held in October, 1879, attended by Signor Ricciardi, Professor Sbarbaro, and Baron Von Holtzendorf, of Germany, and a Memorial was adopted in its favour, to the Government.

In England, Mr. Richard gave considerable impetus to the Movement, for Disarmament had taken such strong hold on leading men of enlightenment in Europe, by bringing the question before the International Conference that met in London on the 11th August, convened by the Association for the Reform of the Law of Nations, consisting of representatives from England, Belgium, Holland, France, and Sweden, presided over successively by the Lord Mayor of London, Sir Robert Phillimore, and Lord O'Hagan. The title of the paper which Mr. Richard read was International Reduction of Armaments," a comprehensive statement of facts embracing its numerical, financial, moral, and political bearings; and, at its close, an important debate followed, participated in by Mr. Stollmeyer, of Trinidad, Mr. Atkinson, of Hull, Frederick Passy, of Paris, Prof. Leone Levi, and H. W. Freeland, of London, but, owing to some differences of opinion in regard to the resolution submitted, the subject was referred to a Committee to report upon another year.

In October, 1879, Mr. Richard attended a meeting at Warrington in support of his Parliamentary motion for disarmament, and he was supported by Mr. Rylands, M.P., and Mr. McMinnies, the candidate for the borough, when he spoke at some length on the subject of the military condition of Europe, condemning in vigorous language the prolific waste of revenues wrung from the toiling millions, and the tyrannous conscription, which leads to the expatriation of the young manhood of the Continent; and at the close of his address, which was loudly cheered, a resolution was adopted of earnest protest against the war system, and of cordial support of Mr. Richard's Motion for disarmament.

In November, 1879, an important Conference, attended by influential men from all parts of South Wales, was held in the Guildhall, Swansea, in favour of International

Disarmament, which Mr. Richard addressed at considerable length, and earnestly invoked the help of his countrymen in the arduous work he had undertaken; believing that if the British Parliament adopted his resolution in favour of Disarmament, other European nations would gladly follow its example.

At the opening of the year 1880, it may be said, Europe was agitated on the subject of Disarmament, and a general conviction seemed to prevail, that some efforts should be made to put an end to the insane rivalry of military preparations.

On January 26th, 1880, a definite proposal was made in the Austrian Reichsrath by MM. Füchs and Keilsberg, as follows:

"The Chamber of Deputies expresses the wish that the Imperial and Royal Governments will consider the idea of a general, proportionate, and simultaneous army reduction, which will not alter the respective strength of the different States."

The forcible speech of Dr. Füchs made a great impression, and was supported by the votes of forty-nine Members, amongst whom in addition to the proposers, to their honour may be mentioned, Dr. Beer, Dr. Roser, M. Bareuther, Baron Kübeck and Dr. Stürm, and it was a gratifying fact that the Minister of War, subsequently declared, that he gladly hailed the proposal, and that he regarded it as eminently practical.

Encouraged by these efforts in Germany, Italy, Austria, and Hungary, Mr. Richard finally resolved with the full concurrence of his numerous friends, to submit a resolution to Parliament, in favour of promoting a gradual Disarmament in Europe, and accordingly he issued a circular letter to his supporters in this country which, after reciting the manifest reasons for his action, suggested four methods, for influencing members of the Legislature in favour of a question,

"The importance of which cannot surely be surpassed by any question that can claim the attention of Parliament."

To stimulate activity and to arouse public attention to the subject, Mr. Richard attended and took a prominent part in several Conferences and public meetings, the most important of which was a demonstration in the St. George's Hall, Liverpool, under the presidency of Mr. William Rathbone, one of the members for that city, which was preceded by a Conference, presided over by Mr. Hugh Mason, the member for Ashton-under-Lyne, and both these assemblages were largely and influentially attended, and great unanimity, in fact enthusiasm prevailed.

On the 15th of June, the date balloted for, and by the marked special favour of the Leader of the House, Mr. Gladstone, Mr. Richard brought forward his resolution which was as follows:

"That an humble address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to instruct Her Principal Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs to enter into communications with other Powers, with a view to bring about a mutual and simultaneous reduction of European armaments."

