A witty writer in the " Westminster Gazette" recently related an interview he was supposed to have had with a Unionist Free-fooder on the chance of forcing a General Election. The Free-fooder expressed the opinion that the only way of doing this was for the Liberals to lose one or two by-elections-and he added: "I doubt if you could do it if you tried." Certainly one or two elec-yard town, for their enormously in cressed.
nditura on the navy must be good for the dockyard employees but. nevertheless Sir John Jackson, a. popular local man, a great contractor, and an exceptionally able candidate, has been roundly defeated by a "carpet-bagger" in the person of the Chairman. of the London Country Council.
The R, A, and the Chantrey Bequest, In' many. ways, the most, interesting, Parliamentary debate, of the week, hag been that which took place, in the House of Lords on the Earl of Lytton's, motion for the. appointment, of a. mittee. to inquire into the administration ofthe Chantrey Bequest by: the. Royal Academy. Unfortunately for the Academy their cage was entrusted to the Baz]; of Wemyss, who has, a bee in his "bonnet on the subject of the rights, of individuals. as opposed. to, wi [most people regard. as, public rights, In, this case he seems, to. regard the Royal Academy as. an individual, and. to claim. that nobody has any right to question the manner in which. they administer a fund of which they are the trustees. But the Royal Academicians have sense enough to realise, that. on, thi question public feeling is against them, and they did not allow. even Lord Wemyss to oppose. the motion for.an inquiry. Mr. Chantrey left his savings, which produce something over two thousand a year, for the encouragement. of. British Art by the purchase, so for as the money would go, of the very best works produced in this country; and I don't think anybody who visits the Tate Exhibition and studies the Chantrey exhibits could possibly. say that they have wisely attempted to realise his wishes. They have almost invariably bought pictures of the year exhibited in their own galleries; they have often given prices far in excess of the real value of the pictures; and it is not too much to say, as Lord Lytton said, that some of the works selected are "a by-word and a mockery," and that the interests of the nation and of Art have been sacrificed to the particular association of artists of the Royal Academy.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.