A Philosophical View of Reform. By Percy Bysshe Shelley. (H.
Milford. 7s. 6d. net.)—Mr. T. W. ItoHeaton has printed for the first time, from a manuscript in his possession, an unfinished political pamphlet written by Shelley in 1820. The point of view is that of a moderate Socialist and Pacificist, with a strong belief in democracy. Shelley wanted to abolish the National Debt by a levy on capital, but he did not want to abolish private property. " Labour and skill and the immediate wages of labour and skill is a property of the most sacred and indisputable right, and the foundation of all other property." He proposed to confiscate large fortunes on the ground—con- trary to fact in most cases—that they could not have been acquired honourably. He looked upon a Republic with uni- versal suffrage as a remote ideal. He little knew that twelve years later the Unreformed Parliament would reform itself drastically, and spoke of such an event as improbable, except as the result of a revolution. The pamphlet does not add much to our knowledge of Shelley's political opinions, but it was well worth printing.
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