24 FEBRUARY 1900, Page 23

'Nigeria. By Charles Henry Robinson, MA. (Horace Mar- shall and

San. 5s.)--Canon Robinson has written a very informing and—which is more than we had any right to expect -70. very entertainina 'book. His neenunt of the Haunts is the

most important part of his volume. Englishman had reason to think well of them, but the character which he gives sets them on a level with the very beet of the races included in our Empire. Curiously enough they are not a race of soldiers— indeed, they put up with the domination of a race which they greatly outnumber—yet, when led by good officers, they are splendidly brave. Nothing could beat the record of their achievements in the expedition against Bids. Their physical strength is enormous. One Hausa soldier carried on his head for twenty-three miles a field gun which our antloe. could only just lift from the ground. It is satisfactory to know that the whole of Hausaland is within the British sphere of in• fluenee. This suggests the question of the Niger Company, of which Canon Robinson speaks with the highest praise. "It has been an almost unmitigated blessing to the peoples whom it has tried to govern." It is satisfactory to be told that the recent agreements with France and Germany" have left us almost every- thing that we could reasonably have desired." On missionary work Canon Robinson has something interesting to tell us. "No black Bishops," except, indeed, as Suffragans, is his counsel. They do not know how to rule. The experiences of travel are graphic and amusing. Altogether this small book—two hundred loosely printed pages—is worth much.