America's Foreign Relations. By W. F. Johnson, 2 vols. (Eveleigh
Nash. 24s. net.)—The Professor of the History of American Foreign Relations in New York University has produced at an opportune moment a fairly detailed surrey of his subject, covering in this second volume the half-century from the Civil War to our own day. He is remarkably fair in his comments on our diplomacy, and passes some severe criticism on his own Government, notably in regard to Samoa and Mexico. Again and again he has to point out how the Senate, for reasons connected with domestic politics, has wrecked excellent treaties negotiated by the President. Thus in 1868 Denmark had agreed with America to sell St. Thomas and St. John for £1,500,000, her Parliament had accepted the treaty, and the inhabitants had voted almost unanimously for the transfer. But the Senate, in its hatred of President Johnson, refused to ratify the treaty and the subject dropped. Only this year has the sale been completed, at a much higher price. The author's closing review of the Hague Conferences and the Arbitration Treaties concluded just before the war provokes ironic comment.
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