Tax action of the Socialist assooistionx in Europe has attracted less attention in England than it deserves, owing to the almost complete absorption of the public mind in the condition of Ireland. But since last summer the Socialists and their enemies Lave been 80 active chiefly in country folk,—the smaller class of cultivators and labourers. These are the very men on whose ears new gospel of the rights of mau would fall pleasantly. Enduring disappoint. ment and poverty, close by rich and privileged classes who fare well and sumptuously, it is no wonder that Socialism has made great progress among them, or that the Government has found it necessary to place and keep the capital and atler great cities in a state of siege.
We know what the Nihilists have been doing in Russia, and that there la at the least groat affinity between their opinions and objects and those of the Socialists. In Austria and Hungary Socialism exists, but is neither active nor influential, and the attention of the Italians is, for the time, occupied by purely political societies, such as the Irredenta and perhaps darker federncies like D'Isrneli's "Mary Ann; or the mysterious "Seven Stars," in the donga of whose agents Mr. Black interests us, month by mouth. France is the birth-place of modern Socialism and Communism; yet as far as we can judge by what has app in the public papers, there has not been any great activity shown lately by their adherents. One set of writers attributes this to the crashing defeat of the Communists after the war Germany, that at any other time their movements and conduct would have been studied with anxiety. The organisation of the Sooialista has been made so complete, and the activity of the leaders has been so successful in increasing the number of members in the societies, that the aristocratic feudal-military class has been seriously alarmed, and severely repressive measures have been carried into effect in Berlin, Hambarg, Altona, Frankfort, Mayence, and other.less important places. Many of the rank and file of the army are known to be Socialists, and in that lies " peculiar danger to Germany. For all these have bad a thorough military training, and they know that there are many hundreds of thousands of men now in civil life who hold the same political views, and who have served in the field, or have, at all events, been drilled in the Landwobr. In the event of a revolutionary onto break, and: the Socialist soldiers joining in the revolt, they would find themselves alongside of men accustomed to serve in the ranks and thoroughly disciplined. The condition of trade in Germany favours the designs of the revolutionary party. So does the change in the manner of life of the poorer classes, who during the last twenty years, or possibly, chiefly within the last ten, have been flocking from the country districts "to the large cities, where they had. heard that money was to be easily made. The Inst census of Berlin, taken in November, showed that the population bad doubled daring the leat twenty years, the increase being with Germany, but others say that the malcontents are willing to wait becatise they see that their ideas are gaining ground among these classes which were previously tic to them. Comma longer silenced, they say, or their opinions treated with 8 mixture of fear and contémipt in the Assembly. They hold that time is now on their side, and though it is difficult to imagine a whirl of the political wheel which would place the money-loving bourgeoisie and parsimonious small lauded proprietors under Commune, such sudden and complete changes of political fosiing take place among Frenchmen, that the Red subverters of society may again hi their day. The progress made in o solidating the Republic has not been satisfactory of late months, the harsh measures dealt out to the rel societies and institutions show that those atthe head of affairs are by no means quiet in their minds, The order to remove the sacred emblems from the schools and the wantonly off mauner in which it was carried out, is a proof that the best principles of liberty do not guide those who now govern the nation.
In England, pure Socialism hes'tiéver gained any strength among the people. Bat there have not been wanting signs that the extreme Radicals have been willing to countenance the scarcely disguised Socialism of the Land Leagae in Ireland. The Fenians: always assorted that they had many sympathisers among the English working meu, and -their supporters in the Irish Press predicted -that. when
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.