BOOKS or REFERENCE.—Tralford's County Families (Chatto and Winch's, 50s.) appears
for the thirty-ninth time. Of course, there are not a few families who can scarcely be included among " the titled and untitled aristocracy of England." A comparison of the names hero with that of gentlemen entitled to coat-armour would be curious, but it is better to open the door too widely than to keep it too narrowly shut. As for the number, it must exceed the familiar " Upper Ten Thousand." To make a rough guess, it must be nearly thirteen thousand, taking in, it must be understood, the whole of the United Kingdom.—With this may be mentioned four little volumes which make an annual appear- ance, The Shilling Peerage, Baronetage, Knightage, and House of Commons, edited by a Graduate of the University of London (same publishers).—Yet another example of the admirablo volumes known by this name, we have Whitaker's Naval and Military Directory and Indian Army List, 1899 (J. Whitaker and Son). There is, we see, a Volunteer Force of nearly thirty thousand in British India, the effi- cients being a very high proportion to the total numbers.— The Rochester Diocesan Directory (Wells Gardner, Darton, and Co., ls. net) has nearly reached its twentieth year, growing in that time to more than double its original size, a growth due to an increase in the population of the diocese, and still more to an increase in the work that is done in it. The clergy number about sixteen hundred.—The Newspaper Press Directory (C. Mitchell and Co., 2s.) appears in its fifty-fourth annual issue. In its first year of publication there were published in the United Kingdom 551 journals, of which 14 were issued daily ; in 1899, the total has grown to 2,385, of which 232 are dailies, distributed, as regards the divisions of the Kingdom, thus,—England and Wales, 189; Scotland, 19; Ireland, 20 ; British Isles, 4. A map exhibits these facts in a very convenient way. The first article for the year is on "Recent Decisions Affecting the Pressawith Special Reference to the Law of Libel," by Hugh Fraser, M.A. ; and there aro others on various topics, commercial and literary. — The Municipal Year-Book, edited by Robert Donald (Lloyd, 2s. 61), is full, as usual, of interesting and important information. Ono naturally turns to "Finance," and finds under this heading some instructive facts. Manchester has an average rate of 7s. 31de one-fifth of which (nearly) goes to the Ship Canal affair; Nottingham has Cs. llid. ; Bristol, 7s. 4d.; Leicester, 7s. 1d.; Middlesborough, 8s. 95. (a bad pre-eminence). At the other end of the scale, Lancaster has the enviable distimtion of the lowest figure, 8s. 8d. ; St Helens and Southport have 4s. 4d. ; Barrow, Carlisle, Cheltenham, Chester, Darlington, Stockport, all have less than 5s.—The Annual Charities Register and Digest. With Introduction by C. S. Loch. (Longmans and Co. 4s.)—Mr. Loch's very able introduction gives a most useful summary on the administration of the Poor-law, as well as of private benevolence, and deals with a number of other subjects which we cannot even enumerate. We would direct special attention to the chapters on emigration, boarding out, outdoor relief, the unemployed, executions, and temporary distress.
Previous page
