disapproved of the practice as unreformed, he blesses it altogether in its later development. With reference to the utility of the practice, I should like to call the attention of "M." to a passage in the latest edition of Hall's book which is perhaps not irrelevant to current politics:-- "The circumstances of the Greek blockade of 1886 show that occasions may occur in which pacific blockade has an efficacy which no other measure would possess. The irresponsible recklessness of Greece was endangering the peace of the world; advice and threats had been proved to be useless; it was not till the material evidence of the blockade was afforded that the Greek imagination could be impressed with the belief that the majority of the Great Powers of Europe were in earnest in their determination that war should be avoided." I am, Sir, your obedient servant, T. E. HOLLAND. Oxford, March 5 (1897). THE VENEZUELAN CONTROVERSY Sir,--Apart from the practical difficulty, so ably described by Sir Robert Giffen in your issue of this morning, of obtaining compensation in money from a State which seems to be at once bankrupt and in the throes of revolution, not a few questions of law and policy, as to which misunderstanding is more than probable, are raised from day to day by the action of the joint squadrons in Venezuelan waters. It may therefore be worth while to attempt to disentangle the more important of these questions from the rest, and to indicate in each case the principles involved.