I.-HOME NOTES.

ENGLAND AND THE WAR IN THE EAST.

DURING the whole of this terrible struggle between Russia and Turkey, there has existed an apprehension that England might somehow be involved in it. Since the fall of Plevna, which took place on December 10th, when, after a fearful conflict, the Russian troops carried the town by assault, capturing 40,000 prisoners, this apprehension has occasioned great uneasiness throughout the country. It was felt that this event formed a crisis in the progress of the war, making it clear that the Turkish armies, although they have fought with tremendous courage and tenacity, were outmatched by the forces of Russia. Voices were not wanting among us loudly to exclaim that "British interests" demanded our interposition, even although at the risk or certainty of our having to draw the sword on the side of Turkey. The summoning of Parliament seventeen days earlier than the usual date of meeting, a step only taken under circumstances of grave importance, was regarded at first as indicating some designs of a military kind on the part of our Government, and was interpreted in that light by the Turkish authorities at Constantinople. A mystery was felt to hang over the councils of our Ministry, which gave occasion for a great number of disquieting rumours. Probably some of these were mere rumours; but it was well, indeed it had become absolutely necessary, that the public mind should be relieved by the more full, open, and responsible discussion of affairs for which the meeting of Parliament affords opportunity. The uncertainty as to what would be the course taken by our Government has had a very depressing effect upon trade, and was in many ways injurious. This anxious state of suspense has, however, been taken advantage of by many of our public men, including several eminent Christian ministers, and by an influential portion of the press, to inform the country of the facts of the case, with regard to our relation to the Eastern question, and to discuss their various bearings and the responsibilities arising out of them. The beneficial effect has been marked and obvious; and the mind of the nation at large has been expressed in a very distinct manner, that in this war England must have no part. The attempt to prop up the authority of the Turkish Empire in Europe by the expenditure of English blood and treasure is a proposal which needs only to be stated in plain terms to be at once rejected and condemned; and the highest authorities have shown that the excited fears which have found utterance as to the danger of Russian interference with the English route to India are largely based on misconceptions and positive ignorance, and at best are the result of unworthy jealousies and of premature and unwarrantable assumptions. We earnestly hope that the immediate VII. N.S.

danger of the country from the outcry of those who act this undignified part is at an end; but there is a general feeling that we have been on the very brink of a war which, if it had been engaged in, would have been not only one of the darkest and bloodiest, but also one of the most foolish of modern times. England has a nobler work to do than to plunge into this fearful fray, and it is only to be regretted that her influence in the settlement which will follow the arbitrament of the sword has been at all compromised by any who have spoken rashly, as though in her name.

THE BOARDING-OUT OF PAUPER GIRLS.

The late Mrs. Nassau Senior was the means of calling the attention of Government to the inefficiency of our workhouse and district school system, especially with regard to girls; and under her wise and indefatigable oversight the practice of placing these unfortunate and destitute children, thrown upon public charity, under the care of householders who were willing to take them in and train them for domestic service, was tested and developed. The Poor Law Board adopted what is known as the Boarding-out System in 1870, when Mr. Goschen was President of that department; and in 1874 Mrs. Senior presented a report, based upon her own official inquiry and observation, which at once condemned the old workhouse and district school training, and gave an endorsement to the newly inaugurated method of caring for pauper girls, which has practically secured for it a permanent place in our Poor Law administration. Miss Preusser has taken up Mrs. Senior's work, and she has recently issued a report giving an account of the operation of the Boarding-out system in cases which she has carefully investigated. The report summarises information upon the working of the system, in ten districts in England, from 1870 to 1877. The statements made are very gratifying, showing that under the judicious oversight of local committees composed of ladies, there is no insurmountable difficulty in obtaining homes for these poor little ones, and securing to them many of the blessings and advantages of the homelife of which unhappy circumstances had deprived them. A glance over this report is quite sufficient to show the immense advantage of this system over that of the ordinary workhouse. The latter has an almost inevitable tendency to perpetuate pauperism; the former lifts children out of the pauper's state. It appears too, according to Mr. Chamberlain, M.P., that the boarding-out system is much cheaper than the workhouse, and actually "halves the cost of maintenance, clothing, schooling, and medical expenditure.” It is in this direction, surely, that we must look for a mode of dealing with the poor children of the country which shall not only reduce a wasteful outlay, but which shall more worthily represent the Christian idea of compassion for the destitute. In appealing

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for the formation and co-operation of ladies' committees for the object throughout the country, Miss Preusser forcibly says:

"No home duties need be neglected by ladies if they look after the welfare of a few orphans; boarding out is quiet, unpretending, truly womanly work; and yet, if carried out well, and if adopted all over England, how much influence for good it would bring for this and coming generations! How many miserable girls would be rescued, saved, and made happy and useful, as self-supporting servants! How much evil subdued and counteracted! How much money saved to the ratepayers! How many good servants, now everywhere needed, would be trained! How many lonely, childless homes made happy and cheerful by the orphans! How much occupation and useful thought for ladies who are in want of more work and interest! How much blessing for those who give and those who receive!"

