SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent revive.
THE JULY MoarrnrAas.—The Nineteenth Century opens with a plain-spoken article on " An Oranicompetent Prime Minister," by Mr. Walford D. Green, who does justice to Mr. Lloyd George's merits, but adds that he takes too much upon himself and leaves nothing for the Cabinet or for Parliament to do. " His tempera- ment encourages him to believe that he can settle anything, from a wages dispute to the future of Bolshevism, if only he can have a heart-to-heart talk with the leading personages concerned. That is a dangerous illusion which sincere friends ought to do their best to dispel." Mrs. Webster has a most interesting study of " Illuminism and the World Revolution," describing in detail the doctrine and practice of the secret society of the " Illuminati " which. Weishaupt founded in Bavaria in. 1776. Weishaupt, whose avowed aim was to destroy civilisation, became a Free- mason in 1777, and a close alliance between Illuminism and Masonry was made at a. congress held at Wilhelmsbad in 1782. The new order was suppressed in Bavaria, but rapidly spread through Europe and even to America.. Mrs. Webster maintains that it was primarily responsible for the French Revolution, and that it still persists in its evil work. Mr. Victor Fisher denounces what he regards as the unholy relations between "Bolshevik Crime and British Commercialism." Sir O'Moore Creagh, the late Commander-in-Chief in India, comments forcibly on the Hunter Commission's Report on the Punjab disturbances, which, he thinks, had been carefully organized by revolutionaries. " I cannot imagine how the Government of India can justify itself for having permitted Mr. Ghandi and his co-agitators to preach rebellion with such impunity."' "In my opinion Briga- dier-General Dyer saved the situation ; whether he fired too many rounds or not, no one can say who was not on the spot." Mr. Sefton Delmer describes the new " Popular Party" in Italy, led by a Sicilian priest. Dr. Mary Scharlieb discusses " A Terrible Census "—the report of the. Minister of National Service on the examination in 1917-18 of two and a half millions of men liable to serve. Mr. John Pollock, discussing " The Universities and National Life," thinks that, the universities have much to fear from an intolerant Labour Party, which cannot under- stand the value of liberty of thought. Colonel Lionel James gives a spirited sketch of " Morrison of Peking."— In the Fortnightly Mr. Frederic Harrison as a faithful disciple of Comte takes up the challenge of Dr: Jugs in his recentRomanes Lecture and denies that Comte " stated any ' Law of. Progress' as a necessary consequence of evolution." Sir Frederick Pollock defines the " Lawyer's Place in the League, of Nations " in a. stimulating paper. The Covenant, he says with truth, is a plan to be worked out, not a complete specification, and lawyers may help to elaborate and modify it. An anonymous pessimist, in answer to the question, " Why the League of Nations Lan- guishes," says that no Ally is satisfied with the peace, except Great Britain, and that France, and Belgium think Mr. Lloyd George too unstable to be trusted. Mr. H. C. Woods criticizes the Turkish Treaty from a Threophile standpoint. Mrs. Creigh ton describes the work of the Women Police in an interesting article. " We must not be in a hurry," she says ; " we need above all to get from the first the right kind of women " who must regard their work as a profession. Mr. Alfred Fellows has an instructive and temperate article on " Divorce. Reform " ; incidentally, he supports the proposal to curtail or delay, the publication of reports of divorce cases, though there is a good deal to be said on the other side. Captain W. G. Hartog gives the first full account that we have seen in English of Guilbert de Pixerecourt, the French dramatist, who in 1797 produced the first modern melodrama, Victor, or the Child of the Forest, and achieved an instant success. His Coelina, or the Child of Mystery, produced in 1800, was adapted by Thomas Holcroft in his Tale of Mystery, of 1802, which was the first English melodrama.
