The Under Man. By Joseph Clayton. (Martin Seeker. 6s.)— This
is a story of a clerk who, losing his position, is forced by his grandfather to enter the ranks of the unskilled labourer. Being dismissed his employment in consequence of a strike he goes to Canada, where he fails to make a livelihood and becomes a sailor. Whether it is true that he would lose all chance of getting a ship because he spoke once or twice in favour of trade unions seems a little doubtful, but at any rate, this is the course of the story, and naturally enough he goes under financially in consequence of this failure. In the end he heroically assumes the burden of the crime of manslaughter which has been committed by another man. The real culprit is a missionary, who thinks that his mission is going so prosperously that the hero of the book may well bear penal ser- vitude for his sake for a little while, though he intends to return and release him. The author leaves the reader with the assurance that the hero will at any rate be let out of prison, though as he has been so unsuccessful hitherto in earning his living there seems little prospect for him after his release. The book is interesting as showing the point of view of those much-mistaken workers who seem to imagine that employers band together to deprive them of any amelioration in their condition. Neither the author nor his characters pay the slightest attention to the fact that industrial concerns must be governed by the laws of econo- mics, and that it is often impossible to raise wages and carry out at the same time contracts already entered into.
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