This is a kind of work which needs womanly tact and skill, and which may worthily exercise the noblest womanly sympathies.

THE INDIAN FAMINE RELIEF FUNDS.

On the first of January it was announced that the Mansion House Fund, for the relief of the sufferers from the Indian famine, had reached the splendid total of £500,000 sterling. We have noticed from time to time the progress of the subscriptions which have poured in for this object, and have also drawn attention to the manifold value of this noble expression of national sympathy. The following summarised statement with regard to the contributions made to this object, is worthy of being placed on record here:

"The fund was opened on the 15th of August last, when, at the request of the Duke of Buckingham, the Governor of Madras, the then Lord Mayor (Sir Thomas White) made a public appeal for help. The donation of the Prime Minister came by the first following post, and those of her Majesty and the Prince of Wales the same week. Since then over 16,000 separate donations have been paid in at the Mansion House, besides many more remitted direct to the bankers. The fund was distinct from those collected

at Manchester, Liverpool, Blackburn, Glasgow, Edinburgh, and Bradford, which were kept purposely quite apart, and sent to India. Dublin, however, contributed £13,000 to the Mansion House Fund, and a large number of cities and other towns throughout the kingdom and in the colonies also sent their donations through the Lord Mayor. It is still not the case, as has been asserted, that the greater portion of the money received was obtained by the action of provincial organizations, for the bulk of the collection was contributed by private donors; by bankers and merchants in the City; and through church and chapel offertories. The largest sum received in any one day at the Mansion House was £13,000. In the box outside the Lord Mayor's residence over 1,000 was contributed in coin by passers-by in the space of six weeks. The Central Relief Committee in India, at the head of which is the Duke of Buckingham, have all along been full of gratitude for the aid rendered by the English people, resulting in the saving of a vast number of lives, and in the prevention of much misery. Yesterday £8,500, including £6,000 previously advised, was received through the Mayor

of Sydney, as an instalment of the contributions in New South Wales; and 200 also came from New Plymouth, New Zealand. These sums brought up

the fund to the half-million."

This statement, it will be observed, does not include the special gifts for the relief of the famine-stricken districts contributed through the various missionary societies. These must amount, at the most moderate estimate, to something like £50,000.

THE BIBLE AND ITS DIFFERING FRIENDS.

Misunderstandings between those who have the same good cause at heart are always to be deplored. We have felt this strongly in reading the correspondence which has arisen in connection with the Earl of

Shaftesbury's withdrawal from the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge. Lord Shaftesbury has made public more than one reason for the course which he has taken. He has been dissatisfied for some time with the character of various publications of the Society, in some of which he believed he detected Popish doctrines, while others were decidedly Rationalistic in their tone and teaching. The last ground of offence, which has immediately led to the action of his lordship, is the publication of a work entitled "The Argument from Prophecy," by the Rev. B. Maitland, M.A. This little volume was issued under the sanction of the Christian Evidence Committee of the Society for Promoting Christian Knowledge, of which committee Lord Shaftesbury, Canon Miller, and one or two other well-known Evangelical churchmen were, we understand, members. Following the lead of Lord Shaftesbury, these gentlemen have retired, and Lord Shaftesbury has taken the opportunity to use strong words as to the mischievous and unsound character of the book referred to. In this he has been echoed and sustained by one or two of the newspapers which are understood to represent Evangelical views. Lord Shaftesbury's special ground of objection to Mr. Maitland's volume is that it makes what his lordship regards as dangerous concessions with respect to certain parts of the Old Testament Scriptures, or rather, to put the case more exactly, with regard to the interpretation of certain passages. Mr. Maitland, in developing an argument in favour of Christianity, from the fact of the fulfilment in it of many prophetic intimations contained in the Old Testament Scriptures, concedes that some of the passages' which have often been quoted as having been literally fulfilled, cannot any longer be pressed in argument; closer critical inquiry has shown that they could not bear the precise interpretations put upon them, or at least has made such interpretations doubtful. It is felt, accordingly, that the use of these interpretations in arguments with sceptics (for to this class, be it observed, Mr. Maitland's book is addressed) was not likely to be of any avail, and must not be insisted upon. We confess that to us this seems to be a perfectly intelligible and entirely sound position. Mr. Maitland has clearly stated his intentions in his preface. Admitting that the Christian mind will discover and perceive much