The speech of Mr. Richard on this occasion was one of his happiest efforts, and there was no part of his speech more effective than the passage at its close :—

"I venture in conclusion to make a very earnest and respectful appeal to the right hon. gentleman at the head of Her Majesty's Government, that he will not turn aside from this great question. The task to which I invite him is not unworthy, even of his transcendent abilities. It is not unworthy of his high character, as I estimate it, as the passionate friend of justice and humanity. He has already won many laurels by great deeds of practical statesmanship; and a greater than any of them awaits his hand. No greener wreath ever surrounded any man's brow, than that which will encircle his, if only he will consent to grapple with this high argument, and bring the nations of Europe into general concert to reduce their armaments. This would at once liberate great masses of capital, which would help to establish the cause of Peace on solid and sure foundations. I cannot but believe that he would be welcomed in such a proposal by the Governments themselves, for they cannot but view with alarm the increase of those armaments. Above all, he would earn the grateful benediction of millions of people now groaning under taxation, the result of this baneful system of militarism." (Cheers.)

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This resolution of Mr. Richard's was seconded by Mr. Baxter, member for Dundee, and was supported by Colonel Burnaby, who said that as a military man he had the greatest horror of war, at the close of which Mr. Gladstone rose who delivered a magnificent speech, which Mr. Richard described as one of the most eloquent expositions of the policy of peace he had ever listened to, and at the close he made an earnest appeal to Mr. Richard not to push his motion to a divison.

Referring to this appeal of the Prime Minister, and the closing incident of the debate, the Herald of Peace in a leading article thus wrote:

"Mr. Richard was naturally placed in considerable perplexity by such an appeal. It is possible he might have carried his motion, as he did in 1873, but it would have been against the will, and, it may be, to the considerable embarrassment of the Prime Minister. And yet he was unwilling that the discussion should close without some formal expression of Parliament. From this predicament he was relieved by Mr. John Bright, who undoubtedly, next to Mr. Gladstone, is the most important and influential member of the Government. Mr. Bright, after Mr. Gladstone's speech, beckoned Mr. Richard to him, and placed in his hand a resolution which he had proposed, and said, "If you will accept this instead of your own, I think Mr. Gladstone would let it pass." And as it really recognised the principle of his motion, in the form of a resolution, instead of an address to the Crown, Mr. Richard gladly accepted the suggestion. And as, according to the rules of the House, he could not move it himself, he put it in the hands of his friend, Mr. Leonard Courtney, and it was carried by a unanimous vote of the House, and amid general cheering.

THE WAR IN THE TRANSVAAL.

At the beginning of the year, January, 1881, Mr. Richard introduced a Deputation to the Colonial Minister, (Lord Kimberley), consisting of some twenty-five Members of Parliament and other gentlemen, upon the condition of affairs in the Transvaal, and he presented a Memorial, which was drafted and signed by him, as Secretary of the Peace

Society, which declared that the annexation of the Transvaal was secured by fraud, and advised that England should renounce this act of aggression, and stop without delay any further bloodshed, by a restoration of the independence of the Boers.

This Memorial was followed up by two others forwarded to the Prime Minister by Mr. Richard, one from Holland signed by D. Van Eck, the president of the Dutch Peace Society, and the other from the Flemish inhabitants of Belgium, also entrusted to Mr. Richard for presentation to the Government.

This war in the Transvaal mainly arose from the interference of the English Government in the affairs of the Boers in 1877, and in sending Sir Theophilus Shepstone to investigate, and to advise the Boers in regard to their frontier disputes.

Sir Theophilus Shepstone took with him a small escort of mounted police, but the Boers knew that the entire armed power of England was at his back, though they did not know that he held a Commission in his pocket, which was to be the deathblow to their Independence.

Sir Theophilus Shepstone arrived in Pretoria in January, 1877, and in April, in direct defiance of the wishes of the people, he issued a proclamation, coolly annexing a territory as large as France, containing a population of 40,000 whites and 250,000 blacks.

The President and the Volksraad protested against the deed, and a deputation was sent to England to plead for justice for their country, and when Lord Carnarvon told them that their people desired and even demanded annexation they were astounded, and denied it.

The deputation thereupon returned to South Africa, and organised an agitation against annexation, and, to counteract it, Sir Theophilus Shepstone issued a proclamation to imprison, fine, and punish all opponents, and when the deputies held a meeting at Pretoria, to plead for the restoration of their