The Reviews Reviewed. 



77 



THE NATIONAL REVIEW. 



The great feature in the National for January is 

 the special supplement written by a naval oliicer of 

 the Aurora describing the attempts made by the blue- 

 jackets under Admiral Seymour to relieve Fekin. It 

 is a most spirited narrative which gives a vivid 

 picture of actual war. Mr. Graham White's article 

 on the future of the aeroplane and Mr Cornford's 

 paper on Home Rule are noticed elsewhere. 



WHY THE NAVY ESriMATES CANNOT BE REDUCED. 



" Ignotus " protests with vehemence against the 

 reported intention of .Mr. AVinston Churchill to reduce 

 ne.\t year's naval estimates. He dwells at length on 

 the need for naval bases on the East Coast. But the 

 gist of his article is in two paragraphs : — 



In the four years 190S-11 the litilish votes for'new constriic- 

 lion hax-e amounted 10 ^^47, 750,000, from which, as we now 

 know, two millions are to lie retrenched. The German expen- 

 diture on new construction in the same period has teen 

 ;^4I, 000,000, so that the licitish Navy, far from maintaining 

 a decided advantage, in the last four years has only provided 

 about 10 per cent, more for new ships than Germany. 



In the present year Germany is spending on submarines as 

 much as this country, and the rapid increase in her under-water 

 craft imposes on us the need for judicious precautions. 



THE PORT OF LONDON UNDER ITS NEW RULERS. 



Mr. J. G. Broodljank gives a most encouraging 

 account of the excellent work that has been begun by 

 the new Port of London Authority. He says : — 



Little has occurred since .\pril, 1909, to confirm the appre- 

 hensions of those who thought that under a public authority the 

 I'ort of London stood to lose trade and efficiency. .\s has been 

 shown, the volume of tr.adc has increased. A comprehensive 

 scheme of improvement of the port has been sanctioned, and is 

 l.ting actively proceeded with. 



DlEr AS A CL'RE FOR CANCER. 



Dr. .Alex Haig, in an article entitled " Cancer, 

 Gout and Rheumatism," sets forth his uric acid 

 theory as the explanation of these maladies. He 

 says : — 



I believe that cancer will be seen to l>e related not merely to 

 one food such as meal, but to all foo<ls and drinks that con- 

 tain that source of widespread irritation, uric acid or xanlhin, 

 similar to that in fish, fie^h, fowl, and game, tea and cognate 

 drinks. 



It is certain that gout and rheumatism can be both- cured and 

 prevented by the removal of food poisons, and the widespread 

 parallelism of cancer with these (roubles gives good ground 

 for hope thai diet will do as much for il, though it cannot be 

 expccte<l that cancer will be cured « hen far .advanced or in less 

 time than is rer|uire(l to cure gout or rheumatism. 



MK. SNOWDEN, M.I'., ON KAILWAV UNREST. 



Mr. Snowden is much dissatisfied with the various 

 agreements which have staved oft the general strike. 

 He says :— 



The report of 1911 gave no more " recognition " than had 

 been given by the agreement of 1907. The report of the Com- 

 mission came as a ■•i.iggering blow in the railwaynien. The 

 agreement which has just been concliuled gives no promise of 

 a la.sting peace. Il leaves ihe vital issue still unsettled. The 

 fighl for •' recognition " will still go on. But the action of the 

 executive h.as made it far more diflicult to obtain " recognition. " 

 Jiy this agreement a strike cannot be entered upon for three 

 years. Hut apart from that, the action of the executive h.as 

 made the prospe»t of success for a strike hopeless, even if one 



could be honourably undertaken. The railway directors have 

 scored at every point. 



OTHER ARTICLES. 



There is a delightful paper of woman's life on the 

 Canadian prairies by Miss Ella Sykes. It is one of 

 incessant toil, which ages women before their time. 

 Mr. .\ustin Dobson revives the forgotten memory of 

 I.outherbourg, R..^., who died in 1812. The Rev. 

 R. L. Gates writes on Christianity and Clericalism. 

 He thinks that " the greatest danger to this traditional 

 popular Christianity is an unscrupulous intriguing 

 Clericalism, and the revulsion produced by its 

 machinations in humane and honest minds." 



THE AMERICAN REVIEW OF REVIEWS. 



The January Review of Reviews of New York 

 opens with a masterly survey of the history of the 

 month, covering over forty illustrated pages. No such 

 record of the contemporary history of the New World 

 and the Old can be found in any other periodical. It 

 is luminous, comprehensive and impartial. The 

 speci.Tl articles which follow are of very varied interest. 

 The article on Persia is educational. So also is Pro- 

 fessor Jencks' survey of the German elections. Ar> 

 admirable plea for the establishment of a Credit 

 Foncier in America is noticed elsewhere. There is a 

 very interesting account of the search for potash in 

 the United States, which at present imports it largely 

 from Germany. .\ great find of potash would be 

 worth more than the discovery of a gold reef. It is 

 probable that the giant seaweed of the Pacific Coast 

 will ultimately yield all the potash needed by the 

 farmers of America. 



Another most interesting article describes how ii> 

 eleven years one hundred and sixty .American cities 

 have revolutionised their municipal government, sub- 

 stituting for the old system of electing every official, 

 the Galveston plan of only electing five and choosing 

 them without regard to party politics. 



One of the most elaborate articles in the Review is 

 Mr. .Saint Nihal Singh's roseate account of what the 

 I'.ritish have done for India. It shouUl be reprinted 

 and circulated as a handy tract by the British Kmpire 

 League. 



The other articles are of more local Aniericarr 

 interest. Every .American resident abroad who 

 desires to keep in touch with the progress of events 

 on the other side of the .Atlantic ought to subscribe to 

 the American Rex'iav of Rerieik's. 



In the Gir/s' Realm for January there is a bright 

 instructive little paper on " (lirls as Comjiany Secre- 

 taries," by Miss L. Grace Gillam. One official states 

 that about 300 out of 52,000 secretaries to public 

 companies are women, but another official says that 

 this is probably an over-estimate. Still, whatever the 

 number, there remains the fact that there are girl 

 companies' secretaries, and there is reason to believe 

 that there may Ik many more in the future. 