in the Scriptures which is true and profitable, although not admitted by the sceptic, he deems it best, in addressing himself to sceptical readers and trying to meet their objections and difficulties, only to make use of arguments the force of which is likely to be felt. We imagine that those who have had much personal experience in argument with modern unbelievers, will not be slow to perceive the wisdom of an occasional use of this method, and the vast difference there is between it and the too-ready abandonment of fixed and ascertained truths at the bidding of scientific, philosophical, and critical dogmatists. It is clear to us, however, after looking somewhat carefully through Mr. Maitland's book, that Lord Shaftesbury and his friends have somehow confounded these two things. The authority and influence of the Bible have suffered much from the course taken by some of its most sincere defenders. Surely we do it the truest honour when we resolve that if criticism, or science, or learning, or anything else can bring us help to the understanding of this Divine word, we will use its light, not regarding it as at enmity with truth because it does not agree with interpretations which, in all good faith, but with less perfect knowledge, we may have accepted. Our examination of Mr. Maitland's book leaves not the shadow of a doubt upon our mind as to the sincerity of his endeavour to commend Christianity to the acceptance of many who now reject it, and we think that his arguments are stated in a manner likely to command the attention and respect of those whom he specially addresses. In fact, we perceive clearly that his aim is exactly the same as that of Lord Shaftesbury, viz., to commend the Holy Scriptures as the Revelation of God and as the law of human life and conduct. Both are the sincere friends of the Bible. Lord Shaftesbury's methods may suit some people; Mr. Maitland's will suit others.

POOR CHILDREN AND THEIR PLEASURES.

The holiday season of Christmas and the New Year, which has once more passed away, has, according to good and established custom, been made the opportunity for the manifestation of much kindly thoughtfulness and generous compassion. While the homes of the prosperous have been brightened by happy family gatherings, and by the interchange of small tokens of affection, there has been many an endeavour to give a gleam of sunshine to the less fortunate; and the distribution of food and clothing| has been recognised as among the duties which belong especially to the Christian Church. Amidst all these remembrances one thing has been thought of which perhaps most of us had forgotten. Mr. James Knowles wrote a letter to the Times of New Year's day reminding us that there were in the "pauper schools" of London some five or six thousand children, "whose fingers never-or hardly ever-close upon a toy of their own." The writer proceeded to quote from several communications which he had received from those in charge of these schools and of their nurseries and infirmaries, simply

telling how much the want of the pleasure which to ordinary children playthings give, was felt by these little ones. "The dreary winter hours must often be dreary indeed without any such solace. Many of these children also (says one kind friend of theirs) are often sick, and the days in the infirmary must seem very long with no sympathizing doll to talk to or picture to look at." Mr. Knowles mentioned several distinguished persons who had associated themselves as a committee for receiving toys, and contributions for the purchase of toys, and for distributing them among the little people on whose behalf he so touchingly pleaded. We were glad to notice that the appeal was completely successful. The Queen and several members of the royal family sent contributions, and multitudes of people would be sure to follow such an example. And so, we doubt not, that by this time thousands of eyes, many of them in prematurely worn and darkened faces, have sparkled with unwonted gladness at the sight of some pretty trifle. Mr. Knowles, in introducing his proposal, remarks, "It is a sort of relief in the midst of the many great and irremediable evils of life to come upon some smaller one which can be at once and altogether got rid of," and he proceeds to speak of the evil of leaving toys and playthings out of childhood. It may be worth while to add, that though it is well for us to devote time and energy to grappling with the greater sorrows which afflict humanity, it is also well for us not to overlook the readiness with which we may alleviate the small troubles of those around us and diffuse by simple means a great deal of joy.

DR. MOFFAT AND THE LONDON TURNERS'
COMPANY.

With many of us, perhaps, it requires a considerable effort of the imagination to realise the value of those "civic honours," which it is the custom of some of the ancient guilds of trades in London to bestow upon certain distinguished men. Dr. Moffat has been elected to "the freedom and livery of the Worshipful Company of Turners," in consideration of his "services to civilisation and geographical discoveries in Southern Africa." The significance of the distinction is intimated to the general outside public by the fact that the Company has previously enrolled amongst its members Sir Bartle Frere, Mr. Henry Stanley, Sir Samuel Baker, Commander Cameron, and Dr. Atherstone—all of them names honourably connected with discoveries and measures which are gradually bringing Africa under the influence of civilisation. The particular reason why this respectable city company should undertake the special duty of recognising the merits of great African travellers and administrators, we do not know; but such a use of its influence and energies cannot be objected to, and if it is able to confer any privileges upon its members, we hope that Dr. Moffat may yet long live to enjoy them. Amongst the benefactors of Africa, all will acknowledge that he occupies a foremost place. His labours in that

