C 1JRRENT LITE RAT [IRE.
THE THIRD SALISBURY GOVERNMENT.
The Third Salisbury Administration, 1895-1900. By H. Whales. (Vacher and Sons. 15s. net.)—We expect a compilation of this sort to be a storehouse of accurate facts, and we are content if it expresses the ordinary party opinions and criticisms. Conse- quently we are pleasantly surprised to find that Mr. Whales hag in addition the merits of a clear and dignified style, an eminently sane and independent judgment, and a power of grouping details so as to form a striking picture. We have no hesitation in saying that this is the beat book of its kind that we have yet seen. Mr. Whates writes as a Conservative and a strong admirer of Lord Salisbury's foreign policy, but he can take a line of his own, and his estimate of the Jameson Raid and the events which followed is perfectly impartial and free from any party bias. In such parts as we have tested his facts we have found them thoroughly reliable. Mr. Whates's account of the Venezuela affair is a model of a clear and judicious statement, and the same is true of his summary of events in China. The last hundred and fifty pages contain a short history of the recent war and the events which led up to it, and for those who wish to refresh their memory, and have no time to delve in the wastes of printed matter on the subject, we cannot imagine a better sketch than this. It is impossible for the most industrious newspaper reader to retain a clear memory of recent events, and he has to wait long to read a dispassionate history of them. But it is just the truth about recent events which is most forgotten, for it is a dreary business to recover it from newspapers and year-books. For this purpose a book such as this is eminently useful, and since Mr. Whates is full of references and prints at length all important treaties and diplomatic papers, it should take its place as the material of future history.
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