10 JUNE 1905, Page 25

A Bundle of Essays. By A. Blundon Martino. (Cornish Brothers,

Birmingham. 2s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Martino discourses about 'various things,- the cause of the decline of the Roman Empire, the smoke plague, the better ordering of cemeteries, the nationalisation of the land, &c. ; but that of which it is easiest to give an idea is an ingenious apolognie about Robinson Crusoe. Let ;as suppose that some vessel called at the island and left there a gun and various other things that Crusoe needed, taking away some goats and fruit. The imports would have exceeded the exports in value ; but would Crusoe have been the worse off ? and would his situation have been bettered if the traders had been compelled to pay a 10 per cent. duty?