Syria and the Holy Land. By Sir George Adam Smith.
(Hodder and Stoughton. Is. not.)—In this very able and interesting pam- phlet, furnished with two excellent maps, the Principal of Aberdeen University gives a short description and history of the countries, the study of which he has made his life-work. It is by far the most authoritative sketch of Syria, past and present, that wo have seen. Sir George Adam Smith is a firm believer in the possibility of re- storing the prosperity that Syria enjoyed under the Romans and Byzantines. As to the Zionist scheme, he recommends caution. Christians and Mohammedans, he points out, have also very strong claims to be considered, even in Judaea, where native Christian com- munities, for example, have existed for centuries, while Jerusalem itself must be " absolutely neutral under international guarantees." Outside Judaea, Samaria, and Galilee, he says, the. Jews have no his- toric or sentimental claims whatever, and within these areas the rights of the other races and religions must be upheld.
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