Siipploiicnt to "Nature" May 3, 1906 



Vll 



mention is made of the Birkeland siirccssful manu- 

 facturing' process. This is hardly the author's fault, 

 because it is so recent that the author could only have 

 added it to the book as a supplement, bearing- in mind 

 the time a book takes to pass through the press. .\ 

 few organic preparations are given, such, for e.x- 

 .-imple, as the preparation of chloroform ; not having 

 tried it as illustrated by the author we wonder 

 whether it is a success. It look.? very similar to the 

 description of processes which we know are not 

 successful. 



The last portion of the book is devoted to primary 

 .-md secondary cells, and to the generation of elec- 

 tricity from carbon. Nothing is impossible in science, 

 and perhaps some day the glowing hope of- many 

 young and some old investigators may be realised, 

 and the carbon cell become our source of electrical 

 energy. 



The book is well printed and splendidly illustrated. 

 The author is an American, and it makes our mouths 

 water to think of the magnificent equipment which 

 his laboratory must possess. It is not difficult to 

 understand why electrochemistry flourishes abroad ; 

 the foundations were laid here, part of the super- 

 structure was raised, but where is the finished build- 

 ing .- We advise those interested in electrochemistry, 

 and also those who do not believe in it — and there 

 are a goodlv few — to read this book. 



F. M. P. 



THE VANISHING EAST. 

 .1 People at School. By H. Fielding Hall. Pp. viii + 

 286. (London : Macmillan and Co., Ltd., 1906.) 

 Price 10.S. net. 



THERE are several different ways in which to 

 write of foreign countries, and Mr. Fielding 

 Hall, who knows his Burma as thoroughly as it can 

 be known by a European, has chosen the psycho- 

 logical point of view and the philosophical method. 

 He had already broken ground in this direction in his 

 " Soul of a Nation," and one hoped that the fastin- 

 ating study afforded by that book was to be continued 

 in the present one, which deals with the Burmese in 

 their transition stage. The hope is not altogether 

 fulfilled. An author must not complain if his work 

 is always measured by his own highest achievement, 

 and, although " People at School " is an interest- 

 ing and suggestive book, it is disappointing after 

 the " Soul of a Nation." It is, as the author con- 

 fesses, made up of chapters written at odd times, 

 and the result of this method is a certain amount of 

 repetition and some contradiction, while the style is 

 so jerky and broken as to become fatiguing ; but, 

 when these criticisms as to manner have been made, 

 one is still aware that the matter of the book is un- 

 usually good and interesting. So much has been 

 written of eastern countries that it is no small achieve- 

 ment to give an unhackneyed rendering of so familiar 

 a theme — and Mr. Hall is never conventional and at 

 thv" same time is always faithful to life. 



The first half of the book gives a picture of Burma 

 before and at the time of the British " occupation " of 

 NO. 1905, VOL. 74] 



Upper Burma. In writing of times that are past 

 and gone, while still within our recollection, we have 

 all to be on our guard against a popular illusion as 

 to the " good old days." My sympathies are naturally 

 with Mr. Hall in his half-stifled regrets for the 

 picturesque period of Burmese history. I too knew 

 old Burma ; I too sat under a banyan tree and re- 

 presented the majesty of England to a district, dispen- 

 sing paternal justice with the sureness (and successful- 

 ness) of vouth and profound faith in the mission of the 

 .Anglo-Saxon. I shared the dacoit hunts the wearisome 

 monotony of which, varied by the writing of pic- 

 turesque reports, Mr. Hall describes with such humour 

 and veracity. Moreover, I assisted (as he was not 

 able to do) in the settling-down period, and am able 

 to endorse his remarks as to the only policy possible 

 towards a conquered people and the folly of burning 

 villages as reprisals ; and we were both younger in 

 those days than we are now and life was much more 

 of a vast adventure. We must not cast too much 

 personal glamour over the good old times when we 

 comment on the dull sobriety of Burma to-day — the 

 w-ell administered Indian province. 



Nevertheless, a feeling of depression creeps over me 

 as I read of the Burman of to-day. He is prosperous, 

 savs Mr. Hall, but is losing his sense of the joyousness 

 of life. One's memories of Burma are inextricably 

 interwoven with the picture of a childishly happy 

 people — the most attractively merry, gentle, light- 

 hearted people of the East. Have we put them into 

 a dull, conventional mill? Are we crushing them with 

 the weight of our materialistic civilisation ? Despite 

 his half-hearted disclaimers Mr. Hall is evidently 

 afraid that this is so, and, although he stoutly hopes 

 that this is only a transition period — a people at 

 school — and that manhood will bring the Burman a 

 newer and brighter horizon, yet one cannot but regret 

 that political destiny made it necessary for us to 

 destroy the Burmese ideals when we could give them 

 nothing better. Our system of government, as Mr. 

 Hall shows clearly, while respecting native laws and 

 custom, is inevitably a superstructure, unlike the 

 system which grows up from the soil. Even our 

 method of employing the headmen of villages as 

 Government officials has its weak side, and it is 

 interesting to note that a similar system regarding 

 the chiefs of tribes is having the same effect in South 

 .Africa. Both headman and chief are no longer re- 

 garded by villagers or tribe as representatives of the 

 people, but as those of the Government. It is a strong 

 distinction. 



There are several points on which I must join issue 

 with Mr. Hall. He would have us believe that the 

 Indian money-lender and coolie and the Chinese trader 

 are really helpful to the Burmese and advance their 

 progress. So long as the Burman is able to retain 

 his hold of the soil that may be, but how long can 

 he do this in the teeth of foreign invasion ? Mr. Hall 

 also rests too much of his psychology on the pre- 

 sumed " youth " of the Burmans as a race, disregard- 

 ing their many points of resemblance with other 

 Indo-Chinese peoples. One would have liked a com- 

 parison also with the Japanese, who have many of 



