industry of the country were appreciably less thain they are to day, when, despite the lesser population, misery was very much more widespread and acute, and the social system was honey-combed by abuses. He wrote "To almost all men the state of things under which they have been used to live seems to be the necessary state of things. We have heard it said that five per cent. is the natural interest of money, that twelve is the natural number cf a jury, and that forty shillings is the natural qualifica- tion of the county voter. Hence it is that, though in every age everybody knows that up to his time a progressive improvement has been taking place, nobody seems to reckon om a.ny improvement during the next generation." To-day a very large number of people do not appear to regard the present as the "natural" situation, and are ambi- tious to effcet a change for the better. But the depression born of the survey that such as these make of existing facts—which, with the pessimism that it engenders, is one of the chief motive powers of the desire for reform—may be dispelled and a sounder basis established by a study of the considerations embodied in Macaulay's further reflections: "We cannot absolutely prove that those are in error who tell us tha.t society has reached a turning point, that we have seen our best days. But so said all w'ho came before us and with just as much apparent reason. A million a year will beggar I", I said the patriots of 1640. 'Two mil- lions a year will grind the country to powder,' was the cry in 1660. Six millions a year and a debt of fifty millions axclaimed Swift; the high allies have been the ruin of us.' 'A hundred and forty millions of debt" said Junius; ivell we may say that we owe Lord Chatham a debt greater than we shall over repay if we owe him such a load as this.' 'Two hundred and forty millions of cried all the frt,:>1tA<¡mp of 1733 k chorus; what abiliti's or w&at aeonomy on thepat:1; of a minister can savo a country so burdened ?' We knew that if since 1783 no fresh deibt had been incurred, the increased resources of the country would hare enabled us to defray tfh/tit debt at which Pitt, Fox, and Burke stood aghast, nay, to defray it over and over again, and that with much lighter tax- ation than what we have actually borne. On what principle is it that, .when we see nothing but improvement behind us, we are to expect nothing but deterioration be- fore us?" When the movement onward and upward, since Macaulav wrote, is considered— the great red uction in the Na- tional Debt, the enormous reduction of poverty, crime, ignorance, and the trans- lormaftion of the condition of the people in their standard of livelihood and outlook— five are encouraged to take fresh heart for a future that may a,ppear overcast bv finan- cial troubles. It is very problematical •whether the money released by a reduction of armaments—a reduction that does not appear to be practicable to begin' witih- would be applied to a corresponding red'UiC- tion! of taxation whoise oppressiveness, real or alleged, is a mainspring of the disarma- ment movement, as "social reform" is po- tentially capable of swallowing up more mil- lions than the mo?t voracious Admiralty or War Office. Whilst regarding it as toler- ably certain that in no .sitate is the present draining away of taxes in return for. seT- vices of vailing exigency and utility likely to be dammed up, we may loolk forward to the continuation and quickening of the pace wit.h a driminiSlhing of a dread of the finan- cial collapse that is so frequently depicted to startle us. At the sa.me time the disarmament party may be invited to remember that in the Middle Ages, when armour bec.a.me too hea.vy to be worn by men. throutgh improve- ments in weapons, it was cast aside, but fitting continued in other fashions. Nor similarly need the discarding of the pro- tective armour of armaments bv the na- tions on account of intolerable weightinees involve the cessation of strife. It was no inconsiderable factor in the prolongation of the American Civil Wa.rthe most costly and sanguinary of conflicts—that the raw levies raised by North and SOIutJI were to incoherent and unskilled for either antagon- ist to drive home its blows and follow up its successes. Whilst the shortest, cheap- est. and least expensive in human life of an v modem campaign was that waged by tihe most higlhly-armed of nations—Prussia in 1866. The military competition amongst the four leading Powers on the Continent, and the naval competition (f