5 JUNE 1909, Page 28

The Annual Register, 1908. (Longmans and Co. 18s.)—We gladly accord

our customaey welcome to this publication. It

preserves a tradition of good management ; the performance of one year is practically the same as that of another. Possibly the summary of Parliamentary and political events generally indicates a little more clearly than usual the tendencies of the writer; it would be safe to affirm that he is not a thick-and-thin Tariff Reformer. But the book is not in any 801190 a party record. Much of its contents is, of course, in its nature neutral. Social progress, literature, commerce, &c., are dealt with. And there is the usual "Chronicle," with "Obituary," &o.