So, in order that certain hot-headed persons may learn that the wrongs of the world are not to be righted in a minute, nor by any of their devices, women have been prevented from taking a larger share in the movement toward closer intercourse among the wage-workers, the first step towards thenationalization of industry," to go no further than the industrial aspect of the question; for voluntary co-operation is the established limitation under which the total product may be distributed to the producers. And it is evident that whatever the vices of the factory system of labor may be, it carries within itself the remedial element -intercourse, sympathy, habit of co-operation. The bringing together of persons and interests is the most characteristic trait of the industrial development which we have called civilization. And one of the chief impediments to improvement has been the seclusion of women. Just when an irresistible tendency forcing women into larger contact with the world, closer intercourse with each other and with men, has carried a number of them beyond the confines of the narrow walls of a hopeless home into the great current of industrial co-operation, legislators appear, with egregious ignorance and divine assurance, to push them back, back - to hell. I use no doubtful word. Whether wages are reduced or not, there are other conditions of contentment. factory system at its worst has its redeeming features, even for the individnal. The woman pushed back to the cheerless drudgery of a lonely chamber is much more apt to be over-attracted by the sham and tinsel of the curtained sepulchre. And if wages are reduced, and the evidence goes to show that they are by the subletting system in some cases if not always, what surer in

The

ducement to enter the path that leads to degredation ended only by quick death? Thus the individuals offered in hecatombs on the altar of some man's theory of the proper ventilation of factories!

But Mr. Rae says, let us have reparative justice, and a very commendable exhortation that is. Having now supplied what he failed to give us, namely, an explanation of how the community has inflicted an injury, I proceed to ask him how he proposes to repair the damage. For instance, take these individuals who during the last twelve years have been at least once thrown temporarily out of employment, whose social and industrial relations have been changed for the worse (according to testimony in this and in several other cases identical with it except in time and place), whose earnings. have been permanently reduced, who have perhaps been forced into modes of life incomparably harder: how shall the injury to them be repaired? And there are the individuals who day by day are now about to follow in their footsteps because the conditions of employment in Boston have been made less favorable: how shall the injury to them be repaired? There are two answers to the question. The first is a very solemn answer. The injury never can be repaired, though the whole population should forsake all other thoughts and devote themselves from now till doomsday to the endeavor. Let the comfortably housed, clothed, and fed inspector smile: go into the North End up four flights, where the whole family lives and works in one room, to find that smile rebuked.

But Mr. Rae has another answer for us. Inorder to improve their condition" these people have been inspected out of the factory and compelled to do their work in the same room in which they eat and sleep. Now, since the community has inflicted an injury, “it is bound, in the merest justice to repair it" get them another inspector!

:

Listen to that, though you never listen to me again. Will you believe it? This man looking on at the struggling worker

The Law of Private Right. By George H. H. Smith, New York: Humboldt Publishing Company, 1890.

A Short History of Anglo-Saxon Freedom. The Polity of the English-speaking Race outlined in its Inception, Development, Diffusion, and Present Condition. By James K. Hosmer, New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1890.

Mr. Smith's book is the substance of a course of lectures delivered before the Los Angeles Law Students' Association. Law books are not usually interesting to the average reader, but an exception must be made in favor of this one. English and American jurisprudence is at present somewhat similar to the scholastic philosophy; as it has been moulded by its great master, Austin, it is a science of very acute, ingenious, logical deductions from very bad premises. This largely accounts for the fact that the law is not a more liberal and humanizing study. Plato has left us a famous picture of the helplessness of the typical lawyer, when drawn "out of his pleas and rejoinders into the contemplation of justice and injustice in their own nature and in their difference from one another and from all other things; or from commonplaces about the happiness of kings to the consideration of government, and of human happiness and misery in general-what they are, and how a man should seek after the one and avoid the other"; then that "narrow, keen, little legal mind" finds itself utterly at a loss. And yet these are the questions with which a lawyer would naturally be supposed chiefly to concern himself. Mr. Smith gives his adherence to the definition of the Law that it is the science of the just and the unjust, justi atque injusti scientia." If the Law really means this, then it is possible to say, with Cicero, "We are servants of the Law for this reason that we may be free." If the Law means

anything else, commands of a political superior to inferiors, say, then to be servants of the Law is to be so far slaves.

