Rerifir of ^^evifui. l/O/OG. 



The Reviews Reviewed. 



509 



THE CONTEMPORARY UEVIEW. 



Of tlio :ii-tirlc>.s ill tlio ('iiiitrmpomitj — rntlifr n dull 

 number on tlic wliolp — perhaps tlie most important is one 

 by " Testis " on " Religious Events in France." He .says 

 that, although the whole French press pretended that 

 last month's ■ iiiventorv " riots were unexpected an<l 

 spontaneous, tlu' exact contra rv is the case. The in- 

 credible aiisor against the Separation is more sincere 

 and justifiable than might at fiift be thong!it, and is 

 exactly au.-ilogoiis to that felt by a strong, able-lwxlied 

 workni.iii .stigmatised as " t(X) old at forty," or by an 

 old go\<'nies.s cast adrift wlien no longer wanted. 



Another fact the writer iiientions is that the I'ro- 

 testante in tiio C'evennes, one of France's most Pro- 

 testant districts, did not resist the iuventori(>s at all: 

 the law fell on th(>m exactly as on the Catholics, and 

 sooner or later the Catholics will ask why the Protes- 

 tants could submit joyfully to what the Catholics re- 

 sisted so stubbornly. Even eminent Catholics hare 

 been asking why they have lost the battle. " Testis'' 

 replies : — 



I/et the Catholics of France be under no delusion. The 

 BoIe reason whv they have lost their battle on the iitiliti- 

 cal ground is because ther have fororotten the truly holy 

 battle, the intellectual, moral and religious struggle. 



THE LIMITATION'S OF X.-VPOLEOXS GENIUS. 

 Dr. .1. Holland Kose comments on ''the recent re- 

 vival of the Xapoleonic legend," mainly due to the 

 astonishing output of memoirs during recent years, 

 memoirs full of mistakes which " pleasingly diverei- 

 fied dull reality," but did not give a true conception 

 of Napoleon. No one would claim for Napoleon ori- 

 ginality of thought' or of literary judgment : Dr. Rose 

 IS convince<l tliat even in politics and war his ori- 

 ginality has been o\er-cstimated. " The great Cor- 

 sican larely tr(>uhle<l iiimself to gauge the motives 

 influencing the coiuinct of neighbouring States." He 

 could not se<' iliings fnnn their standpoint, partly, 

 perhaps, l'r(nii lii.s intellectual contempt for that 

 standpoint ; au<l he con.sequently miscalculated their 

 abilitv and power, and misread their charact^'rs. His 

 "intolerant dogmatism" is contrasted with the 

 "cautiously constructive diplomacy" of Bismarck, 

 much to the advantage of the latter. Despise your 

 foe and rigidly resolve never to yield an inch — is this 

 true greatnesvs? asks Dr. Hose. It w-as Napoleon all 

 over. " The limitations of his nature . . . explain 

 why in two years his own conciuests and those of the 

 revolutionary wars were overwhelmed b.v the new na- 

 tional energies which his domination had aroused." 



TE.\CHING READER.S TO READ 



Mr. lsi'ue-»t .\. Baker, a well-known librarian. 

 writes on " Direction for Popular Benders," pleading 

 for guides to the literature of different subjects, 

 somewhat on the lines of the .\uierican Library Asso- 

 ciation, only nut of such immense size, if they are to 

 be "popular." Hi' thoroughly approves of the .\meri- 

 can plan of not merely describing but also of stigma- 

 tising, if necesr>ary. When '' spade " means rubbish, 

 the Americans <lo not scruple to call a spade a spade. 

 The future oi the public library movement, he con- 

 siders, depends on three things teaching childr<'ii to 

 use a lilirar.v, training librarians as professors of 

 books, and ])rii\ i<ling means for directing reading. 



OTHER ARTICLES. 

 Mr, .1. .\, llobson criticises "The New Aristocracy 

 of Ml-. Wells," the point of his criticism being tnat 

 it is bad for any class, however weak and foolish, to 

 be entirely an<l arbitrarily deprive*! of a sliare in the 

 government, and placed under absolute control of an.v 

 other class, however superior. Does Mr. Hobsoii see 

 how this may he applied to a certain ever-burning 



i|U<'stioii regarding women's political rights? Mr. 

