21 MAY 1927, Page 28

ALGERIA FROM WITHIN. By R. V. C. Boriley• (Hutchinson. 21s.),---Mr.

Bodley's book scarcely fulfils the promise of-its title. It gives much information, but this information is 'almost wholly objective ; the reader's mind does 'ncit receive the impression that the writer is in intimate personal relation with the scenes and persons described- The account of the French- administration is vague and unsatisfying. Algeria, Mr. Bodley tells us, is " adminis- trated • just as any other French Department, but is under the care of a Governor-General,-" who is all-powerful without having any real authority, at all." • The Cercks Afilitaires of the South are under military government ; and, though apparently to each- town a :Inge de Paix and a Notaire allotted; Mr. Bodley ocinsiders that it is ." beyond the imagination" to conceiVe what these functionaries do to justify their existence. The general assurance that results are admirable, and that the "Colonels and Captains, vrbe have spent the best years of their lives in the Sahara. art confronted by great difficulties," is inadequate for the reader who is curious aborit French colonial methods.