THE LAW OF NATIONS
[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] Sut,—Your readers will remember that on February 10th a review of mine of Professor H. A. Smith's Great Britain and the Law of Nations appeared in your columns, followed by a correspondence on February 17th. This led me to a re- reading of the book and to further reflection upon it, and I realize now that this review may have been too censorious. The position assumed by Professor Smith in regard to legal doctrine and his competence as a scholar was, of course, in no way questioned by me. I think, however, that the review dwelt unduly on the necessity of correlating historical data with these legal questions. This is my particular interest and study, but it is difficult and complicated to execute, and, what is more to the point, it is a relatively new aspect. It does not seem to me quite fair to press this historical aspect too much and too far, in relation to a work which is primarily legal. I should therefore wish to make it clear that these criticisms do not represent my more matured view.—I am,
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