THE STATESMAN'S YEAR-BOOK FOR 1871.*
WE are often reminded that we live in a luxurious age, and it is the natural effect of luxury to make men forgetful of the variety of products ministering to their gratification. People soon grow -accustomed to things which at first seemed tokens of a stupendous advance on the state which preceded them. This is very much the case with our modern books of reference, and especially with the indispensable manual which we have before us. When Mr. Martin published the first edition of his Statesman's Year-Book, everybody was struck with the happiness of the idea and
the merit with which it was worked out. Since that time the successive issues of the book have gone on improving, but we are so apt to take its appearance for granted that we hardly remember the constant pains employed in bringing it to perfection. Statistics and circumstances alter yearly ; the great events which have occupied public attention have changed the face of Europe, but much else has been done almost imperceptibly. It is greatly to the credit of Mr. Martin that he keeps us abreast of these changes, but in one or two instances events have moved too rapidly for him. The transition which is taking place from the North-German Confederation to the German Empire is not quite
omkleted in this volume. We have in one place a paragraph be- ginning with " the legislative power of the Empire," and ending with " the executive power of the Confederation" as regulated by the constitution of 1867. No doubt it would puzzle almost any one to say what is the exact constitution of the new German Empire, and how far it has been definitely settled. All we know is that there have been negotiations between the chief States, and deputations to Versailles, and that the King of Prussia has accepted the Imperial dignity. We must wait for the Statesman's Year-Book of 1872 to be fully informed on the subject. It will not be Mr. Martin's fault if everything is not set in order by that time, but we feel .sure that he will be able to clear up our present doubts and uncertainties.
Naturally the great use of a book of this kind is to give the latest information on all branches of political science. If it were not for constant change, a yearly issue would be unnecessary. We might still be contented with the first edition, or with such editions as the sale of the work had brought into being, and Mr. Martin would have been spared a great deal of trouble. But what is the value of statistics eight years old ? Any debater or writer who was to found a theory on such information would be liable to a -crushing answer. It is essential for all men who are in a public position, and, indeed, for all who take an active part in politics, to have a book like this constantly beside them. Without its help it may be in our power to keep account of the chief movements which mark the history of our time, but even that requires an effort of memory. Just as we read the daily telegrams about the war, and have a general notion that the Germans are gaining ground, though we do not realize their actual progress till we follow them on the map, so we need the same guidance over the field of history. In the present issue of the Statesman's Year-Book Mr. Martin has added a most useful feature,—a chronicle of the events of the past year. As an introduction to the survey of the -state of Europe, nothing could be more valuable. We have at a glance the great changes which are reflected- in the body of the The Statesman's Year-Book: a Statistical and Historical Account of the States of the Civilized World. Manual for Politicians and Merchants, for the Year 1871. By Frederick Martin. Eighth Annual Publication. London Macmillan. 187L
work, and which give such importance to Mr. Martin's labours. The events which came crowding upon us with such rapidity that we had scarcely accepted one before it was superseded, are arranged here with all the quiet irony of fate. Not only have we at the end of June the declaration in the French Legislative Body that the peace of Europe was never more assured, followed three days later by the announcement of the Hohenzollern candidature, but the similar statement on the 12th of July is within the same time succeeded by an expressed determination for war. Instances of this kind might be multiplied, but we have no wish to dwell upon a merely incidental part of Mr. Martin's book. Its substantial
merits deserve a more lengthened examination. Mr. Martin quotes a dictum of Goethe's that figures, which are often said to
govern the world, really show how the world is governed, and what chiefly strikes us in this book is the universal applicability of the saying. After we have been taken through all the States of Europe, and presented clearly and concisely with the necessary details of their condition, Mr. Martin carries us off to the other quarters of the globe. Here the scope of his work has been gradually expanding, and it now takes in not only British colonies and settlements and the vast territories of the United States and China, but the South American republics and the Eastern monarchies.
Information on so many subjects, packed closely and derived in the main from official documents, cannot be too highly prized ; and if, as we think, Mr. Martin has fallen into two or three errors, we must bear in mind the extent of ground that he covers. Many home questions of interest are treated at some length, as, for instance, the number of English people who signed their names in the mar- riage register compared with that of the people who had to make their mark. Those among Mr. Forster's constituents who asked foolish questions about the Queen's "salary" will find here all the details of the Civil List and of the purposes to which it is applied.
The sketch of the German Navy may interest such as look for fresh signs of Count Bismarck's love of aggression. They may compare, it, too, with the account of the French Navy, and specu- late on the possible results of the war being transferred from the land to the sea.
On all such points Mr. Martin will be found a trustworthy guide. The mistakes which he seems to us to have made are perhaps somewhat microscopical. We do not quite under- stand how the Imperial Crown of Germany can be said to have been for more than five centuries in the Hapsburg family. On Mr. Martin's own showing there was a break of a hundred and thirty years in the succession from 1308 to 1437, and he has not allowed for the three years' reign of the Bavarian Charles VII., after the extinction of the male line of the Hapsburgs. Again Mr.
Martin tells us of the statute of Anne which enacts that if any member of Parliament shall accept any office of profit from the Crown, his election shall be void and a new writ shall issue ; but he does not allude to the modification of this rule introduced by the last Reform Act, and allowing those who already hold certain specified offices to exchange them for others without having to be re-elected. What be says about the Crown's right of nomination to bishoprics is either obscure or erroneous :—
" The Queen is by law the supreme governor of the Church, possessing the right, regulated by the 4th section of the statute 25 Henry VIII., c. 20, to nominate to the vacant archbishoprics and bishoprics, the form being to send to the dean and chapter of the vacant see the royal licence, or tongs d',flire, to proceed to the election, accompanied by the Queen's letter naming the person to be elected ; and afterwards the royal assent and confirmation of the appointment is signified under the Great Seal. But this form applies only to the sees of old foundation : the bishoprics of Gloucester and Bristol, Chester, Peterborough, Oxford, Ripon, and Manchester are conferred direct by letters patent from the Crown."
Does not this last sentence imply that in the case of the bishoprics of modern foundation there is no tongs d'elire? If this is Mr.
Martin's meaning, he is clearly wrong, for the practice in regard to these bishoprics is to issue a tongs d'e'lire ; and so far as the see of
Gloucester and Bristol is concerned, an order in Council expressly directs that there shall be an election by the dean and chapter of each alternately. One or two other questions remain which might give rise to similar discussions, but there we are not quite certain of our ground, and we think the chances are that Mr. Martin would prove to be in the right.
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