17 JULY 1920, Page 23

Studies in History and Politics. By Herbert Fisher. (Claren- don

Press. 12s. 6d. net.)—The Minister of Education warns us In his preface that these interesting and thoughtful essays are not the work of his official leisure. Seven out of eleven are reprinted from the reviews, two have appeared elsewhere, and only two—" The Resurgence of Prussia" and "Thoughts on the Influence of Napoleon "—are new. The paper on Napoleon shows how every European nation was profoundly and per- manently affected by the great organism. "The really astonish- ing thing in the history of Napoleon's dealings with Germany is not the reaction which he provoked, but the support that he received." We may draw attention to the suggestive address on "Imperial Administration," especially in India—an addreas which in temper is as unlike his co/league Mr. Montagu's notorious Report as anything could be. Mr. Fisher lays stress on the im- portance of the Native States—" the most perfect experiment so far devised for bringing West and East together in a natural, pleasant and wholesome way." He suggests that "by the creation of new principalities in great tracts of country, such as Bengal, the devolution of authority might proceed in a manner at once more intimately congenial to native ways of thought and more advantageous to the maintenance of the British con- nexion."