 Demetiins C, Boidger's description of the " Franoo- 

 (ieruKiu Frontier" is chiefl.v of interest to students 

 of military problems; but his conclusion is that, al- 

 though Nancy ought to be fortified and is not, and 

 although hardly en<nigli soldiers are guarding the 

 liontier, yet that fortified frontier is a marvellous 

 aehie\<'meut, Mr. \V. H. Bennett combats tlie notion 

 that arch;eolog,v in anr way rehabilitattis the tradi- 

 tional views as to the composition of the Old Testa- 

 ment. Dr. P. T. Fors.vth, writing on " The Catholic 

 Threat of Passive Resistance," says that when the 

 Catholics have as good ground as the NoncDiiformists 

 for passive, resistance, it is not only their right but 

 their duty to resist passively. " The Catholics want 

 from our' State something mfani to be fatal to us. 

 But we mean in our compromise with the 

 State nothing fatal to them." 



Th. 



UNITED SERVICE MAGAZINE. 



April number is distinctly readable 



readable by the 

 civilian as well as by the expert. The " Duty of the 

 Flag " is a historic phrase explained by Mr. G. Hew- 

 lett. It meant the duty we claimed from the ships of 

 other nations passing through liritish .seas to strike 

 their flags and lower their topsails in the presence of 

 a British ship. The right is trace<l back to the 

 dominion of the seas claimed by Kdgar in the year 

 !'60. It was insisted upon in the ordnance of Hast- 

 ings under King John, and maintained uiid<'r peiialt.y 

 of immediate attack by the British ship until the 

 heginning of the last ceiitur.v. 



•' Captain I>. X." piu-sues his review of the last ten 

 vears of naval administration abroad. France, he 

 says, has been slow to Ijnild battleships, but has been 

 building up an imnortant destroyei- flotilla of sixty. 

 In submarines and submersibles she maintains the 

 lead, havin.a no less than ninety-eight. The ITnited 

 States has made greater progress in its Xavy than 

 German,^ . and has markedly improved in gunnery. 

 German.v's naval pro.gramme in\olve« a financial 

 strain perhaps hardly lealised as yet by the German 

 people. The writei- asks. Where has the two-power 

 standard gone? A Franco-Gernian coalition is still 

 not au impossibility. C. de Thierry contiasts Eng- 

 land and Germany in a paper which regards a conflict 

 for life and death between the two Powers as inevit- 

 able. If necessity is the tyrant's plea, inevitableness 

 seems to be the Jingo's plea. " 'i'he necessity is not 

 ethical, but elemental," whatever that may mean. 



^lajor Denny describes the iis<> and development 

 of the Canadian military force, and specially <'ulo- 

 gi^es the formation of cadet corps and f>f rifle clubs 

 tliroughout the Dominion. He exclaims, ■■ How much 

 healthier would our weak-kneed, narrow-chested, 

 cigarette-smoking yining.sterK become were cadet 

 corps a natural concomitant to English home life!" 



Major N'aisli contrasts the ;oluntary system beyond 

 the .Ulantic with ours. He says the city armouries 

 of New York ahnie have cost two millions. He adds 

 that the Canadian Minister of Militia and Defence 

 is perfecting a scheme of universal training in the 

 schools and (olleges. and teaching those over fourteen 

 to shoot. 



■■ Beedos" insistfi that for the upkeep of tile army 

 improved barrack accommodation is necessary. He 

 asks tliat everv matt shmild have a cubicle of his 

 own. He would also enlist more bovs and train them 

 for civilian eitiployments which they could follow 

 after tl-ey had loft their colours. " Testudo " insists 

 that in order to provide for the hasty intrenchment 

 of infantry on the battlefield every sohlier shoiiUl be 

 supplied on service with some impU'inent with which 

 he can ([uickly dig himself into ground of any de- 

 scription. 



