he has been a Reformer only by the force of circumstances, in obedience to the growth of public sentiment which he has sought not to resist but to nurture and direct, and which he regards as the safest of all political guides. His frequent changes of base have laid him open to the charge of inconsistency, but these changes have always been from an honest desire to conform to the changing social and political growth of the community.

His mantle falls on the fifth Earl of Rosebery. Born in 1847, the new premier is still a young man as things go in England, and he has already won fame as a practical statesman of pre-eminent ability. His policy is a continuation of that of Mr. Gladstone, but with the order of its elements reversed. The old leader put home rule first and other Liberal reforms last-the new leader announces that home rule will have to wait. Popular sentiment outside of Ireland is not yet ripe for it. Other reformsChurch disestablishment in Wales, local government for Scotland, local control of the liquor traffic, etc.—are more immediately pressing. At the same time, the Irish question will not be abandoned, and an attempt will be made to deprive the house of lords of its power to thwart the will of the commons. It is still doubtful what will be the ultimate attitude of the Parnellites under John E. Redmond, toward the new government. They have talked of deserting; but such a course could hardly advance the Irish cause immediately. A bitter struggle with the lords seems necessary before the Irish question can be advanced a single step; and in the meantime Ireland must be content to wait or to be governed by England. The AntiParnellites under Justin McCarthy have acquiesced in the inevitable. In truth, the ultimate solution of the Irish question depends not upon any single leader or party in or out of parliament, nor upon the success or failure of any campaign against the upper house, but upon the unity and political wisdom of the Irish people themselves. Owing to lack of training in modern political methods, due largely to the absence of responsibility in local and general affairs, they have not yet manifested any special aptitude for effective combination or for the steady maintenance of a judicious policy for the attainment of their cherished aim of responsible government.

THE BERING SEA QUESTION.

THERE have been exaggerated rumors during the quarter, of a serious hitch in the negotiations between the United States and Great Britain looking toward an enforcement of the regulations laid down by the arbitrators at Paris in August, 1893, for the protection of the seal herds in Bering Sea and other waters of the North Pacific. The complications which, it has been alleged, had arisen through the dissatisfaction of Great Britain with the award, and her unwillingness to carry out her portion of the arrangement to which she was morally bound, were even said to be as delicate as any marking the long dispute which the Paris tribunal was thought to have finally set at rest. It is true that the Canadian sealers manifested considerable dissatisfaction with the award. Both as regards the length of the proposed close season and the extent of the prohibited zone, they considered the regulations unduly severe. There does not, however, appear to be any evidence that their protests have had any effect other than to delay for a time, on the part of Great Britain, that legislative action which is required to clothe the recommendations of the arbitrators with the binding force of law. Under the award of August 15 last, England is equally bound with the United States to forbid her subjects to kill, capture, or pursue at any time or in any manner fur seals within a zone of 60 miles around the Pribilof Islands or during the breeding season in any part of the Pacific, inclusive of Bering Sea, situated north of the 35th degree of north latitude, or eastward of the 180th degree of longitude. At the end of March, in both the American congress and the British parliament, the necessary bills were in process of enactment, with every prospect of the ultimate removal of all difficulties and an amicable carrying out of the findings of the Paris tribunal.

As early as February 22, Representative McCreary of Kentucky, the chairman of the foreign affairs committee of the house of representatives, introduced a bill designed to carry into effect the arbitration award. No indication was immediately forthcoming of the definite intentions of the British government, and the matter for a time stood in abeyance. Toward the end of March, however, the opening of the sealing season approaching, and it being necessary to take definite action, the whole subject of

the sealing question, including the re-establishment of an effective patrol in Bering Sea, was thoroughly discussed by the cabinet, and on March 30, Secretary Gresham submitted to the cabinet a new bill, which was approved, incorporating certain regulations in line with the award. It follows the provisions of the tribunal of arbitration by prohibiting citizens of the United States from sealing within 60 miles of the seal islands at any time. It establishes a close season for citizens of the United States outside of that zone from May 1 to July 31; prohibits the use of steam vessels during the open season; provides that the master of every sealing vessel shall keep a record of seals caught, and establishes the penalty of perjury for any false statement; and prohibits the use of nets, firearms, etc., except shotguns, outside of Bering Sea. United States Indians sealing in canoes or boats are exempted from these provisions.

The president is empowered to regulate special licenses and distinctive flags. The penalties for violation of the act are a fine of not less than $200 or imprisonment for not more than six months, or both, and forfeiture of vessel and cargo, etc. Violations of the law are to be enforced in the district courts of Alaska, California, Oregon, and Washington.

It requires the president to furnish a sufficient naval. patrol force, and makes it the duty of the naval and revenue commander, when so instructed by the president, to seize all vessels found in prohibited waters, with all on board, and take them to the most convenient port.