Brjtain and Ger- many, absorb public attention and discus- mon, but in the relatively secondary field of the naval' exertions of the Continental Powers against each other there is an even more remarkable activity. German naval estimates have gone up from £ 13,609.000 in 1937-8 to £ 22,900.000 last year France's from JB12,800,000 in 1008 to £ 18.600.000: Italy's from exactly £ 5,000,000 in 1904-5 to £ 10.300,000; Austria Hungary's from £ 2,110.cfx) in 1903 to £ 5.980,000; and Rus- sia, which spent less than eleven millions stven years ago, now spends twenty-four and a half million pounds, and lays down shaps that are to oost the extraordinary sum of four and thyee-quarter of a million pounds each. America has raised her outlay from 21 to nearly 29 millions in seven years, and Japan from nearly eight, to ten millions in the same period. The world's warships now total about 3.200, of which only 902 b -e- flong to Britain and the United States put toethf'r, and 6S4 to Great Britain alone— &bout .)nf>-fifth-wmht the Triple Alliance controls 591. In 1906 the Dreadnought was unique to- day there are one hundred and fifty-three replicas built, building, or about to be laid down, of which Britain only possesses 42. The decline in the British proportion is enormous. In the Mediterranean Italy has launched six and Austria-Hun scary four mounting 140 12-inch gum. France has launched s-vcn mounting 78 guns of l' inches calibre or more. and six of an inter- mediate type carrying 24 12-inoh and 72 9- weapons, against which Austria-Hungary possesses three, carrying 12 12-inch and 24 9-inch guns. Greece, with her finances un- der international control, and Turkey, in similar plight, have bought Dreadnoughts Brazil built three and neglected them as soon <?a acquired to a degree that rendered them incapable of service. Chili and the Argentine have bought two more apiece. So far from their abnormal cost placing them beyond even the ambitions of the minor Powers, Dreadnoughts appear to have ex- ercised the magnetic fascination that "rem- nant sales" have upon the ladies, and have spurred them to unprecedented heights of extravagance. it will be observed that the British fleet I ha». in point of numbers, fallen to some twenty percentage of the world's fighting ships. The possession of battleships of the ) first class by minor countries, always pre- pared for a deal upon attractive terms, in- troduce?? a new element into the problem of sea-power. England bought battleships I from Chili in 1903 to prevent them falling into the hands of Russia for use against Japan. Brafeil has just sold the Rio de Jai).eiro--the largest and most powerfully armed Dreadnought afloat at the moment- to Turkey. Greece, on the eve of the Bal- kan war, bought destroyers built for the Ar- gentine Republic. A balance of numerical superiority too delicately poised may be up- set at any moment by similar coups—though as Britain builds most of these ships for the third-rate Powers, we hold as a rule a number of trump cards up our sleeve. On the other hand, at least one German builder appears to make a practice of constructing speculative batches of torpedo-craft of a standardised pattern, and can in that way enable his country to anticipate the esti- mates by a full twelve months, besides the sudden development of formerly secondary and tutelary powers. The naval renaissance of France has been a further outstanding feature; yet even the formidable fleet she has built since the Dreadnought cleaned the slate and enabled a fresh start to be made by everybody does not avail in regard to numbers to establish more than a slight superiority over the Austro-Italian combination in the Mediter- ranean. But in other respects the French Navy has been revolutionised it is now per- meated by enthusiasm, loyalty, and confi dencei. and the political maladies that ravaged it a few years iago have been quelled in their virulence. Equally remark, able has been the Russian effort to create a navy anew from the ashes of the conflict with Japan, an effort made at colossal cost, I and against difficulties of the first order, such as the geographical separation of the various squadrons, in the Baltic. Black Sea, and Pacific.; a short coast line frozen up during a large part of the year the absence of anv body of men with seafaring instincts and habits (the Finns are notoriously dis- i affected) or mechanical aptitude, and the general unsuitability of the average Russian, a peasant of undeveloped intelligence, for a calling that demands a