of the unprivileged citizen till his heart failed him, and he ceased to think life worth living. Sometimes we feel that this may be the lot of the British Empire also. And Liberalism is always ready to advocate the setting up of one more department, with all its consequent expense. It may seem curious that a tendency towards overgovernment should be accompanied in the Liberal mentality by another tendency which can only describe as anti-governmental, namely, a dislike to enforce the law whenever any sort of a defence can be made for the lawbreaker on sentimental, humanitarian, religious, or political grounds. The whole of Mr Birrell's long and disastrous administration of Ireland was a series of refusals to deal sternly with lawlessness, because the offenders alleged patriotic and political reasons for their misdoings. It is not too much to say that if the affairs of Ireland had been in less incompetent and nerveless hands than those of Mr Birrell we might have been spared the horrors of revolution and bloodshed which have ensued. The responsibility for this must be shared by those who retained him in office after his inefficiency had been amply demonstrated. And six years of this treatment sufficed to turn a country which had been handed over to the Liberals by Mr Balfour in a state of tranquillity and prosperity such as it had not known for a century, into a home of sporadic outrage, which gave good promise of developing into the pandemonium of later years. But it was not only Irish rebels with whom Liberalism dealt with a silly kindness, but all sorts of minor insurgents against law and order-suffragettes, Trades Unionists engaged in violent picketing, anti-vaccinationists, strikers, and all freaks who set themselves to disregard national regulations from alleged moral or religious motives. This developed in many Liberals during the Great War into a sentimental reluctance to treat open offenders against the will of the State in a time of its dire need-such as passive resisters and conscientious objectors-with the stern justice that they deserved. It is fair to say that this feeble humanitarianism did not affect all Liberals during the war: some shook themselves free from the traditional party weakness, and behaved admirably. But there was always a large body which moaned about the liberty of the subject, and whined about the cruelty of forcing any man to do that which he might declare to be contrary to his principles. This fraction of the Liberal party was the same crew which in older days used to find Britain in the wrong whenever she was dealing with any foreign power, and invariably discovered that her motives were sinister or selfish. They are the same people who since the war ended have done their best to embroil us with our allies, and to plead the cause of our enemies. In former years they defended Arabi Pasha, the Mahdi, or President Krüger: to-day they try to prove that Germany was not deliberately guilty of bringing on the catastrophe of 1914, and that it is physically impossible that she should pay any money for Reparations. It will be said that to saddle Liberalism with the offences of such people is to do it injustice. We can only say that they invariably belonged to the Liberal party. Did any one ever hear of a Conservative 'Little Englander,' or a Conservative advocate of 'Peace at any Price'? Anti-Nationalists always allied themselves with the Liberal party, till the Labour party arose to give them an even more congenial 'spiritual home.' And they reckoned themselves Liberals because they found in the mentality of those to whom they joined themselves, that same perverted sentimentalism, that same exaggerated humanitarianism, that same dislike to enforce law, that secret sympathy with those who have plausible reasons for setting themselves against the law, which were their own guiding principles. Remembering a hundred incidents from Majuba Hill and the Kilmainham Treaty, down to Mr Montagu's laudations of Mahatma Gandhi, could any enemy of his own country have a moment's doubt as to what political party he was bound to join? Of course there have always been Liberals better than their creed. But just as we judge Mahometanism by its creed and the visible results of the working of that creed in the world at large, not by the lives of certain virtuous Mahometans, so we have to judge Modern Liberalism by its tenets (as elucidated in these pages) and by the recorded working of these tenets, not by the personal characters of some exceptional figures among its leaders. INDEX TO THE TWO HUNDRED AND FORTIETH VOLUME OF THE The names of authors of [Titles of Articles are printed in heavier type. Air Conference, at the Guildhall, Air Force, a National, 82. Air Policy, An Imperial, 74-92. Airships, advantage of, 79. Allen, Carleton Kemp, 'Bureaucracy Animal luminescence, 219. Ants, leaf-cutting, habits, 220. Arabs, study of the science of medi- Aristotle, translations of his works, Asquith, Rt Hon. H. H., Home Rule Astrology, the science, 295, 304. struction, 311-313-supremacy of Australia, State Paternalism in, Avebury, Lord, experiments on B. Bacon, Roger, scientific work, 306. Baltzer, Dr, researches on the Bon- Bataillon, Prof,, experiments on 'Bâtard, Le Grand,' portrait, 367. Beebe, Charles, Edge of the Jungle,' | Canada, number of motor-cars, 323. Birrell, Rt Hon. Augustine, adminis- Bolshevism, danger of the move- Bonellia, experiments on, 236. Boothby, Commander F. L. M., 'The Boundary Street scheme, 41. Bright, Sir Charles, 'An Imperial Broodbank, Sir Joseph, member of Carrogis or Carmontelle, Louis, col- Catholicism at the Cross-Roads, Celimancy, art of divination, 207. Century Dictionary, 174. Chambeges, Pierre, architect of Child, Prof. C. M., 'Senescence and Church, The, and the Prayer- Cinema, an institution, 56. Clasen, Dr, president of the All- Coal wealth of the principal Euro- Commonwealth Navigation Act, 143. Constantine of Africa, translations Corn Production Act, 352, 353. Craigie, Dr W. A., A New English Cross Channel Air Transport, Com- Cross, Lord, Home Secretary, mea- D. Darwin, Charles, theory of Natural Death rate for London, 41. Deer, result of the introduction into Defence Creation Bill, Ministry of, Defence of the Realm Regulations, De Keyser's Hotel Case, 253 Dendy, Prof. Arthur, 'Outlines of Denison House Committee on Public Dictionary of the Academia Española, Dictionary, The English, 164-182. Diplomatists and Revolution, 385- Disraeli, Rt Hon. B., 'Sybil,' 39- Dole, The, and Demoralisation, Drage, Geoffrey, 'The Dole and De- Drama, the, history, 58-relations Duff Development Company, litiga- E. Education Acts, 186, 188. Edward VII, H.M. King, interest in Eel, the common, history, 225–227. Embryology, new movement, 231- 'Emergents,' meaning of the word, Evans, Anne, definition of humour, Evans, Joan, 'Magical Jewels,' 296. F. Farm Institutes, scheme, 351. Farmers, promotion of co-operation, Fels, Comte, 'L'Entente et le Prob- Ferdinand I, King of Bulgaria, Fish, result of introduction into New Fisher, Rt Hon. Hayes, reply to the Ford Car, The Miracle of the, Ford, Henry, creation of the motor- Fox, fleetness, 26-footprints, 30. Freeman, John, 'Coventry Patmore,' Free Trade, doctrine, 431-434. G. Galen, work on medical science, 299. George, Rt Hon. D. Lloyd, 'Is it Gerard of Cremona, alchemical trans- Germany, superiority in mechanical Germany's Capacity to Pay, 107- 122. Germany, number of motor-cars, 323 Gillette, William, plays, 68. Gisborne, F. A. W., 'State Paternal- views, 426-policy in Ireland, 429. |