CURRENT LITERATURE.
Tun indifference of laymen as to ecclesiastical and even as to religious questions is very properly rebuked by the Rev. H. Bristow Wilson.* There are many views based upon sound argument which a layman can enunciate without the slightest reflection upon his character as a Christian, but which no Churchman could bring forward without laying himself open to all aorta of unfavourable imputations. And if perchance a layman has so * ABrief Examination of Prevalent Opinions on the Inspiration of thy Scriptures of the Mimed New Testaments. By a Lay Member of the Church of England. With an imtroduction by the Rev. H. Bristow Wilson, B.D. Longman and Co. availed himself of the revelations' of modern Biblical criticism as to be in advance of his age, it is clearly his duty to enable those who follow him to benefit by his researches and discoveries. No candid inquirer after truth will deny the existence of errors and discrepancies in the Hebrew Scrip- tures. " The mere ignoring the scientific defects of the Scriptures," ob- serves Mr. Wilson, " has an ill-effect upon the truthfulness of any mind which has learnt the earliest rudiments of a scientific discipline ; far more injurious is an unreasoning belief of prodigies contradictory both to scientific knowledge and to ordinary experience ; most pernicious of all is the acceptance of the moral standard of the writers of all Biblical histo- ries as if it were perfect, as if it were the same throughout." This is a brave and frank acknowledgment, and does Mr. Wilson infinite credit. His introduction indeed is worthy of an attentive and thoughtful perusal, and prepares the way for the more specific and limited investigation of Biblical inspiration which proceeds from the pen of a studious and scientific layman.
Now that we are apparently drifting into another deplorable war in New Zealand, it concerns every one of us, each in his own degree, to obtain a dear notion of what it is that we are going to fight about. For this pur- pose recourse may safely be had to Mr. Swainson's useful little volume on the present state of affairs in that colony. In his late capacity of Attor. ney-General, he was necessarily in a position to go straight to the very bottom of the dispute between the natives and the encroaching Pakehas, and his summing up is entirely in favour of the former, The English settlers, in their haste to become rich, have forgotten first of all to be just, and have seized upon lands which already owned a master. To this the natives naturally demur, and while fully recognizing the supremacy of the sovereign of Great Britain, they refuse to be despoiled of their ancient rights, confirmed to them, moreover, by treaty. To use the expressive phrase of one of their chiefs when hie land is taken from him, the Maori raises his bristles. "Give hint back his land," he continued, "and then if we see his bristles still sticking up I will admit that you are right." But the comparative weakness of the unfortunate aborigines presents a tempta- tion not to be resisted, and as it has ever happened under similar circum- stances, the coloured man will gradually disappear before his pale-faced brethren. In the mean time, Mr. Swainson will be found an intelligent guide by those who desire to make themselves thoroughly acquainted with the question at issue.
Of the many encycloptedic works that almost daily issue from the press, there are few that surpass in clearness and precision a small volume com- piled by Mr. George Dodd.t There are two questions, he observes, with which youthful inquirers are for ever perplexing their seniors. These are, "Where does it come from ?" and "How is it made ?" It must be con- fessed that it is not always easy to answer such questions, and therefore both young and old are indebted to Mr. Dodd for unravelling their mutual perplexities. His explanations are simple and concise, and in a brief space convey quite as much information as most people care to acquire about the materials of their food and clothing, the construction of their dwellings, the supply of fire and light, and the nature and uses of metals, minerals, and chemicals. Frequenters of the South Kensington Museum will find this an agreeable and instructive companion.
Individuals intending to emigrate either to Canada or Vancouver's Island and British Columbia may do worse than consult the explanatory pamphlets issued from the Canadian News Office.: With the least possible circumlocution every direction is given that any intelligent emigrant can reasonably require, and the way to his new home made smooth and easy. An anonymous writer, indeed, considers it as the bounden duty of the State to cause the tide of emigration to flow towards our own colonies, and to turn it aside from "our avowed enemy," the United States. § Any part of the world, however, is preferable to India —at least, if Mr. John Dickinson be accepted as a reliable authority. II In- that country there are no roads worth mentioning, and not much prospect of there being any, unless pressure from without be brought to bear upon the Legislature. The ignorance of the British Parliament on Indian subjects is so deplorable that Mr. Dickinson proposes to give the members "at the beginning of every Session a clear explanation not of India (sic) questions generally, but of those one or two India questions which press for solution at that particular moment." This is really very kind and considerate on the part of the chairman of the India Reform Society, and it is to be hoped that our representatives will feel duly grateful—politely suppressing any tendency to exclaim, sus Minerva?... ! But as emigration will not provide for the destitute poor, and as much hardship is undoubtedly caused by their arbitrary removal from their places of abode, Mr. Grenville Pigottoli has devised a scheme for a general fund for their relief, to be formed by ploy- meats from each union.
Will men never lay to heart the moral of 1Jlysses' bow? Just as every puny 'Ischia who can shoot a cock-robin with his toy bow and arrow fancies himself a Match in archery fur the stalwart King of Ithaca, so does every pigmy poetaster who can string together a dozen lines of rhyme imagine himself a rival to the author of "Don Juan." Betrayed by self- conceit and the peculiar facility of the metre, each new fledgling rhymester strives to reproduce a counterpart to that matchless poem. The latest offender in this line is Mr. Alfred Austin," Who has turned out 397 most lame and impotent stanzas to prove that he is not a poet. Not only is his affectation of worldly wisdom and Masi experience insufferably tedious as well as ridiculous, but his plot is so objectionable that we dare not annoy our readers by further alluding to it. Mr. Austin's head has evi- dently been turned by the unmerited attention paid to his first essay in verse. Since then, he has steadily descended from bad to worse, until he has reached a point below which even his bedraggled muse will shudder to sink. The time, we trust, is not far distant, when he himself will bitterly repent the base use to which he has degraded his really good abilities and power of versification.
• New Zealand and the War. By William Swainson, Esq. Smith, Elder, and Co. Where do we get it, and How is it made? A Familiar Account of the Modes of Sup- plying our Every-day Wants, Comforts, and Luxuries. By George Dodd. James Hogg and Sons. $ Canada: the Land of Hope. F. Altar. Handbook to Vancouver Island and British Columbia. F. Alger. § Emigration from the British Islands, considered with Regard to its Bearing and Influence upon the Interests and Prosperity of Great Britain. James Ridgway. II Address to the Members of the House of Commons, on the Relation between the Cotton Crisis and Public Works in India. By John Dirkinnon, F.R.S., he. ao. P. S. King. The Laws of Settlement and Removal; their Evils, and their Remedy. By Grenville Pigott. J. Ridgway.
9* The Human Tragedy. A Poem. By Alfred Austin. Robert Hardwicke.
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