personnel semi- mechanic and semi-mathematician. Yet in spite of all, Russia will in five years' time dispose of eight Dreadnoughts in the Baltic and four in the Blacír Pea. and a Russian writer declares Russian sailors are im- bued with the strongest and heartiest de- j termination to efface the sad memories of the last war, and to win the respect of the nation j for the naval uniform." And Russian activity exerts a reflex ac- i tion upon the Scandinavian Powers, except Denmark, long supine and neglectful of their armaments. Denmark has little reason to love her Prussian neighbour, which has on her borders in Northern Schleswig a little A bace Lorraine of her own, where Danes are prosecuted for such acts as painting dog- kennels in the Danish national coloUTs-the bright and cheerful combination of red and white, whilst a few months ago Captain Amundsen was forbidden to lecture in his native tongue upon his experiences at the South Pole, in a town just inside the Ger- man frontier. Denmark is not so greatly affected by the influences that inspires Sweden and Norway to embark upon new 1rava l programmes. naval programmes. These countries, in many respects amongst the most highly civilised in the world, profess to seek thereby no more than respect for their neutrality. But fa<ced with the prospect of a Russian or a German domination in the Baltic they have little alternative in the casting of their sym- pathies and perchance their active co- operation. In Sweden the movement for improving tiio national defences has been taken up with extraordinary power. Mr. Lloyd George, when he spoke of a general "revolt of the peoples of Europe against arma- ments," in the Criccieth interview, was evi- dently unaware that eighteen months or so ago, when the Swedish Government dis- played some hesitation "n laying down a proposed new coast defence battleship of a type suited for, navigating the shallow island-sprinkled coastal waters, the Swe- dish people subscribed the entire cost— gome- £ 600.000—privately a remarkable achievement for a country of no more than five million people. And a. new programme is now under consideration. On Thursday Renter's correspondent at Stockholm tele- graphed To-morrow one of the most ex- traordinary public demonstrations that the history of any countrv has produced takes plnoe at Stockholm. Thirty thousand small farmers, collected from every quarter of the oruntry, and coming from villages, many of which are seven and eight, hundred miles avayr will present themselves before the King at the Royal Palace for the purpose of .rc-preFi-nting to his Majestv their desire for the proper maintenance of the defence of the country, and to demand an increase of armaments without delay." Tn whatever direction we turn, there is visible everywhere save in Britain a rest- I less energy on land and sea in the perfec- tion, increase, and Rccumulation of armaments. In the domain of sea power, insignificant -nations make sacrifices in- ordinately out of proportion to any possi^ ble needs or contingencies. If Britain remains first, she is nearly outmatched by a potential coalition against her; and her position relative to the worid has declined to a start-liner extent. Hardly anyhcdy, seema to realise that there are now four foreign vessels to every British warship afloat; that the quondam "Mistress of the Seas" has been driven to oonnne her, energies to the defence of her territorial waters. The sole exceptions to the rule of great augmentation of fleets have been ,those provided by the relatively moderate srrowth of the Japanese and American fleets, that are to a great degree built against each other. So that America, once second. is now but a doubtful third, rivalled by France, once far out-distanced, and easily eclipsed by Germany, -which has two keels against one that carries the Stars and Stripes. Italy and Austria-Hungary, once secondary Powers, are now vigorous enough to occupy aU the energies of France, and Russia is again becoming a power to be j: reckoned with. Those who pin their faith for the propagation of pacific ideals to the "Anglo-Saxon" Powers may be invited to contemplate the decline of British strength at sea to a iifth of the world's sea-power, and America's fail from a good second to a very bad third. And to consider further that in the enormous accumulation of war- ships in the Mediterranean—eight and sixty line of battleships alone, French, Italian, and Aust.rian-ther-e are to be seen but an insignificant four that oarry our White Ensign.

