SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Natio* in it,, column does not necessarily preclude sutorquint roviina] The March number of the Round Table (Macmillan and Co., 2s. 6d.) contains as usual many thoughtfully written articles. The first of these upon "The Polities of War" emphasizes the necessity for subordinating everything to the effort to finish the war " The worth of every measure, the key to every problem, the test of every action, whether in public or private life, lies in one consideration only—will it or will it not help the Empire to mass greater force at the decisive point at the earliest possible date " It is from this standpoint, the writer argues, and without regard to prejudices or general principles, that such questions as the need for compulsory service must now be discussed. Incidentally a valuable account is given of Lincoln's adoption of compulsion during the Civil War—In an article upon "The Dominions and the Settlement" an urgent plea is put forward that the self-governing Colonies should be con- sulted upon the international arrangements at the termina- tion of the war. The machinery for such a consultation, it is claimed, already exists in the shape of the Imperial Con- ference, which in the normal course of events would have met this year.—Among the remaining articles arc an his- torical study of Germany's foreign policy since 1870, and a consideration of Nietzsche's attitude towards the idea of "the State," which he describes as "the coldest of cold monsters" —Finally, we must mention a remarkable account, with many particulars that we have not seen elsewhere, of the South African Rebellion and of its consequences, wide': shows very forcibly the great debt owed by the Empire to General Botha for his loyalty and energy.
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