SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.
[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude aubseinent review.]
THE "May MACazrses.—The Nineteenth Century has an interesting artiole on " The French Solution of the Bread Problem," by Miss Edith Sellers, who shows that, by assuming the whole responsibility for the wheat supply almost as soon as war was declared, the French Government have been able so far to give every one bread at the old price, and still have grain enough to last till the harvest is reaped. Mr. E. G. Harman, as an old Treasury official, describes " The Business of Government " in an instructive paper, reflecting on the inefficiency of Parliament. Mr. John Pollock gives his personal impressions of " The Russian Revolution." Other notable articles .among many are Sir George Reid's on " Mr. Herbert Fisher and his Chances " and Mr. Crammond's on " Ireland's Part in the War." —The Contemporary Review has a very important article by Sir Paul Vinogradoff on his " Impressions of the Russian Revo- lution," with which he was closely concerned. He sees great and real danger ahead before the wild spirits have calmed down. " Petro- grad is not Russia, and no amount of propaganda can give the Petrograd Extremists the leadership of Russian public opinion. . . . Moscow is the historical centre in which a National Government ought to regain its balance." Mr. A. P. Graves elaborates his scheme of Ulster Home Rule, and Lady Macdonell gives her very interesting recollections of Lincoln: In the Fortnightly Mr. Archibald Hurd's striking article on " The Shadow of Famine on the Continent " shows how Bloch's prophecy of 1900—" That is the future of war ; not fighting, but famine "—is coming true, and discusses the unhappy -position of the smaller neutrals, who are paying dear for their neutrality. Dr. E. J. Dillon has a rather pessimistic article on " The Russian Upheaval " ; he still believes that the late Count Witte might have, and would have, made Russia a Constitutional State under the Tsar. Mr. Whelpley's vigorous article on " America at War," and Sir T. H. Holdich's article on " The Future Frontiers of Turkey," limited to Anatolia, are noteworthy also in a good number.—In the National Review Mr. Masse once more makes our flesh creep with his recital of the iniquities of the " Old Gang." An amusing touch in his lively tirade is his use of the late Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman as a stick with which to belabour Mr. Asquith. Lady Selborne has a sensible little article on " Mrs. Jones Considered as a Voter," and Miss Frances Pitt reports " What the Farmers Say " about the new fixed prices for corn.—Blackwood continues its admirable stories of the war—the most interesting that we find in any periodical. There are fresh instalments of " Besieged in Kut "—a remarkable narrative by a survivor—as well as " Vedette's " " Adventures of an Ensign " in France, and of " An Airman's Outings," by " Con- tact," who describes in a simple and vivid way his adventures over the enemy's lines.
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