It might seem both hopeless and presumptuous for a single writer to attack a theory so firmly established as the present English theory of jurisprudence. Accordingly the first care is to note that this theory can by no means stand the test of quod semper, quod ubique, quod ab omnibus. It was not known to the Roman writers, and has no following on the Continent. Mr. Smith traces the origin of the theory to an inaccuracy of Blackstone's. The Roman jurists regarded the Law as made up of two elements, the jus gentium and the jus civile," the former consisting of those rational principles which are common to, and indeed constitute the principal part of, all systems of law; and the latter, of the arbitrary or accidental rules peculiar to any given system." Blackstone mistook the latter part for the whole and founded his definition upon it: "The Law is a rule of civil conduct prescribed by the supreme power in a State." Blackstone did not develop the error, but Austin adopted it and made it the basis of his system. The system is logically deduced from the erroneous conception, and is in reality a reductio ad absurdum of it, containing such absurdities and monstrosities as that custom is no part of the Law until recognized and adopted by the government; that neither international nor constitutional law is Law in the true sense; that rights are mere creatures of the will of the supreme government, and hence there are no such things as natural rights; that the legislative will is not only the source of rights, but the paramount standard of the just and the unjust, and of right and wrong generally; that the power of the sovereign is incapable of legal limitation.* Within comparatively recent times men have made the discovery that laws could be manufactured and so-called rights conferred by political machinery, and immediately the lawyers conclude that the only rights which exist are those so conferred, and the only laws properly so called are those which are manufactured.

The book, however, is not taken up wholly or chiefly with a refutation of this theory. The author has endeavored to study scientifically the law of private right in its nature and as historically developed. He closes with a demonstration of natural rights which we cannot now examine. The work is admirably adapted to excite interest in an important subject, which now, owing to the tediousness and unsound

* I give part of Mr. Smith's summary in his own words.

methods with which it has been treated, engages little attention.

A more inspiring subject than "Anglo-Saxon Freedom" no writer could choose, even if it is impossible fully to agree with Prof. Hosmer that all the political freedom which exists in the world is either Anglo-Saxon or an imitation of it. To trace the liberty of our race through all its vicissitudes, from its first appearance among a handful of savages dwelling on the banks of the Elbe and Weser to its present condition among the hundred and twenty million people who now speak the English tongue, is a really fascinating work.

It is uncertain whether the primitive tribes from which our race is sprung had a stronger love for individual freedom than other Teutonic tribes; but their political institutions were very similar to those of the others. The contrast between the descendents in the nineteenth century is striking; more striking still is the contrast with Russia. The primitive Slavs as well as the Angles and Saxons had, and have yet to some extent, the elementary institution which has always been held to be the best possible school for freedom, namely, the tun-moot or town meeting, which prevailed as largely in the Russian mir as in the Saxon town. But in Russia

the individual participation in government stopped with the mir; while among the Saxons, "above the primary moot came the moots of hundred, shire, and of the nation." The same cause which prevented the Greeks from forming a single great nation, namely, the exclusiveness and hostility of different communities with respect to one another, seems to have prevented the Russians from forming a free nation.

The great crises of Anglo-Saxon freedom were, that of its "submergence" immediately after the Norman Conquest, that of its extreme peril under the Tudors and the Stuarts, and that of its depression after the Restoration. It is easy to see the working of the forces which made for liberty in all the periods; even those movements which apparently failed completely, like that under Wat Tyler in the fourteenth century, and that under Jack Cade in the fifteenth, ultimately bore fruits. Prof. Hosmer does full justice, and, perhaps, more than justice, to these popular leaders whom he regards as precursors of Hampden and Cromwell. The movements which they led might, it seems to us, be regarded rather as precursors of the present socialistic movement in England.

The book contains a chapter of very glowing anticipations of the future of Anglo-Saxon freedom when in a hundred years the race will

number a thousand millions, 800,000,000 of which will be in the United States. Some dangers are pointed out, as the one from the spread of the Chinese, and that connected with the government of cities, which last is rapidly growing in importance as the population becomes more and more urban; but what seems to us the gravest of all is not touched upon, namely, that arising from the constantly spreading desire to throw upon the State burdens which belong to the individual, and to accomplish by political agencies extremely ill-fitted for the task objects which can be profitably accomplished only by industrial agencies and private enterprise.