The last section of the bill, which is one of the most important, provides for the seizure of any vessel and the arrest of any citizen of the United States by the naval forces of the queen of Great Britain.

"But when so seized and detained they shall be handed over as soon as practicable, with any witnesses and proofs on board, to any revenue or naval officer or other authorities of the United States, whose courts shall alone have jurisdiction to try the offense and impose the penalties for the same; provided, however, that British officers shall arrest and deliver vessels and persons, as in this section specified, only after, by appropriate legislation, Great Britain shall have authorized officers of the United States, duly commissioned and instructed by the president to that end, to arrest, detain, and hand over to the authorities of Great Britain vessels and subjects of that government offending against any statutes or regulations of Great Britain enacted or made to enforce the award of the treaty mentioned in the title of the act."

Should Great Britain fail to pass the necessary legisla

tion by May 1, when the open season closes, it was announced that the president would proceed under the act of February, 1893.

It was not until March 29 that the British bill for putting into effect the arbitration award was submitted to the house of commons by Sir Charles Russell. It contains eight clauses and two schedules, the first schedule consisting of nine articles of the award of arbitration, and the second citing the clauses of the shipping act of 1854, and providing for legal procedure under the same. The first clause provides that the arbitration award as set forth in the first schedule shall have effect. Anyone contravening the act is guilty of misdemeanor under the act of 1854; and any ship employed in contravention of the act, with her equipment and everything on board, is liable to forfeiture. Anyone forging a fradulent license, or altering a regular license, is made guilty of misdemeanor. British officers, naval, customs, or consular, are authorized to seize any ship and bring her before any court having admiralty jurisdiction within her majesty's dominions. Any commissioned naval officer in the queen's service may seize a ship's certificate of registry.

"In any case where an officer seizes a certificate of registry, he may retain the certificate, giving a provisional certificate in lieu thereof, or return the certificate with an endorsement stating the grounds of seizure; and in either case he may direct the ship to proceed forthwith to any specified port where there is a British court authorized to adjudicate. If this direction is not complied with, the owner or master of such vessel shall, without prejudice to other liability, be liable to a fine not to exceed £100, and British customs or consular officers may detain such ship until satisfactory security shall be given for her appearance in legal proceedings in pursuance of this act.

The queen in council may make, revoke, or alter orders carrying into effect the scheduled provisions of this act, and any one contravening the regulations of such orders shall be liable to a penalty of £100. The order of the queen in council may provide that such officers of the United States as are specified in the order may exercise powers under this act similar to those exercised by a British naval officer, in relation to a British ship, her equipment and certificate of registry. British officers specified in the order may exercise powers under the act with the necessary modifications specified in the order, in relation of a ship of the United States.

The act was to become effective May 1.

On March 31, it was announced that some slight modifications in the act as above, were rendered necessary by recent correspondence between the two governments, and that these would be submitted early in April. Everything pointed to an amicable carrying out of the terms of the award.

Whatever might be the ultimate action of Great Britain in the matter of carrying out the protective regnlations, it has all along been the firm intention of the United States to maintain in Bering Sea during the season of 1894 an unusually efficient patrolling fleet. The Mohican was on the way to the sealing grounds before the end of March. The Yorktown and the Alert were soon to follow. As soon as the herds were reported, the Rush, Corwin, Bear, and Albatross, were to cruise slowly northward. Altogether the fleet will comprise about a dozen vessels, including besides the above the Ranger, the Bennington, the Adams, the Concord, and the Petrel, and possibly one armored cruiser. It is, of course, not yet known what will be the strength of the British patrolling

fleet.

The diplomatic representatives of Russia and Japan have been requested to ask their governments to cooperate with the United States ships in preventing poaching during the close season. Their co-operation is felt to be assured conditionally upon the assent of Great Britain to a mutually satisfactory protective arrangement, of which no doubt is now entertained. Sir Julian Pauncefote, the British ambassador at Washington, has done much toward effecting a final, amicable understanding.

In accordance with the terms of a convention recently negotiated with Russia, the British government has issued an order-in-council prohibiting the catching of seals by British vessels within a zone extending ten marine miles from the Russian coasts bordering on Bering Sea and the North Pacific, and also forbidding such fishing within a 30-mile zone around the Kormandorsky and Rob

ben islands.

THE BLUEFIELDS INCIDENT.

About the middle of January the United States consul at Greytown, Nicaragua, reported a very unsatisfactory condition of affairs in the Mosquito country, of which Bluefields, a city of about 4,000 inhabitants, principally negroes and Indians, is the capital. Subsequent events in this region caused a great deal of excitement in Nicaragua and some dissatisfaction in the United States, and threatened for a time to lead to grave international complications.

The Mosquito country stretches along the Caribbean