REVIEWS OF RECENT BOOKS. 



The New Atlas and Commercial Gazetteer of China. Compiled by 

 the Far Eastern Geographical Establishment and Published by 

 the North China Daily News and Herald. 



A work must not only be judged from its size but its utility. 

 Were size and weight the only criterion of value this Atlas would 

 indeed be valuable. It makes one pant to carry it from one room to 

 another. A motor car seems necessary to the owner of such a work. 



That it requires a table or desk to itself is evident : and that 

 business house that has the Atlas so placed is a business house of good 

 augury, for it implies that trade is good and that further developments 

 in trade and the capacities of the Country are being studied. 



The work has been wholly produced at the Commercial Press : 

 European editors and Chinese skilled workmen collaborating. This 

 in itself was a difficulty. When the binding, the need of type, the 

 coloured maps and a 100 other things are considered it will be at once 

 evident that the art of printing and book-binding have made great 

 strides in China, during the last few decades. To see people ruddy of 

 countenances and still smiling after such operose labours implies also a 

 good moral basis. 



That the work had to be bulky and heavy stands to reason. Such 

 a large volume demanded heavy binding : the fine maps demanded wide 

 spaces ; and thick strong paper was necessary to give consistency and 

 strength to the whole work. So the demands of the mechanical parts 

 made it essential to have such a heavy volume. It is bulky and 

 weighty. 



This quality however after all is secondary. The essential thing 



is the utility of a work. At the outset it should be said that this is 



great. It may be shown that this private enterprise will be for 



merchants the first and essential step in the development of business. 



Without a thorough knowledge of a country under every aspect it is 



impossible to organize business in an adequate way. One of the 



questions in Fawcet's 'Political Economy' is, 'What relation does a 



cricketer's bat bear to political economy' ? The answer shows that the 



relation is very deep and comprehensive. A similar question might be 



asked relative to a thousand things in China such as what relation does 



a knowledge of the Climatology of China bear to the success of the 



British merchant in the country. A little consideration will amply 

 . ..-■.. | .1 ii , 



Mr, Edwin J. Dingle is the Organizer and General Editor of the 



Gazetteer. It will be known for short as "Dingle's Gazetteer." 



