Tales of Crime and Criminals in Australia. By Henry A.
White. (Ward and Downey.)—This is an interesting though gruesome book, written with the authority of thirty years' experience of the subject of which it treats. Mr. White starts with the beginning, if not of crime, certainly of the penal system, in Australia, traces its development, gives the details of the various rebellions against it (such as that which led to the murder of Mr. John Price, Inspector-General of Convict Prisons), covers the rather attractive field of bushranging—which, of course, includes the exploits of the Kelly gang—and, after a chapter on " Larrikins and Swagsmen," tries, not quite success- fully, to answer the question, "Why is there so much crime in Australia ? " Mr. White attributes Australian 'crime to various causes, such as heredity, drunkenness, and the dislike to other than " genteel " employments, which is partly induced by climats. He has no drastic cure for the present state of things, and can only suggest such remedies—in addition to the various penal experiments that are being tried—as Bible-teaching in State schools, and corporal punishment. Mr. White is most satisfactory when he writes purely historical narrative. He supplies the best account that has yet been given of the exploits of the Kelly gang, and one that is corrective of previous accounts.
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