We all take a pride in the administration of our
colonies and dependencies and pay little attention to what other nations do in this field. For that reason the painstaking History of French Colonial Policy by Professor Stephen H. Roberts, of Sydney University, deserves to be noted and read (P. S. King, 2 vols., 42s.). It deals first with the theory and then with the practice in the several parts of the French Colonial Empire. Much of the detail given by Professor Roberts will be new to English readers—notably his account of the success- ful work done in Madagascar. The author does not abstain from criticism, particularly in the case of Algeria and Indo- China, though Sir Hesketh Bell, fresh from his long experience as a Governor of British colonies, has recently given high commendation to the French in Tonkin and Annam. Pro- fessor Roberts's general conclusion, that the French can manage pagan negroes but not Moslems, is difficult to accept.
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