Norway are quoted at 102. Mr Angell does not appear to have fully perceived the influence which Europe's guarantee of the neutrality of Belgium, and practically of Norway as well, has had upon the credit of these two Powers. The economic effectiveness of these guarantees is great because it reflects the magnitude of the political influence, or the armaments, possessed by the Powers which would enforce the guarantee in case of need. As a matter of fact, it will be found that the credit of every European Power has improved to an appreciable extent during the past ten years, concurrently with an increase to the extent of nearly fifty per cent. in the aggregate volume of their expenditure upon armaments. ground upon which Mr Angell has based his conclusion is insecure and one which is open to misuse, because the relation between credit and political power is not always closely established; but the fallacy of the argument is illustrated by the fact that the credit of the Power (Great Britain) which expends more than any other country upon the protection of its wealth is greater than that of any of the so-called powerless but guaranteed Governments.

The

Mr Angell asserts that no nation could gain any advantage by the conquest of the British Colonies, and Great Britain could not suffer material damage by their loss.' This statement cannot be allowed to pass unchallenged. In the first place, the Colonies could only be wrested from us after a crushing defeat-defeat in a war which could not cost less than 1,000,000,000l. Again, this country has invested upwards of 1,700,000,000l. in its oversea dominions, and an equal amount in foreign countries; and practically the whole of this enormous sum would be in jeopardy. If we allow our relative position in armaments to decline and our political power to diminish accordingly, what may we expect to become of the 500,000,000l. of British capital invested in India and the 150,000,000l. invested in Egypt? It must also be remembered that the British Colonies provide a field for the employment of thousands of Englishmen not only of the emigrant type, but engineers, planters, managers, civil servants, etc. Can it be maintained that there would be no economic loss to Great Britain if this area of employment were restricted?

Mr Angell assumes that in future wars will be based mainly upon considerations of material interest. This again would be a dangerous proposition to accept. In Moltke's book on the Franco-German war there is a notable passage in which he refers to the Austro-Prussian conflict of 1866 in the following words :

'The war of 1866 was entered into not because the existence of Prussia was threatened nor in obedience to public opinion and the voice of the people; it was a struggle long foreseen and calmly prepared for, recognised as a necessity by the Cabinet, not for territorial aggrandisement or material advantage, but for an ideal end-the establishment of power. Not a foot of land was exacted from conquered Austria, but it had to renounce all part in the hegemony of Germany.'

It is a serious matter for this country that a great and rich Empire, which has mastered the art of military warfare and which is animated by ideals such as these, should have devoted itself with characteristic thoroughness to the acquisition of great naval power; and it would be an economic as well as a political mistake of the first magnitude for Great Britain to attempt to restrict the natural increase of its expenditure on naval armaments in the face of such a challenge.

The international credit system has been developed with London as its centre, on the assumption of the naval predominance of Great Britain; and, if we lose our predominance, our credit must be impaired and perhaps ultimately destroyed. The magnitude of the economic interests which depend upon our naval supremacy would be difficult to exaggerate; and 70,000,000l. per annum is a comparatively small price to pay for the protection of these interests, which include 100,000,000l. a year from our share of the world's carrying trade, 170,000,000l. a year from our investments abroad, and 50,000,000l. a year from our international banking business.

The problem of financial preparation for war is one of great complexity and one which requires profound deliberation. It will not suffice merely to strengthen our gold-reserves; the question must be approached from all sides; and this could best be accomplished by the appointment of a Royal Commission on the supply of credit in

time of war. Another measure of protection which is immediately practicable is the strengthening of the Committee of Imperial Defence on the financial side.

This Committee is an advisory and not an executive body. Its primary business is to study and determine what is the best provision that can from time to time be made for the naval and military requirements of the Empire as a whole. In theory, it sits purely to advise the Prime Minister. He nominates its members and can add to or diminish the number at his own will, and in accordance with the particular problems which for the time being demand investigation. The Committee consists of six Cabinet Ministers in addition to the Prime Minister, namely, the four Secretaries of State (exclusive of the Home Secretary), the First Lord of the Admiralty, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer. It includes also the First Sea Lord and the Director of Naval Intelligence, as representing the Navy; and, as representing the Army, the Chief of the General Staff, the Director of Military Operations, and the General Officer Commanding-in-Chief in the Mediterranean. In addition to these official members the Committee has the services and co-operation of the Inspector-General of the Forces (Sir John French), of Lord Esher, and Admiral of the Fleet Lord Fisher. The most striking feature in the constitution of the Committee is the absence of any representatives of the banking, commercial, and shipping interests of the Empire. Considering the importance of these interests, and their intimate connexion with matters of peace and war, it would surely not weaken the influence and authority of the Committee if the Prime Minister invited, say, the President of the Institute of Bankers, the President of the Associated Chambers of Commerce of the United Kingdom, and the President of the Chamber of Shipping, to attend the deliberations of a body which is primarily responsible for the defence of the Empire. EDGAR CRAMMOND.

