An African Episode in the Life of Pushkinʼs Granddaughter (E. A. Rosen-Meyer)

The circumstances and reasons for the departure of A. Pushkinʼs granddaughter, Elena Alexandrovna Rosen-Meyer, from Turkey to South Africa in 1923, after failed negotiations over the sale of Pushkinʼs personal items to A. Onegin and M. Gofman, remain unclear. Documents at the National Archives of South Africa, as well as materials, testimonies and literature related to persons involved in this move indicate that the Rosen-Meyer family went to Africa on the recommendation of Pushkinʼs descendants in England. Thanks to the connections of Sir Harold Wernher and his wife, Anastasia Mikhailovna (Lady Zia), a job was found for Rosen-Meyerʼs husband with a business associate of the Wernher family. A prominent South African businessman and member of parliament, Sir Abe Bailey, off ered a position to N. Rosen-Meyer at his estate “Rust-en-Vrede” in the town of Muizenberg; Bailey would hold informal meetings with leading South African politicians and public fi gures at Rust-enVrede. The Pushkin items seen by Gofman at Rosen-Meyerʼs home before her departure from Turkey remained in her possession on her return from South Africa in the late 1920s.

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

The General Assembly of the Church met in a ‘blended’ form, based at the Assembly Hall, from 22 May to 27 May. The Moderator on this occasion was an elder, rather than a minister, but with the distinction of being Lord Wallace of Tankerness PC QC FRSE, a Liberal Democrat life peer since 2007, who served as the Deputy First Minister of Scotland from 1999 to 2005. He was formerly Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 1992 to 2005 and of the Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords from 2013 to 2016. He also served as a Member of Parliament for Orkney and Shetland from 1983 to 2001 and a Member of the Scottish Parliament for Orkney from 1999 to 2007. He was Advocate General for Scotland in the Westminster Government from 2010 to 2015.

‘He States That This is the Most Lovely Building He Has Ever Had the Pleasure of Seeing . . . ’

The travel journal, collecting, and exhibition of objects by museum founder, tea merchant and Member of Parliament Frederick Horniman (1835–1906) in the late nineteenth century demonstrate how material objects exemplify travel writing. Through an examination of objects he collected and later interpreted at the Horniman Free Museum, this article presents a case study of how collecting activities mirror and serve as a form of travel writing. This article presents a new model for understanding, beyond the written word, how travelers can capture the experience of a foreign expedition through the collecting and interpretation of objects.

Summary of the ‘Dialogue on the Future of Europe: Building a Digital European Union’ Conference Organised by the Ministry of Justice and the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law as Part of the ‘Conference on the Future of Europe’ Series

On June 21, 2021, the Hungarian Ministry of Justice (Deputy State Secretariat for EU Relations) and the Ferenc Mádl Institute of Comparative Law (MFI) organised a high-profile international conference entitled ‘Dialogue on the Future of Europe: Building a Digital European Union’ as part of a series in which two previous conferences were held on June 25 and September 21, 2020. By organising these events, Hungary is among the first Member States to launch a dialogue as part of a series of discussions on the future of Europe. As a proactive actor, Hungary has contributed to the ongoing exchange of views offering a comprehensive assessment of and approach to the digital developments and perspectives of the European Union. The June 21, 2021 conference – composed of three thematic panel discussions – focused on the future of digitalisation and competitiveness in the European Union. Highly accomplished national speakers such as Hungarian Minister of Justice Judit Varga and Hungarian Member of Parliament and President of the Economic Committee Erik Bánki and international speakers such as Commissioner Mariya Gabriel and State Secretary Ana Paula Zacarias gave presentations outlining their visions. This article summarizes those presentations. In addition to public officials and economic actors, academic experts and researchers on digital transition also gave presentations at the conference. The conclusions drawn from their exchanges of views seek to contribute to the creation of sensible decisions leading towards a digital future, while also raising public awareness regarding digitalisation, a realm of growing influence on policymaking.

The Slaving Capital in the Era of Abolition: Liverpool's Silent Rejection of the Slave Trade, 1787-1807