———"—————— I The open-air class for Swansea school children that has been conducted Dyfattv School has yielded valuable results, not only in the improvement in the physical health and mental alertness of the children that has been noted by doctors and teachers, but in pointing the way possibly to the adoption of a more economical tvpe of biulding. In Carnarvonshire a school that may be generally reproduced has been built with one side constructed entirely of plate glass windows +.1'11 Cal) be rolled back in nne- weather or closed in rainy weather, admitting the maximum of light and air. t pon the strength of the medical officer's report a much wider extension of the open- air principle is justified at Swansea; as well a.s the considering of the question to what extent a principle so successfully applied can be embodied in the design of the new schools, whose cost is an almost oppressive item in the educational outlay in the town, and an item nevertheless that stands for no more than a negative factor in education. It is curious that whilst the British, as a list ion, are more receptive to the doctrine of fi, sh air and open windows than any other nation—though in other countries the pI edomi nantly agricultural and therefore open-air life of the people atones for errors in their ways-they have a climate that offers less, inducement to open-air life than that of any other people. British weathr is at its best not easily to be surpassed, but these favourable spells are but the ex- ceptions to a general rule of conditions that in the prolonged winter seasons try all eon- stitutions but the hardiest. Possibly it is to make amends for our inability to live in the open as much as other people have the opportunity of doing that we open our win- dows so freely. In the schools the arrange- ments for ensuring the best possible ven- tilation are elaborate and expensive, though sjstems that- work without occasioning com- pla.ints are difficult to discover. Years ago Herbert Spencer, in a pamph- let, illustrated the limitations of humanity by pointing to the inability of the House of Commons, with all the skill and braine of the nation to draw upon, to devise even a tolerably good system of ventilation for the Lower Chamber, and to this day. after the expenditure of many thousands of pounds, the legislation of the nation has to be framed 1:1 a vitiated and enervating atmo. phere. At the Dyfatty School the most successful of all systems—the simplest one, of aHmving the air free access everywhere—has been ex-I perimented with and yielded noteworthy re- sults that counsel a wide extension of the system, combi.iin?. iridirectly, enhanced emcienc.y of teaching, :mpoved health, and cheapness. This last consideration will be with many people the most popular and co- gent of all. The proposed municipal baths would mark a further advancement of public hygiene. A campaign for cleanliness has been com- menced by the gradual abolition of road surfaces that disentegrate into woeful mud and slush. Tt would be materially aided by the erection of baths in districts where kw houses are at present so equipped, but still more stimulated by the creation of a serasi- tiVG public opinion upon the subject in quarters where there is at present indiffer- ence. The staple occupation in South Wales and its seaports, the handling of coal, is inevitably grimy; but it is also, as at pre- sent conducted, upnec-essarily-grimy. Th- absence of washing places at pit heads and at docks cannot be held to be otherwise than a reproach to employers and to em- ployed. In South Wales there are conspicu- ously absent qualities akin to the orderly neatness of the French and the scrupulous cleanliness and symmetry of the Germans, ar.d it if of little avail to boast of progress I or development in other directions whilst thPTc is such conspicuous remissness in this sphere. —————

Our friend the enemy is anticipating the new Session of Parliament with shivering doubts that are good to see. At th- time of the passing of the Parliament Act he was "as bold as brass" now he lays a timid hand on your arm amd hopes he finds you well and will you please let bygones be No opening of a Session within memory \VM quite so interesting as this one. It was anticipated tha.t when the Home "Rule allies got near the consummation of their ho. thev would be seized with something like a panic. Dark rumours have reached them of the terrible machinations contemplated by the Opposi- tion, and their minds are oppressed with the possibility of the, loaves and fishes vanishing into thin aiT before they are n pumj ;roiilo aiql un -ja,plo s^wp Surm they escape the snares set bv the Opposition and if a compromise