dramatist whose invention has pleased so many millions of play. goers deserves a friendly recognition.—In the Contemporary. Canon Temple has a suggestive paper on " The Moral Foun- dation of Peace." He remarks that " what Bismarck gave to Germany was not chiefly a political scheme or programme but chiefly a moral attitude to political questions." This moral— or, as we should say, immoral—attitude perverted his people. Canon Temple urges us to "eradicate from our minds the com- petitive standard of greatness " and to cultivate a " moral opportunism," as, for instance, in regard to the Bolsheviks. Canon Temple's phrase is liable to misconstruction, though he defines " moral opportunism " vaguely as " the temper which refrains from allocating blame for the troubles that arise, but seeks steadily for the solution of them which will most effectively promote the highest general welfare." Professor Young advo- cates the establishment of " A School of Foreign Affairs " in the University of London, somewhat on the lines of the Jcole Libre des Sciences Politiques in Paris. Sir Alfred Hopkinson in a useful paper discusses the opportunities and prospects of " Science in India." Mr. Robert Donald pleads earnestly for the construction of the Channel Tunnel, which would enable a traveller from London to reach Paris in six hours and would open new world highways to Asia Minor and to the Cape- " in eight days instead of three weeks." Mr. J. A. Hobson, discussing " America's Place in. the World," declares that the American public does not believe the stories of distress in Europe ; he predicts a reduction of America's tariff and a rapid increase of her foreign trade. Mr. W. H. Dawson, writing on " Germany and Spa " from a definitely German standpoint, blames the Allies for Germany's internal troubles and speaks very harshly and, unfairly of France, espeoially in regard to her use of a few black troops on the Rhine. Have not the Senegalese set a far higher standard of conduct than the German troops observed to unarmed civilians, say, at Vise or Dinant. Opinions may differ as to the expediency of using the Senegalese now, but. Germans should remember the old saying about the pot calling the kettle- black.—The National Review, a most readable number, has an important and vigorous article on " National- ization. " by the Duke of Northumberland, who points out how the moderate majority of the Labour Party is egged on by the violent minority into adopting revolutionary tactics, such as incessant strikes for higher wages, " direct aotion. " for political ends, and the demand for " nationalization " which no two Labour men can agree in defining. " This campaign, against Capitalism is the most ridiculous policy ever invented. You might just as well advocate, the abolition of progress. It is reaction gone mad." Its real aim is the destruction of the British Empire. Sir John Keane contributes an excellent article on " Government Extravagance and its. Remedy:, pointing out the futility of Treasury methods. of control and advocating the- rationing of the departments and the universal introduction of costing accounts such as Sir Charles Harris and Colonel Grimwood have devised, in the face of much oppo- sition, for the War Office. As an example of the value of costing accounts, it may be noted that Sir Charles Harris found that electric current at one War Office generating station cost 3s. 8d, per unit. Such gross extravagance might have gone undetected for ever but for the new system. As Sir John Keane says, the Treasury's attempt to control expenditure in detail, however trifling, is like the attitude of " a person who refuses to give his son of mature years an allowance but pays and queries all his bills." Ration the departments and let each one do its best with its allotted. income. It woukd then be to the interest of each departmental chief to get rid of, his many superfluous subordinates. Mr. J. J. Colquhoun writes about " The. Irish as Fighters," with reference to the Southern Irish whose merits as fighting men have, he thinks, been greatly exaggerated. Mr. Austin Dobson contributes a charming " Casual. Causerie," Sir H. C. Biron has a good article on St. Simon, and Lady Selborne protests, forcibly but wrongly as we think, against the policy of the War Graves Commission, under the title of " National Socialism in War Cemeteries."— Biackwood'a contains an Irishwoman's vivid account of everyday life in Southern Ireland, where " The Terror by Night " has reduced the natives to a state of passive despair. Miss L. M. Mackay exposes what she regards as a " Curious Misunder- standing with Regard to the Temperance (Scotland) Act," the first polls under which will be held in November. The passing of a " no-license " resolution, she says, will not mean Pro- hibition, but will abolish grocers' licences and bars while stimu- lating the growth of restaurants. Much will depend, of course, on the attitude of the licensing justices. Mr. D. J. Jardine gives an interesting account of the career of the " Mad Mullah " of Somaliland ; he seems convinced that the Mullah will trouble us no more. Mr. Desmond Young describes " The Salving of the " an incident of the North Russian campaign. He recalls a Russian soldier who seemed to be incapable of working but who, when dressed in khaki with a sergeant's stripes, could not be induced to take any rest. The story is well invented. —The Anglo-French Review contains two instructive articles on colonial policy. In one of them Mr. Roy Devereux contrasts British and French methods. In the other M. E. C. Woeste, from the French point of view, discusses "Colonisation and the Native Mind " with a strong bias against the kind of policy which Mr. Montagu personifies. M. Woeste holds that " East is East and West is West," and that the European who would govern the Oriental wisely must hold himself sternly aloof as an impartial arbitrator. Mlle. Ludmila Savitzky contributes an interesting and appreciative study of Mr. Richard Aldington's poetry, with some translations. Lord Chamwood continues his studies of Abraham Lincoln, and Mr. Percy Allen recalls the theatrical associations of " Mrs. Stirling, Charles Reade, and Mlle. Rachel " seventy years ago.
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