POLITICS IN THE MAGAZINES. NOVEMBER.

One

The North American Review opens with a group of six articles by as many Congressmen in praise and in derogation of the present Congress. As no arguments are advanced on either side, and as the facts are already familiar, it is unnecessary to speak further of these. point only may be noted: the Republican writers-McKinley, Lodge, Dalzell-unite in sustaining the speaker's quorum-counting escapade, mainly for the reason that by this means alone was the House enabled to accomplish legislation. As the fundamental characteristic of a parliamentary assembly is its power of preventing things from being done, its nature will not probably be altered so suddenly. The notion that it can be so altered, or that it should be so altered, is one not to be specifically refuted, because the act of entertaining such a notion is evidence of an infatuation beyond the reach of controversy.

The MARQUIS OF LORNE writes on Scottish Politics. The subjects specially considered are: The National Characteristic, Feeling, and Aspiration of the Scots, The Crofters' Agitation, and The Relation of Church and State.

In the case of the latter, his lordship, as frequently happens with members of his class, inclines to Establishment. In the case of the national aspiration, this is somehow linked to the old fidelity to the Stuarts. The feeling of the Scots of the present generation in favor of Home Rule is treated as a narrow, unenlightened patriotism: the broader patriotism inspiring loyalty to the Union, admiration for the English, fondness for the Southron's gold. On the whole, this attitude seems not inappropriate to the position of the attitudinizer. In the third place, the confiscation of the property of the landlords for the benefit of the crofters is regarded as a very reprehensible tendency. What

ever may be said of the personal element in this conclusion there can be but one opinion of its soundness. The notion of finding any other basis for the claim of ownership than that of uninterrupted possession throughout generations is absolutely visionary. Nor is there the slightest pinch of evidence to show that good will result from disregarding the claims of the proprietary. As for local self-government, and as for Church Establishment, the opinion one may hold regarding these institutions is one which may or may not find countenance from history. But whoever maintains the feasibility of disreregarding the element of personal ownership in material things, be they what they may, thereby places himself at once beyond the pale of reason. There is a distinction which should be made, but which the writer does not make, namely, that ownership is divisible into two factors. There is (1) the identical thing owned, and there is (2) the value attaching to that thing. The evidence goes to show that social well-being is not compatible with the recognition of absolute ownership in the first sense; and, equally, the evidence goes to show that social well-being is not compatible with the recognition of anything short of absolute ownership in the second sense. As to unqualified and exclusive possession of anything, be it land or a penknife, he who reads history straight will find that such property is not only not essential but probably antagonistic to social welfare. The absolute ownership of the value, of the exchangeable factor, is essential to social welfare. Monopoly is the foundation of industrialism, the present tendency to disregard the foundation threatens the whole superstructure. If his lordship had understood these little rudimentary considerations he might have written quite intelligently about the crofters.

EX-JUSTICE STRONG, after an interval of nine years, now writes again on Relief for the Supreme Court. This is the only contribution of value to the present number of the North American. The way the Supreme Court has been gradually loaded down with accumulating cases, till now its docket is years behind; the way appeals have been made in vain for relief; the way Congress has met year after year and adjourned year after year without providing for the fundamental purpose for which the Federal Government was designed: "to establish justice"; the way suitors are injured by the delays; the way the general public suffers by reflex action due to the uncertainty of longdrawn litigation: all the evils of this indifference and inaction of Congress are enumer

ated and described. The tone of the article is judicial, here sadly out of place. The truth is that the evil is monstrous, the neglect preposterous, the injury incalculable. Ever since 1858 the Supreme Court has been unable to dispose of its docket. Ever since 1860 cases have accumulated from year to year, till in the second week of the term of 1889 the number of cases set for argument reached the total of 1,478! As not more than 400 cases can possibly be disposed of in one year, the Court is now more than three years behind in its work. An injured party seeking redress before the Supreme tribunal of the land will be arrested by the consideration that he must wait four years to learn whether or not the laws can afford him relief! On the other hand, unscrupulous persons and there are a few such, I fancy, even here and now - can, when occasion offers, by removing suits against them to the Supreme Court, add insult to injury by keeping the plaintiff out of his money for four years. Nay, more, by becoming plaintiffs themselves, the unscrupulous can hamper the business of rivals or enemies for years! Did I say that they added insult to injury? No, it is rather the people who heap the insult on the injured head. Yet people talk of the constitutional limitations of the power of Congress over the Supreme Court! Suppose that it is so: how many amendments to the Constitution have been passed since 1860?