country-which he simply and graphically described in the SUNDAY MAGAZINE for December, p. 106extending over more than half a century, introduced to tribes of poor, naked savages, previously unknown to the white man, the arts of civilised life, as well as the blessings of the Gospel. The Turners' Company regards itself as in some sense the representative of the finer mechanical arts-in the interests of which the Company was originally constituted. With this, far less than with most of the other city companies in London, the name remains, although the practical duties connected with the care of the trade to which its name refers have sunk into abeyance. Its limited resources it devotes to the extension of technical education, in the different branches of trade which it represents, and we trust that this desirable end among others will be increasingly secured. Meanwhile, the tribute paid to Dr. Moffat brings into prominence the fact, insisted upon by the venerable missionary, that in Africa civilisation has followed the Gospel, and must follow it wherever it is carried.

CHURCH PROBLEMS IN SCOTLAND.

Lord

Ecclesiastical prospects in Scotland continue to command a considerable share of the attention of public men on both sides of the Tweed. The obvious effect of the abolition of patronage in the Presbyterian Established Church has been to present for discussion a new phase of the great Church and State question, and has stirred up the zeal of advocates both of Establishment and Disestablishment. Hartington, too, in his recent Scotch visit, gave a new impetus to the controversy, considered especially from its political side, although his lordship spoke with the caution and modesty which are becoming in an Englishman when he ventures to touch upon the thorny and difficult problems presented by Scottish church affairs. It has become quite clear, even to those who had any doubt about it, that there is a very widespread, and it also appears a growing feeling among members of the Free Church of Scotland, and among Liberal Scotch politicians, that the time is drawing near when the question of establishment or disestablishment must be practically dealt with; and there is certainly a largely prevalent feeling that some method will have to be found of withdrawing Stateaid from an organization which the history of the Free Church shows may live and flourish apart from such a mode of sustentation. The Duke of Argyll, however, in an elaborate article of characteristic ability and eloquence, has defended the principle of church-establishment as it is applied in Scotland, and earnestly deprecated the severance of a connection to which he attaches extreme value. The subject is one which will bear an immense amount of argument, and which in Scotland, at least, need not excite the bitterness which has too often arisen out of its discussion-even as a theory "out of the range of practical politics "—in England.

With respect to other matters, we observe with considerable regret, that there is a movement on foot,

among certain earnest friends of Protestantism in Scotland, for carrying out a formal course of opposition against the proposed Scotch Roman Catholic Hierarchy, to which we referred in our last month's "Survey." The Protestant associations of Scotland have lately held "an influential meeting in Edinburgh, at which it was agreed to offer all possible resistance to the establishment of the Roman Hierarchy in Scotland, to put the law in force against those assuming illegal titles, and to prosecute any publisher or printer who might make them public." This is surely a mode of putting on the armour which the best intelligence and truest piety in Scotland will on reflection disapprove. Is it possible that any thoughtful person, who truly wishes to carry out the teachings of our Lord Jesus Christ, can for a moment look to such methods of defending His sacred cause? It is not in this way that protection will be secured against the aggressiveness of Rome. To our minds, the proposal thus to bring the machinery of the law into action about a matter of this kind-the assumption of high-sounding but empty titles-and to attempt forcible repression of such pretenders to spiritual authority, savours of the distrust and fear on which we have commented strongly in the case of Spain. Scotland, of all countries, ought to know, and indeed, we doubt not, does know, that a little persecution (within such limits as the law and sentiment of this country would now permit) would be one of the best things for the Papacy that could happen in this new enterprise. Persecute it and it will thrive; let it be left alone, and the hollowness of a mere external parade will soon be discovered. But, as we value the spirit of Christ's teaching and the interests of His kingdom-which are superior to the necessity for worldly show and splendour-let us not fall back for our Protestant security upon measures of repression and intimidation, even of a legal kind. Such measures may well be left to the Papacy.

POVERTY AND SUFFERING AT HOME.

While we are compelled to give such sad prominence to records of the ravages of war and pestilence in distant parts of the world, we are not permitted to forget that there is just now, amidst the severities of a late winter, a great deal of suffering among our working population at home. The Bishop of London has been appealing for help for "the lower strata of the labouring class," who find a precarious subsistence in Stepney, the Docks, Bethnal Green, Shoreditch, and other parts of the metropolis. Mr. Henry Richard, M.P., writes a sad tale of the terrible distress in the mining districts of South Wales, where, he says, "thousands of men are out of employ through no fault of their own." In connection with these and similar statements and appeals, a somewhat vigorous discussion has arisen as to the extent to which the working men are themselves to blame for slack trade and for their own present poverty. The argument has at any rate brought out the folly and short-sightedness of the system of "strikes," and may do something to prepare artisans