19 JULY 1919, Page 21

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent :veleta.]

The Problem of Luxemburg. By Xavier Prum. (New York : Knickerbocker Press.)—The author of this book is the son of the leading Roman Catholic politician in Luxemburg, who, for pro- testing against the German occupation, was imprisoned for three years in Germany. M. Prum the younger, who has been teaching in America, says that Luxemburg is too small to be independent, and proposes that she should rejoin Belgium, not by annexation but by a voluntary union, in which she may retain " her own Sovereign, her Parliament, her Government, her Budget." We confess to feeling some doubt as to whether the German Grand Duchess could be fitted into a sort of Federation, side by side with King Albert, or whether the tiny State could long retain any real independence in association with its larger neighbour. The future of Luxemburg must, however, be settled before long. It has been freed from German domination, but it cannot be left in the air.