investigations, not only pronounces these charges to be substantially unfounded but concludes that in the main the violations have been on the other side. It may be observed that the question of treaty violation is not always one that can be precisely determined, owing to the lack of an impartial and authoritative interpretation. It is a curious fact that the attacks above quoted on the conduct and integrity of the United States in its attitude toward treaties were made in the discussion of the Panama Canal tolls question, in respect of which the British Government has admitted that no actual violation by the United States was committed. It is true that President Wilson, in asking for the repeal of the clause in the Act of 1912 exempting coastwise vessels from the payment of tolls, apparently proceeded on the contrary supposition. But if any one wishes to become acquainted with the subject and to understand its merits, he should read the diplomatic correspondence, where the facts may be found.

The student of modern history and international law will find The Great European Treaties of the Nineteenth Century (New York, Oxford University Press, 1918; xii, 403 pp.), edited by Sir Augustus Oakes and R. B. Mowat, an admirable source-book. It brings together about twenty-five documents, all of first-rate importance to any one who seeks to understand the development of contemporary Europe. It contains only treaties concluded between European nations and subsequent to the fall of Napoleon. The selections have been wisely made and serve effectively to illustrate the chief phases of the diplomacy of the nineteenth century. Opening with the Treaty of Vienna of 1815, the editors proceed to furnish us with documents of great interest and value concerning the creation of the Kingdoms of Greece and Belgium and the Grand Duchy of Luxemburg, concerning Turkey and the Balkan states, the Danish duchies, the unification of Italy and Germany, the relations of Austria and Prussia, the Franco-German war, the Triple Alliance and the Balkan Wars of 1912 and 1913. The treaties are preceded in each case by brief historical sketches, which give us the current situation and the setting. These little essays are notable for their conciseness, lucidity and balanced judgment. Much learning has been condensed into a few phrases and those chosen with the greatest care. Only a few errors have been noticed and they are comparatively unimportant. This very useful book is rendered still more useful by ten excellent black and white maps. The first chapter contains an interesting

discussion of the war on treaties.

Pillars of the Empire (London, Jarrolds, 1918; 331 pp.) by W. L. Courtney and Mrs. J. E. Courtney is a series of biographical studies of men who, the authors believe, have done abiding service for the British Commonwealth in the era of imperial history that began after the end of the American Revolution. Men who served British political civilization in India and the Far East, as well as those who served it in Canada, Australasia and South Africa, are included in the series. The idea from which the book apparently originated was an excellent one. Hitherto there has been no single book in which the services of these men-soldiers and explorers as well as statesmen-were recorded and appraised. There are thirty or more biographical studies and impressions in this volume; and in view of the fact that it is a book of only 331 pages it can be said that many of the studies are ample and that most of them are well done. The careers of these men, moreover, recall much colonial and imperial history with freshness and interest. The men to whom Mr. and Mrs. Courtney give most prominence-those whom they seem to regard as most noteworthy-are Durham, Macdonald, Strathcona, Laurier and Borden; Sir George Grey, Frere, Rhodes, Milner, Chamberlain, Botha and Smuts; Parkes and Seddon; Gordon, Cromer and Kitchiner; and Clive and Curzon. It is not likely that every Dominion will concede that full justice has been done to its galaxy of statesmen and empire-builders, though Mr. and Mrs. Courtney would no doubt be able to justify the selections they have made. It should be added that as a preface to this volume there are some surprisingly frank studies of English political leaders of the era of the World War. Filial affection rather than a critical estimate of the value of the material evidently led the daughter of Sir Benjamin Chapman Browne to publish Selected Papers on Social and Economic Questions (Cambridge, University Press, 1918; xvii, 287 pp.). Sir Benjamin Chapman Browne was a typical Englishman of good upper-middleclass family. He was an engineer, a model employer of labor of the nineteenth-century type, with the traditional English desire for public service. He was charitable, kindly, faithful and strongly imbued with a sense of responsibility in the use of his wealth. But he had no inkling of the more modern attitude in questions of capital and labor, of employers and workers, of wealth and taxation. His writings may be useful in illustrating the older ways of thinking, and in showing how the political economy of the nineteenth century moulded the ideas of men who clung to free trade and free use of capital as though these were the gospel of salvation for the poverty

and distress of the whole world. There is no use, however, in reading these old-time papers in the search for light on the problems which are facing the world during this period of reconstruction.

Lieutenant Davidson's The Northwest Company (Berkeley, University of California Press, 1918; xi, 349 pp.) is a careful and fully documented piece of research. It covers the history of the fur trade in the northern part of North America from the coming of the white man to the union of the two rival fur companies-the Northwest Company and the Hudson Bay Company-in 1821, apart from the development of the Hudson Bay Company, the history of which had already been written. The Hudson Bay Company comes into the picture only when the Northwest Company began to feel its rivalry and to enter into the conflict which ended in the union of the two companies. The Northwest Company, unlike the Hudson Bay Company, had no royal charter. It was an association of traders without monopoly rights. It had no objection to such privileges, and several times it solicited them from the British Government, but in vain. It depended upon its established trade and its energetic and sometimes unscrupulous agents to obtain its share of the furs of the Northwest. Lieutenant Davidson tells briefly how it came into existence, who formed it and what expeditions they undertook. Enough romance and adventure is indicated in these pages to fill several volumes. The work serves not only to explain much of the early history of Canada but also to make clear many of the border difficulties that disturbed the early relations between the United States and the British possessions to the north. It is published as volume vii of the University of California Publications in History.

