certain that the subject has not lost any of its
interest during the interval. Some letters from Mr. Hope dealing with this matter appeared, as our readers may remember, in our correspondence columns.
In those columns many things appear with which we have no agree- ment or sympathy. The events of the last year and a half have not inclined Englishmen to look with more favour than before on the busi- ness in which Mr. Hope has engaged. Briefly, we may say, without the least intention of reproach, but rather by way of advice, that the less an honest man has to do with the quest of coolies" the better. Mr. Hope's brief preface is to this effect :—"In the following sketch I have simply told the tale of ray own adventures in the South Seas ; believing that, in the coming discussion on the Coolie system, evidence at first hand will have some value. I merely advance facts; I leave it to others to draw conclusions." On this ground, and we may also say because it is a pleasantly-written little volume, we can assert that Mr. Hope's book is worth attention. We have no reason to doubt that he is a very favourable specimen of a coolie-seoker, but his facts certainly strengthen our conviction that coolie-seeking is best left alone.
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