on Home Rule is not secured they must of necessity go on to the bitter end and pass the Home Rule Bill—with results which no man can foresee. It is not surprising that we should henr of tbtkn gathering in melanoholv little grbups in their clubs and talking lugubriously of the Parliamentary prospect. At the very moment when Mr. T. P. O'Copnor, in the dulcet tones with which he hao;: wooed and won a Ini-,Tet and easilv blarneyed section of the British public, is urging in his most caressing way that it would be an excellent thing to have the Home Rule problem settled by consent—at that very moment the Opposition leaders cause a new scare in the Radical dovecots by assembling at Lansdowne House and discussing the political sitpation for two hours-which is about the duration of a Cabinet Council in D vwning-street. Wh !1 does it mean? And then on the top of everything comes the black and sinister announcement that the complimentary banquet to Sir Edward Carson at the Constitutional Club, arranged to take place on the day of the opening of Parliament, has been postponed. There must be some bidden wickedness in this! And so our ha^p-l less Radical (res over his halfpenny POIT-er, I momiiug and evening, and looks for com- fort which does not come. Hi? does not know whether his distinguished but austere and reticent leader, Mr. Asquith, is parley- ing with the political enemy behind the scenes, or merely gettin.rr ready (as giuig- giestsd by a clever Punch" crartioon) to play the piano for the bright particular star" of the Ministerial company, the Ohiaaioallor of the Exchequer. We hear it rumoured that the Prime Minister,, in order to show that he is going to have no nonsense from the Little Navy people, intends to push Mr. Churchill to the front in th> big debates of the Session. The little conspiracy, hatched by a few well-known Radicals and Socialists, to get rid of the First Lord of the Admiralty has failed. It has been suggested that Mr. Churchill would not k ve been sorry if it had succeoded, since it vould have assisted him to recross the fioo with some plausi- bil it- wid even with little self-respect, but who is going to believe such a malicious tale as that? A thousand times no. Mr. Churchill joined the Radical party from conviction, not only sincere but ardent, and if any section of the coalition were so grate- ful as to drive him off the Treasury Bench, he would accept his hard fate with a noble resignation and still devote himself to the sublime democratic eauses to which he has I dedicated his life. Anyhow, there is to be no tragedy. We I gather that the First Lord of the Admiralty has the Prime Minister on-his side, and that must mean a majority of the Cabinet. So the Protean Winston, with his genius for adapting himself to conditions, will be-al conspicuous performer on the boards at Westminster once more, and no doubt we shall have the innocent gratification of hear- ing him cheered to the echo by the very men who have been trying to get rid of ¡ him.

Welsh Rugby football on Saturday achieved a triumph of incalculable value in this the crisis of its fortunes. For the decisive, and in some respects brilliant, defeat of the Scotch fifteen cannot fail to induce a rally of patriotic sentiment in favour of the code in which Cymric endeavour has been niofit resplendently ble"s?d with victories, And the eireet will appreciably help clubs exposed to the rivalry of the Association game, with its superior organisation and alluring appeal to the public. The moral value of the win—which excited an enthusi- asm amongst the onlookers that later in- I focted more or less all Welsh lovers of l sport—is only to be appraised by taking into account the probable fleet in the present circumstances of a proved inferiority of Cymric sides in the international tourney. E&ca<pe from this contingency is somewhat of a surprise, for, judging by every avail- able means of comparison, Welsh Rugby had struck a lean patch-made worse by the de- predations of the Northern Union clubs— and the general disposition was to antici- pate the worst in the encounters with tke chosen of England, Scotland and Ireland. The match at Twickenham quite unex- pectedly revealed so high a standard of efficiency in the Welsh forwards that. de- spite the practical' collapse of the third line, the critics with one voice declared the wearers of the Scarlet jersey deserved the victory, only lost by a single point. W itn only a couple of changes amongst the three- quarters, by the displacement of two players by others quite as new to international foot- ball, a, team was pitted against, the Scots v hioh f-o completely overwhelmed them that the latter, in tfie closing