Art. 2.-FOUR GREAT COLLECTIONS.

1. The Royal Collection of Paintings at Buckingham Palace and Windsor Castle. With an introduction and descriptive text by Lionel Cust. 2 vols. London: Heinemann, 1905-06.

2. Wilton House Pictures. With an introduction by Sidney Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery, and a history of Wilton House and other matters by Captain Nevile R. Wilkinson. 2 vols. London: Chiswick Press, 1907. 3. Catalogue of the Pictures in the Collection of the Earl of Radnor. By Helen Matilda, Countess of Radnor, and William Barclay Squire, with a preface by Jacob, sixth Earl of Radnor. 2 vols. London: Chiswick Press, 1909.

4. The Mond Collection, an Appreciation. By J. P. Richter, Ph.D. 2 vols. London: Murray, 1910. BEFORE the days of photography few illustrated catalogues of great collections of paintings were published. In recent years, however, the new means placed at our disposal permit even sale-catalogues to be splendidly illustrated. Catalogues of the great collections have been issued in a fairly steady stream during recent years. The Kann and Martin Le Roy collections in France, the Kaufmann and Lutzschina collections in Germany, the Widener and Elkins collections in America, the Crespi Gallery at Milan, are some of those in foreign countries which have thus been put on record and rendered accessible to students. In this enterprise England has not been behindhand. The Wantage collection was thus published in 1905; a catalogue of the Northbrook collection was edited by Mr W. H. James Weale; two splendid volumes illustrating selected pictures at Windsor and Buckingham Palace were issued in 1906 at the command of King Edward; complete catalogues of the Wilton House and Longford Castle Galleries were published in 1907 and 1909; and now Dr Richter has poured forth his stores of erudition in an illustrated account of the Mond collection.

To produce a really valuable catalogue of this kind is no easy matter, altogether apart from the question of the illustrations. It should be a work of ripe scholarship;

and ripe scholars who have leisure for such prolonged and discursive investigations are none too numerous. To Mr Lionel Cust, Surveyor of the King's Pictures, naturally fell the task of preparing the text for the volumes on Buckingham Palace and Windsor. He was familiar with the pictures themselves and had had repeated opportunities of discussing the various related problems, artistic and historical, with the many students, English and foreign, who had made acquaintance with the collections under his guidance. The Wilton House catalogue was written by Captain Nevile Wilkinson, now Ulster King at Arms, whose family connexion with their owner not only gave him access to all the papers relating to the formation of the gallery, but had, of course, rendered him familiar with the works themselves. He also was able to avail himself of the help of many other experts of various countries; and, being himself free from prejudice, he thus produced the very complete and scholarly work now under review. His volumes, moreover, besides being finely printed at the Chiswick Press, are adorned with a tasteful set of headings, tailpieces, and initials of his own design, many of them aptly and entertainingly heraldic. The Longford Castle gallery is described by Helen Countess of Radnor and Mr Barclay Squire. It may be assumed that the domestic history of the various works and the details of family history recorded in connexion with the portraits are contributions by Lady Radnor, whilst researches into authorship and the like were Mr Squire's share. In this task he was aided by a valuable series of articles on the subject in The Art Journal' from the pen of Mr Claude Phillips.

The King's pictures are arranged according to schools, one volume being devoted to Buckingham Palace, the other to Windsor. Captain Wilkinson has chosen an alphabetical order under the names of the artists. More convenient and lucid is the order adopted for Longford, where the family portraits are separated from the other pictures and arranged in chronological order, so that the volume containing them forms a richly illustrated family history which can be read with interest quite apart from the artistic value of the works described. The Mond catalogue has another character of its own, the collec