The seat at Walthamstow was the only one lost to the Government during the session of 1897, and at the end of the session political parties in the House stood thus:

The Conciliation Act of 1896, as was anticipated, made it possible to bring disputes between employers and employed before Parliament. The most important labour debate of the session, outside those arising out of the Workmen's Compensation Act, took place on January 19th, when nearly the whole of the sitting of the House of Commons was taken up with a debate on the dispute between Lord Penrhyn and his quarrymen, and the action of the Board of Trade under the Conciliation Act. On February 17th, there was a shorter discussion on the application of the Arbitration Act to a dispute which had arisen between the Linotype Company and their work people at the Company's factory at Manchester.

A Royal Commission to enquire into the working of Irish land legislation was created during the session of 1897, and has already begun to take evidence in Dublin. There was also appointed a committee charged with the codification of the labour laws. The Royal Commission on Agricultural Depression in Great Britain, appointed in 1893, made its final report on August 4th, 1897; and during the year, the Royal Commissions on the licensing of the liquor trade, on local taxation in England, and on the procedure at Parliamentary election petition trials were all at work.

Farmington, Conn.

EDWARD PORRITT.

SOME OF THE CONTRIBUTIONS OF MILITANCY

TO THE INDUSTRIAL ARTS.

IT is not the intention of the writer to endeavor to prove that

war is a blessing to mankind, but simply to show that it is by no means an unmixed evil, and that from it have come many inventions which, first applied to military engines and serving warlike ends, have been turned with great success to industrial processes.

When savage man appeared upon the scene he found himself surrounded by enemies many of whom were far more powerful than himself and provided by nature with adequate means of offence and defence. Against these he was well nigh powerless. He could not bite, scratch, kick or hook, and was unable by his size to either effectually conceal himself or flee from his pursuers. Thus driven to the wall, he was forced to exercise his ingenuity, and from the animate and inanimate world about him to draw allies to help him in the struggle. A chance stone found by the way serves to aid the fist by giving a blow of greater impact, and when this is pointed it in part serves the purpose of a claw. A branch picked up in the forest serves as a walking stick, helps to dig roots, and at the same time in a fight lengthens the arm by just so much. This stick was in all probability the first weapon of man, for he looked upon it more as a personal possession since it was not thrown away like the stone. When the stone was fastened to the end of the stick we find a much more efficient weapon and one which is used in many places in the world to-day. Later developments of this are the battle axe and mace, the policeman's club and the scepter of authority. Necessity demanded that the first efforts of man should be directed to the formation of those implements and weapons which should preserve his life from the attacks of beasts of prey and his no less ferocious fellow beings. Bourdeau says upon this point:"Taken together, the creation of utensils is posterior to that of arms, for they respond to less pressing needs. Before all

it is necesary to provide for the exigencies of preservation: but life once assured, the claims of comfort can assert themselves and this new need becomes greater than the former. The first implements served to make arms, or rather they were the arms themselves. Equally useful in the chase and war, arms were the utensils of industry which gave life to the savage peoples, procured for them their prey and suppressed their competitors. By them man was enabled to establish his warlike exploitation over the animal kingdom, of which the resources then had for him the greatest value:

"Later when his desires extended over other domains of nature, arms having no longer a sufficient utility, he was obliged to invent utensils. The passage from one to the other was gradually effected. It was natural to employ at first for all purposes the weapons which they had present with them, and to make them fill on occasions industrial functions for which they were fairly well fitted."

The baton, that weapon of impact, at first became a lever to move weights, a hoe to stir the dirt, a pole to direct the raft, a handle for all implements. The chipped flint with which the hunter killed his prey served to cut it up, to scrape and limber up the skin, to slice it into strips. The battle axe became the hatchet, the tomahawk, the hammer. But this confusion of arms and utensils, unavoidable at first, gradually ceased as occupations became specialized, and these two classes of implements, taking forms more and more distinct, in view of their exclusive fields of utility, separated almost entirely, to follow, by different roads, the course of a progressive evolution.

When improvements had been made in weapons so that the primitive man was able to contend successfully with the beasts of prey, his attention was next turned against the savage of the nearest horde to whom he was in a state of continual hostility. This was but natural, for he looked every appropriation by the stranger as so much taken away from himself. Every fruit picked and every beast killed left that much less for the support of his own people. Thus his attention and inventive faculties were turned to the improvement of his present weapons of destruction and the discovery of new ones. To quote from

Boeheim: "The way from barbarism to civilization was exactly as usual where a people is pressing toward intellectual development. Here also the striving was towards security of life and property together with a desire for comfort and a higher form of life, and the greatest exertions were directed toward the perfection of weapons."

Here we find the philosophy of the savage most clearly shown. Within his own group peace and order must prevail. There must be no quarrels or bloodshed here, for the loss of a man means a smaller fighting force to be arrayed against the neighboring group. Within the group then industrialism. prevails, and the work is turned over to the women and slaves; the two non-fighting groups. To all without there is war, and to this end militancy is developed. At this point organization comes in as a gift of the military system. In the long run that tribe will prevail which has its forces best managed and controlled by one leader. After it has been seen that this principle of leadership is advantageous in war, nothing is more natural than that the chief should continue to hold sway in time of peace and direct the internal organization.

War between barbarous people is carried on either for the sake of revenge or for the acquisition of property without work. The most valuable property was women. When they were brought into the new horde they carried with them all the arts of their own, and thus by combining the two, war served the purpose of advancing the useful arts.

Again captives were made, and when the conquerors had been sufficiently educated to see that by making them slaves a greater advantage could be gained than by killing them, a permanent working force was gained to help the women, and the habit of persistent industry was first taught by compulsion. This requires either a pastoral or agricultural horde with strong central authority. This implies a great advance in civilization and is typified by the numerous instances of nomads ruling tillers.

I can but touch upon the great influence war has had in shaping the religions of the world. The moral distinctions are not good and bad according to our standards, but brave and

cowardly. It is the warrior alone who goes to the happy land. Valhalla is only for the Norseman slain on the field of battle. The god is simply a great chieftain. He is the "Mighty One," the "Lord of Hosts," the "God of Battle."

One of the most distinctive traits of the savage is the sense of vanity. The native beauty will go about dressed in a tuft of grass if she is extremely modest, yet with such a quantity of rings about her limbs that she can with difficulty do her daily tasks. From her neck will be suspended numerous talismans, and her coiffure will be most elaborate. The ornaments of the savage man are confined mostly to his amulets and weapons. He could not be persuaded to hoe his maze for half an hour, but he will spend months in carving the shaft of his spear or working over his war club. Lippert says, "The primitive man seeks to have about his person some object which shall serve as an adornment and have a peculiar identity, or be a distinguishing mark of the owner. From earliest times weapons of war have served purposes of utility and adornment at the same time, and have been a token of nobility far more than any other class of article." The decorated war clubs of the Fiji Islanders are made with such an expenditure of diligence, patience and skill that it seems as if they were for some other purpose than simply war. Their owners give them pet names and fairly worship them.

The only private property of the warrior of the early and middle ages which had a personality (if this word may be used) was his sword. This was peculiarly the property of the knight. He named it, and it was handed down from generation to generation as a priceless possession.

With steel swords the Indians instituted a complete cult. In the Bhrat Sanhita was a whole chapter filled with the description of the probable fortune of the owner of a sword with certain distinguishing marks.

The best metal work done by a nation is generally in its arms and weapons. A man may be willing to use a poor plow to till the ground, or a half worn-out scraper for preparing skins, but when he goes to battle he wants to be sure that he can trust the weapons which shall ward off destruction from him.