stages of the growe, seemed hatf-paralysed. They could neither attack nor defend effectively, and in the ex- pressive language of an old international had not "a gallop nor a kick left in them. This was the more astonishing because Scot/ land, in Siewart, Will and Sntherland. had probably the three fastest three-quart n-s ever played together, any one of whom was capable of showing a clean pair cf heels to the fleetest of the Welshmen. In the course of the first three minutes a perfectly executed movement by the Scotch backs, which placed Stewart. their speediest man, in a position to use his pace, resulted in a goal. This appeared to demonstrate the soundness of the view that the Scotch forwards were not to be hustled as were the English at Twickenham, and that the Welsh defence would be unequal to the task of holding in check the fleet-footed Scotch backs. But the try which, by the apparent ease cf its accomplishment, spread consternation amongst the Welsh spectators was destined to be the only success of the visitors. The Welsh forwards, settling down to their game, asserted a superiority which became more and more marked the Welsh halves outplay d—as they were ex- pected to—their opponents, and the third line, composed entirely, of youngsters, im proved as they gained confidence in their ability to frustrate the formidable quar- tette, rightly believed to represent the chief .strength of Scotland. Only in the case of Wallace, the full-back, were Scotch hopes realised the Cantab was splendidly resourceful throughout. But for him the score might 'have beei colossal. The manner in which the total of 24 points was made up discloses the secret of the Welsh success. When it was 15 points every possible kind of score under Rugby rmles, namely, a dropped goal, a, pen- alty goal, a converted goal, and a try, had been made. Afterwards came another dropped goal and a zoil from a try, the conversion of which, from a moft difficult angle, was Bancroft's most noteworthy con- tribution to the Welsh victory. For it was in what the "Times" described in advance as "quickness in perception," the distinc- tive quality of Welsh rides, and opportun- ism in seizing chances that the fifteen re- presenting Wales excelled. The drops for goal—there were several that failed deplor- ably of effect, which set on edge the teeth of pro-Welsh spectators--testif-ed to the re- spect for the stopping power of tve speedy Scotch backs And this was not unwar- ranted. for only thrice was the Scotch line crossed, despite the big adverse score, and only once wae the defence really beaten in a frontail attack by. the Wesh backs ex ecuted on orthodox lines. The determining factor in the match was the overmastering influence of the Welsh foi wards, wiio not only controlled the scrim mages throughout, and in the loose were m-arly irresistible, but were also so quick in breaking up to help the backs in steriiis- ing the speed of the Scotch three-quarters that the latter were rarely allowed a chance to get into movement. Under the favour- able conditions thus produced the Welsh third line, made up of comparative novices, gained confidence, and with Lloyd and Lewis Mhe latter really splendid in defence as well as attack) serving them well, rendered in- ocnspicuous their inferiority in speed and experience to the Sooteh quartette. If ;here had been on Saturday a four for Wales oqual to Nicholls, Gabe, Morgan and Llew- .Jlyn the score would have been doubled, if not trebled, so frequent were the chances provided by a tireless and triumphant pack and a clever pair of halves. This conclu- sion implies no reproach to the four young- sters composing the Welsh third line. They performed uhcommonly well, especially in defence, and when thev have acquired more experience may serve Wales finely. But one ilmost shudders in thinking of the possibil- ities if the Welsh forwards had failed and th0 Scotch halves had been able to feed swiftlv and often three-quarters of the cali- bre of Stewart, Win and Sutherland. However. there stands the fact indisput- able of a defeat of Scotland by 24 poirr- íi ',c--th{'h{'a ,it 3L on record. It is 22 years since the Scotch won a match on Welsh [ soil. Only once in the last ten years have they succeeded anywhere against the elsh. The record appears the more as- tonishing because Scotch -nfluence on the British Press outside Scotland is such that every season Scottish ducks are made to appear as swans. Fore and aft the pick of Scotland have nearly always been routed by the Welsh, but without disposing of the le- gendary superiority of the sons of Scotia. EHm Saturday's crushing defeat, follow- ing many others, will probably fail to shake this belief.