Lord Selkirk's Work in Canada (Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1916; 240 pp.) was apparently undertaken by Mr. Chester Martin with a view to vindicating the reputation of Lord Selkirk from the undeserved obloquy under which it long rested. Occasionally the book becomes almost apologetic in tone. The story, as gathered from Lord Selkirk's papers and from government documents, shows with almost startling clearness the blundering ineptitude of the British government and the total lack of intention on the part of British statesmen in the nineteenth century of founding a great Englishspeaking empire. The empire grew despite the British government. It grew because individual Englishmen and Scotchmen and Irishmen had the vision to plant and water it and to accept temporary failure without losing that courage and pertinacity which form the outstanding British characteristics. Lord Selkirk was one of the

founders of the empire. His settlements on Prince Edward Island, at Baldoon on Lake St. Clair, at Sault Ste. Marie and finally and most important on Lake Winnipeg, show a comprehension of the vital points in British North America. The Red River settlement practically preserved the great Northwest for Great Britain. Yet the men in authority both in Canada and Great Britain could see no value in the vast tract of country-termed by them polar regions-which now forms the granary of the empire. "Seldom ", writes Mr. Martin of Lord Selkirk's venture, "has immediate reward been so paltry, outlay so enormous, and ultimate vindication of practical foresight at once so tardy and so complete." The book is published as volume vii of the Oxford Historical and Literary Studies. It is well documented, and the appendices include the charter of the Hudson Bay Company and the vast grant of land in Assiniboia made to Lord Selkirk by the Hudson Bay Company-a grant of 115,000 square miles of the richest grain land in the world, which instead of enriching its new proprietor completely bankrupted him both in name and fortune.

The third and last volume of the history of Germany by Sir Adolphus William Ward, Germany 1815-1890, Volume III (Cambridge University Press, 1918; xvi, 437 pp.), follows in its method of treatment the previous volumes. It covers the period from 1871 to 1890. Two supplementary chapters have, however, been added. In one of these the author gives a survey of the intellectual and social life of the Germans during the latter half of the nineteenth century, and in the other, under the title, "The New Reign, 18901907", he touches the chief points in German political history during the first two decades of the reign of William II. His reason for carrying his subject beyond the limit set in the title of his work is that he believes that in 1907 or 1908 forces making for war between Germany and her adversaries got the upper hand of those making for peace. The chapter which deals with the modus vivendi between the Church of Rome and the German Protestant governments is a marvel of involved lucidity; it has poignancy without temper, yet wields a two-edged sword of justice. The chapter on "Internal Politics and Parties" is excellent and tells a clearer story than does the chapter on "Foreign Policy". The author gives no evidence of being affected by "war psychology".

Les Appetits Allemands (Paris, Alcan, 1918; 244, 228 pp.) is the startling title of two small volumes of "conference reports" of the Paris Geographical Society, of which the one treats of German

ambitions in Europe and the other of German dreams of world leadership. Compiled in the midst of the World War, both were intended as French propaganda, but in view of the scholarly fame of many of the contributors - Henri Lichtenberger, Georges Blondel, Joseph Barthélemy, René Henry, Henri Froidevaux and Jean Dybrowski- they are not without some permanent value. Especially illuminating is Professor Henry's summary, in the second volume, of the origins and program of Pan-Germanism. Unfortunately the whole work leaves the reader with an uncomfortable impression that the authors do not so much hate German imperialism as love the imperialism of France.

A recent volume in the Bibliothèque France-Amérique is Professor Georges Weill's Histoire des États-Unis de 1787 à 1917 (Paris, Librairie Félix Alcan, 1919; 216 pp.). The Comité France Amérique, which edits the Bibliothèque, was founded some ten years ago to promote closer relations between France and the nations of the western hemisphere, and by reason of the war its activities have been increased and have acquired added significance. Professor Weill's

volume is a product of the new interest felt by the people of France in the American Republic and should prove helpful in satisfying that interest. It is without doubt the best brief general history of the United States written in French. The author has made good use of several standard histories of the United States, especially McMaster's and Rhodes', and of some specialized works. At a time like the present, when the propagandist is abroad, appealing to history, duly "reconsidered ", to give solidity to his cause, it is gratifying to note that the author has not tried to promote greater friendship between his country and ours by historical legerdemain. He has made no effort to conceal the fact that on several occasions FrancoAmerican relations have been seriously strained. He has written throughout as an historian, not as a propagandist.

The purchase by the United States of the Virgin Islands lends especial timeliness to the book of Waldemar Westergaard, Assistant Professor of History at Pomona College, on The Danish West Indies under Company Rule (New York, The Macmillan Company, 1917; 359 pp.). The author was led to undertake the investigation by Professor H. Morse Stephens, of California, and it was written before the negotiations for the transfer of the islands. The present volume, which was submitted as a dissertation for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy and which is largely based upon original records, deals with the period from 1671 to 1754 and gives a good