SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[1:nder this heading we notice such Books of the week as have not Lep reserved for renew us other loins.]
Progress in New Zealand in the Century. By R. F. Irvine, M.A., and 0. T. J. Alpers, M.A. (W. and R. Chambers. 5s. net.)—Mr. Irvine gives chaps. 1-3 to the Maori past and present, 4 to the discovery of the island, and 5-21 to the history of the Culony down to 1870. With this year begins the New Zealand which we know, and where some of the most interesting problems in sociology and political economy are being worked out. Mr. Alpers, who has written this part of the book, thinks that the policy of Sir Julius Vogel, a policy of bold expenditure, was rash and premature, but that it has turned out well. He does not think highly of that politician, but he believes in the country ; its public Debt is huge, ..£61 4s. 5d. per head of the population (that of the United Kingdom is less than £20) ; but he believes that the burden is not really serious. One of his arguments is that much of the Debt was incurred forgemunerative work,—e.g., rail- ways. But the railway figures are not wholly reassuring. They cost .R16,500,000 to build, and they bring in a net revenue of £539,927, a little more than 3 per cent. But is it not probable that a strong demand will be made for unremunerative train service ? In this country the demand for cheap trains that run at a loss is very strong. What will it be in a country where the railways are State owned, and where a demand of this kind is irresistible because it seems to injure no one ? On women's franchise our:author does not dogmatise, beyond saying that it has not fulfilled any of the expectations raised by it. "The general tone of political life is much lower than it ever was before," he quotes from an "experienced politician," a supporter of the Bill. But whether this dictum is post hoc only, or pi opter hoc, he does not say.
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