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Parliamentary Expenses.

A Disputed Will. -0-

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iEducation Committee. -0-

Six Hours Entombed. I

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EUROPEAN POLITICS. -

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EUROPEAN POLITICS. I TWO-v;.S. j I I THE COMMAND OF THE OCEAN. An article (II. so gone bye quoted an extract from Dr. Thomas, the author" Elpis Israel," in which he wrote the Czar thus: "You will not be able to c-ope with England upon the sea. She will make you respect her power there-; for God has given her the ocean. How little do the British know that there is a Divine side to human politics! Their thoughts are only on their own selieii-ies-flieir own am- bitions: but these schemes and .ambitions are working out a design long known and long anticipated by those who love the Bible and. know the fullness of its message. Sixty years after Dr. Thomas wrote that note- we; find the London "Standard," for March 13th, 1901, stating "The Statement explanatory of the Naval Estimates for 1901-1902, which was issued by the Admiralty last night, opens with an announcement, for which the country was pre- pared. A eiiin of nearly thirty-one millions will be required, the increase on the amount voted for the current year being rather more than two millions. There; will be no reluc- tance in the House of Commons to sanction any outlay which has been proved to be in- dispensable for maintaining the efficiency of our principal defensive force. All that will be required of Ministers is to show that the money is really needed, and that it will be spent to the best advantage. Yet there is matter for very serious reflection, not only in I the unprecedented magnitude of the demand, ) but also in the rapidity with which our Naval Budget has grown in recent years. We thought we were doing a great deal in 1898- 69, when the total of the Estimates did not reach twenty-four millions. For the twelve months following it rose to twenty-six and a half millions, to which were subsequently added appropriations in aid to the amount of I another million. For the current year the aggregate charge has been nearly twenty-nine millions, and now we have to face a further increment of two millions. It is impossible to view with a light heart this stady increase of the burden, of armaments. But examina- tion will show that it has been rendered necessary by influences which are beyond the control of British Statesmanship. In the case of the Army, the experience obtained in con- nection with the operations in South Africa has convinced, the most sceptical and the most optimistic that our Military organisation was dangerously weak. There were. not only serious defects of system, but the scale of our establishments was inadequate to enable the nation to meet, without embarrassment, its obligations as an Imperial. Power. Pre- cisely the same considerations which dictate the duty of improving our strength on land I suggest the need of perfecting our prepara- tions for retaining the command of the I uceau. 'I On November 18, 1908, its reflections arc: The sea is the great artery through which flows the life-blood of the British Empire, and if it were stopped but for a moment we should surely die. Five-sixths of the food supplies of the people come from overseas, and all the raw materials for our workshops; the sea is the only highway to the outlying provinces of the Empire: the only track along which our outward and inward trade may tra- vel. The British Navy must- jiolice this road to its furthest limits, they must guarantee, the security of wide-scattered dominions, and they must also shield even from the threat of at- tack the sensitive nerve-centre of the Empire. We cannot, afford to contemplate even the pos- sibility of invasion, because we have no Army strong enough to meet. it; and we dare not run the least risk of seeing our sea communi- I cations interrupted, because there is no land frontier over which supplies of food might come." I "WAKE UP THE MIGHTY." These items remind us of Jesus' words: I" Men's hearts failing them for fear, and for expectation of the things which areeoming on tho world (Luke xxi. 26). Peace is the ¡ desire; but war, and preparation for war, is I the experience. Supposing the money that I has been spent on navies alone for the last ten years had been spent on peaceful projects, what possibilities would lay ahead. It is not man's mission to "speak peac-c to the I heathen," but Christ's (Zech. ix. 10); it is His work after His return to establish the king- ¡' dom of God and to make wars to cease unto the end of the earth, and break the battle bow (Ps. xlvi. 9). In the meanwhile just look at the mightly nations of the earth waking np for war purposes, as seen in the following I cost of navies (it will be noticed in harmony with Dr. Thomas's anticipations, Britain I heads the list): In the course of a reply in parliamentary papers to a question by Mr Mackarness, M.P., it is stated by Mr. Mc-Kenna that the total i naval expenditure of Great Britain during the 1 last ten years has been as follows:—1899-1900, £ 25,731,220; 1900-1, £29,998.529; 1901-2, £ 30,981, 315; 1902-3, -231,003.977; 1903-4, £ 35.709477; 1904-5 I £ 36.859,681; 1905-6 £ 33,151,841: 1906-7 £ 31,472,087: 1907-8 (estimated), £ 31,419.500: 1908-9 (estima- ¡ ted), £ 32,319,500; total, £ 318,647,127. France's yearly expenditure has fluctuated, the ex- tremes being £ 12,144,120 in 1899 and £ 13,107,701 II in 1901. This year the estimate is £12,797,303, and the ten years' total £ 126,122,028. Russia has spent £ 104,642,215 on her navy in ihe past I ten years. In 1899 -her expenditure was £ 8,306,500, and this Increased everv vear, ex- cept 1904. up to 1906, when it was£ 12,490.444. In 1907, the estimate was £ 8.850.240, and this ¡ year it is £ 9,333,915. I Germany has steadily increased her expen- diture, her rates being far ahead of Britain, Russia, and France. Her figures are as under j Total. Year. Expenditure Appendix B. £ £ 1899 6 6"(" 0." b-O QC' ¡ 1899 6,672,788 50.997 1900 7,648.781 54.370 1901 9,530,333 118.762 1902 10,044,031 70.260 3903 10.401,174 69,581 1904- 10,102,740 95.162 I 1905 11,301.370 172.715 t 1906 12,005,871 218.089 I 1907 13,623.924 286,863 1908 16,596,561 371,803 f T0tals 107,927,573 1.508.602 f 1,503,602 II ci tc-tal 106,418,971 Thus in ten. years Germany has noaviy trebled her expenditure. -4 I (To be continued, God willing.) I

A NEW DRUG FOR ECZEMA. I

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