In Election Methods in the South, the writer describes the condition of the negroes in South Carolina with reference to the franchise. According to him, rifle and shot-gun have only given place to ballot-box stuffing. He says that there are fewer negroes who vote the Domocratic ticket than there are whites who vote the Republican ticket. When by any chance the Democrats have failed to keep the negroes away from the poll, "the managers" of election simply throw in a sufficient number of other ballots to outnumber those of the negroes. By these methods the negroes are deprived of their Constitutional right. One circumstance is a trifle suspicious: in the approaching election (now past) the negroes of South Carolina are exhorted to vote the straight Democratic ticket, in opposition to the Tillman faction. This makes the article seem more like an electioneering dodge.

A Southern Republican on the Lodge Bill tries to show that this attempt at reinstating the negro in his electoral privileges will be futile. The reason is that juries will not convict the Democrats of crime for any methods which they may pursue. Under these circumstances relief seems pretty hopeless. The writer does not indicate what he would have instead of the Lodge Bill.

AMERICANA.

The following episode is related by the Freisinnige Zeitung. Ordinarily perhaps, allowance should be made in estimating the historical accuracy of Teutonic records of Gallic annals. But noting the illustrious persons who figure in this indicative story, and recalling the many evidences left us by departed greatness-whether genetically, actively, or passively acquired of 'the last weakness of noble minds, we may safely conclude, whether one touch of nature makes the whole world akin or not, at any rate that a community of sentiment animates the aspiring souls of every age and country. The devoted fathers of the famed city of Tours not long since had to select a certain some of their number to sally forth from the municipal walls, eluding the vigilance of provincial wives, and, undaunted by the dangers Zola has painted with a Tit(i an's brush, carry a message (with unwaxed ears) safely by the Sirens of the Seine to the Ithacan chamber of Constans himself. Whether these heroes were, in their native town, pères in the same sense in which the Roi d' Yvetot fathered his people, history leaves to the imagination. No doubt their ambition was not cooled by the reprehensive frowns with which the Senators had rebuked the Prosecutor for alluding to the age of Don Juan Boulanger; and the civic ardor of rivalling their Parisian models may have made then pères de Tours, thought not of France. So, inspired perhaps by the example of one Eustache of Calais, though clad on neither as he once, nor as Godiva always was, the fathers of Tours determined to march from the banks of the Loire to the fickle Paris. But who should go, and suffer the snares of the enemy of man? This gave them pause no volunteers - their wives were by. This must be left to the secret Athenian shells. The ballots were cast, the box was opened. The clerk read the notable election: every child's father of them had voted for himself!

Concord is the name of a town in Massachusetts, celebrated, as the citizens know, in war and peace, and now in politics. Once the problem of fencing the Common confronted the inhabitants. A town meeting was called for the purpose. The first speaker said: "The proper fencing to use is wood: it is cheap, light, easily repaired and I have a large stock on hand." The second speaker said: "Mr. Moderator, the first thing to consider in a fence is the durability. Now it strikes me that a stone wall, handsomely carved, would serve the purpose

well, and give work to our laborers, a number of whom are now in my employ." The third speaker said: "Mr. Moderator, as strength and lightness are both desirable for the fence, it seems to me that the proper material is evidently iron. Say the word and I will order the castings at once." Deacon Vose, the town wit and tanner, observed: The right stuff to make that fence of is leather." The meeting adjourned, and the fence has not been built yet.

Gen. Sherman, during his march to the sea, used to go out of his way to avoid a bridge. At any rate, some of the soldiers thought so. He was very fond of wading. One day the army was to ford a river, and for several miles before the men reached it they waded knee-deep in swamps. "I say, Bill." said one fellow to another, "I guess we struck this river lengthways "-Worcester Light.

(Whether this is the same remark Mr. Reed of Maine addressed to Mr. McKinley of Ohio on the 5th ult. has not yet been fully determined ).