<p>In 1787, when the British abolition movement began, the Liverpool slave trade was the largest in the world. Contemporaries throughout Britain, but especially in the port, viewed the slave trade as the primary source of Liverpool’s growth and prosperity in the eighteenth century. Liverpudlians, therefore, reacted negatively to the abolition movement, which they viewed as a threat to both the local and national economy. By 1788, the immense popular support generated by the abolition campaign left Liverpool isolated in its defence of the slave trade. Liverpudlians, however, were not unanimous in their support of the slave trade’s continuance. In 1787 and 1788, a small group of rational dissenters, known as the Roscoe Circle, anonymously contributed to the abolition campaign from Liverpool. The group’s namesake, William Roscoe, went on to be elected Member of Parliament for Liverpool in 1806, and in March 1807 he voted in favour of abolishing the slave trade along with 282 other MPs, against just sixteen, including Liverpool’s other MP. This thesis examines reactions in Liverpool to the British abolition movement between the start of the campaign in 1787 and the passage of the Slave Trade Abolition Act in 1807. It highlights the periods 1787-1788 and 1796-1807 to challenge the view of Liverpool as a town almost uniformly averse to abolition throughout the twenty year campaign. Chapters One and Two examine the immediate pro- and anti-abolition responses in Liverpool in 1787 and 1788, respectively focusing on the contributions of Liverpool slaving merchants to the anti-abolition campaign and on the abolitionist activities of the Roscoe Circle. Drawing on Liverpool guidebooks and a series of letters in the Liverpool Chronicle, Chapter Three then traces the gradual change in popular feeling towards abolition that occurred in Liverpool in the last decade of the British slave trade’s existence. Ultimately, this thesis argues that rapidly dwindling Liverpudlian support for the slave trade from the mid-1790s onward has been under-valued. By 1807 Liverpudlians, wanting to re-affirm cultural ties with the rest of Britain, turned their backs on the slave trade, which had by then become a source of unease and embarrassment.</p>

The Slaving Capital in the Era of Abolition: Liverpool's Silent Rejection of the Slave Trade, 1787-1807

<p>In 1787, when the British abolition movement began, the Liverpool slave trade was the largest in the world. Contemporaries throughout Britain, but especially in the port, viewed the slave trade as the primary source of Liverpool’s growth and prosperity in the eighteenth century. Liverpudlians, therefore, reacted negatively to the abolition movement, which they viewed as a threat to both the local and national economy. By 1788, the immense popular support generated by the abolition campaign left Liverpool isolated in its defence of the slave trade. Liverpudlians, however, were not unanimous in their support of the slave trade’s continuance. In 1787 and 1788, a small group of rational dissenters, known as the Roscoe Circle, anonymously contributed to the abolition campaign from Liverpool. The group’s namesake, William Roscoe, went on to be elected Member of Parliament for Liverpool in 1806, and in March 1807 he voted in favour of abolishing the slave trade along with 282 other MPs, against just sixteen, including Liverpool’s other MP. This thesis examines reactions in Liverpool to the British abolition movement between the start of the campaign in 1787 and the passage of the Slave Trade Abolition Act in 1807. It highlights the periods 1787-1788 and 1796-1807 to challenge the view of Liverpool as a town almost uniformly averse to abolition throughout the twenty year campaign. Chapters One and Two examine the immediate pro- and anti-abolition responses in Liverpool in 1787 and 1788, respectively focusing on the contributions of Liverpool slaving merchants to the anti-abolition campaign and on the abolitionist activities of the Roscoe Circle. Drawing on Liverpool guidebooks and a series of letters in the Liverpool Chronicle, Chapter Three then traces the gradual change in popular feeling towards abolition that occurred in Liverpool in the last decade of the British slave trade’s existence. Ultimately, this thesis argues that rapidly dwindling Liverpudlian support for the slave trade from the mid-1790s onward has been under-valued. By 1807 Liverpudlians, wanting to re-affirm cultural ties with the rest of Britain, turned their backs on the slave trade, which had by then become a source of unease and embarrassment.</p>

'All Will be Amply Labelled…' The Educational Policies and Practices of the Horniman Free Museum

This work examines the policies and educational programming produced by the Horniman Free Museum in London prior to its closure in 1898. Relying upon primary sources, such as the writings of tea merchant and Member of Parliament Frederick Horniman and the staff of the museum, this article refutes previous scholarship on this museum and argues that the museum possessed a clear mission, curatorial and exhibition practices, and educational practices that were derived from late nineteenth-century museum practices and theory. By examining how the Horniman Free Museum created and described its policies and programming, this article presents a basis for further work on understanding how late nineteenth-century museums interpreted museum theory for constructing and displaying knowledge about the world.

The Netherlands

Speechmaking in the Dutch parliament is characterized by party dominance and individual autonomy. This paradoxical situation can be understood from the perspective of specialization: every Member of Parliament acts as a spokesperson on a specific issue for their party. Therefore, usually, only one MP per party participates in a debate. Within their policy portfolio, MPs enjoy considerable autonomy, in particular in deciding whether to participate in a debate and what to say. The leadership does not decide for each debate whether or not to delegate speaking time to individual MPs, but rather at the beginning of the parliamentary term when the portfolios are assigned. An empirical analysis of debate participation and the number of words spoken shows that these are most strongly related to electoral list position and seniority. PPG leaders speak longer than other MPs, but we observe no such effect for committee chairs or PPG board members.