CURRENT LITERATURE.
THE QUARTERLIES.-A new quarterly has made its appearance in the Economic Review, which is published by Messrs. Percival and Co. for the Oxford University branch of the Christian Social Union. 'The editors in their programme say that their venture is intended for the study of duty in relation to social life, and that it will therefore "contain articles dealing with what may be called economic morals from the point of view of Christian teaching." But the Economic Review is not intended to be an exponent of one set of views alone. Although it will have no connection with parties, it promises to give a fair field and no favour to Individualist and Socialist alike. One good feature of the Review will be the amount of information which it will con- tain ; thus, it promises to give a quarterly conspectus of English legislation on social subjects, a summary of certain Blue-Books and other official documents, and reports on the progress of social and economic legislation in foreign countries. It would, of course, be unfair to judge a new periodical by its first number ; but the editors have no reason to fear criticism. They give us, among other things, and under the title of "The Educational Value of Co-operation," the address given by the Bishop of Durham at the Co-operative Exhibition in Tynemouth in the beginning of last September ; "Some Economic Aspects of the Eight-Hour- Movement," by Professor Symes ; "The Progress of Socialism in the United States," by the Rev. M. Kaufmann ; and a very thoughtful paper by Mr. D. G. Ritchie on " Locke's Theory of Property." Altogether, the object of the conductors of the, Economic Review is a good one ; their aims are high; and their first performance is suggestive of success.—The best that can be said of the now number of the Quarterly is, that it is one of average. excellence. It contains several good heavy articles that have rather a belated look, such as " Sedgwick's Life and Letters," and even "Lord Houghton" and " Dallinger and the Papacy." There is a very thoughtful paper on "Ethics of the Day," and an interesting one on" The Elevation of the Working Classes." This is written in a conservative spirit, and yet its author maintains that "the essential normal state of labour is not one, as moderns are so apt to think, of social or of intellectual inferiority ; but in its higher ranks, it has immensely more of dignity and of value than the state of trade." The strongest-article in this number of the Quarterly is a crushingly convincing one on "Russia : its People and Govornment."—The new number of the Church Quarterly Review contains an exceptional number of articles in which cultured laymen as well as ecclesiastics will feel interested,—such as "Albert D tiny," "Gaspard de Coligny," "Time Early Diary of Frances Burney," and oven " DupanlouP on Preaching." An essay on "Authority in Religion" is also especially deserving of a careful perusal. The author has a very high admiration of Dr. Martineau and his groat work, although he differs from him and conies to the conclusion that "no strong and permanent system of morality will be founded on a theology such as is presented in this book,' and that " Individualism as regards the faith will in no long time lead to individualism as regards the life."—It is impossible to keep Ireland even out of the quarterly reviews, It is represented in the English Historical Review by two reticles—, "The Plantation of Leix and Offaly," and "Dean Swift and the Memoirs of Captain Carleton "—amounting in all to ninety pages. The latter article, by Colonel the Hon. Arthur Parnell, is, in spite of its portentous length, a piece of careful and even ruthless historical investigation. Mr. Stanley Weyman's article on "Oliver Cromwell's Kinsfolk" is valuable, of course, but rather drily genealogical. The best piece of writing in a very good number of the English Historical Review, is Mr. G. C. Macaulay's on the remarkable capture of a General Council of Prelates by the Emperor Frederick II. in 1241.
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