Welsh Journals

Search over 450 titles and 1.2 million pages

& T Vol. III. New Series. FEBRUARY, 1907. No. 2. Prospects. Bv the EDITOR. HE hum of a good hope is in the air. Things are undoubtedly lift¬ ing, and the prospects of improvement in 1907 are very bright indeed. We speak now of the country generally, and of the country in its relation to the larger world outside. Taking a wide survey of events, we can see many signs of brighter days. 1. Peace.—One factor in the world's brightness is Peace. " Peace o'n earth ; good will among men." At present there are no wars, nor even rumours of wars. It is true that many nations are armed to the teeth and are watching almost cat-like one an¬ other's movements. It is true that huge warships are now in building, and that the naval programmes of Europe and Asia have swollen to stupendous proportions. It is true that areas like Macedonia are ever in a ferment and that problems like the Congo may yield difficulties. Yet it is equally true that, at the present moment, the nations are not engaged in that most awful business—the business of bloodshed. The guns are silent : the sword is sleeping. The gates of Janus are closed. The South African War and the Russo-Japanese War, the two latest on the scarlet calendar, have dragged their gory lengths into thrice-welcome quiet; there is peace the world over. This is un¬ doubtedly a fact that makes for brightness. And signs are not wanting that the love of peace is growing. The sense of brother¬ hood—not mere patriotism, but universal brotherhood — is deepening. Men are brethren. Europe and Asia, America and Africa—the love of one another draws them nearer than they have ever been. Men are realising that war is butchery, a stupid ar¬ bitrament at the best, and that other and saner means are available for the settlement of international disputes. Hague tribunals are a sign of the times. 2. Prosperity.—We confess that there is something pagan about this word ; but yet there is a touch of light in it. On all hands, we hear that Trade is reviving. After a spell of commercial straitening, we are be¬ ginning to feel the first thrills of a revival. There is a "boom," if we may borrow the phrase of our journalistic brethren; there is