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failure of revision of Davis' International Law is the chapter upon contraband, a subject of most vital concern today. Not a word. has been changed or added to the chapter on that subject in the earlier edition, notwithstanding the Declaration of London and the practice of the belligerents in the present war.

The chief work of the reviser has been the incorporation of certain illustrative historical material at the end of some of the chapters. Such material has been included only by way of substitution, and in a few cases it would seem that the substitution was less important than the material for which it was substituted. The only chapter that has been rewritten is the introductory one, and this is far from satisfactory, viewed as a text-book introduction to the subject of international law. In treating of the sources of international law, the writer gives the impression that the ancient maritime law is to be regarded as by far the most important source. The treatment of this and of other historical sources is too much in the nature of a condensed abstract with mere enumeration of names and dates, which is far from illuminating to an undergraduate student or to the ordinary reader of international law. The original chapter, in the opinion of the reviewer, was better planned for introducing the reader to the general field of international law.

The attempts of the reviser at condensation of historical material within the brief space allowed at the end of chapters has not always proved successful. For example, the endeavor at the end of Chapter IX to give the results of the Hague Arbitral Court in less than one page is disappointing. The inclusion of authorities upon the Hague Convention and the Arbitration Court reduced the space for cases to fifteen lines. The citation of authorities here and elsewhere given in the body of the text might better be included in foot notes or in the general list of bibliography. The addition to the bibliography of the third edition of a list of recent works on international law and the incorporation in the appendix of the Declaration of London 1909 and the document of the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace giving the list of signatures, ratifications, adhesions and reservations of the conventions and declarations of the First and Second Hague Conferences constitute the most valuable additions in the new edition. Other new material included in the appendix are: the extradition treaty of 1910 between the United States and the Dominican Republic and a brief treatment of the topics: transfer to neutral flag, merchant

vessels armed for defence, air craft and wireless telegraphy in time of war and radiotelegraphy treaty.

Had the reviser incorporated such changes in the text as would have been warranted by the documents in the appendix, the fourth edition of Davis' Elements of International Law might have taken its place with other modern text books on international law; but, for the reasons above mentioned, it fails of being a suitable text book in the year 1917.

FRANK A. UPDYKE.

Recueil de rapports sur les différents points du programme - minimum de l'Organisation centrale pour une paix durable. The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff. 1916. 2 vols. 370 +355 pages.

This collection of reports or essays is in the nature of a preliminary discussion of the nine parts of the "Minimum Programme" which the Central Organization for a Durable Peace hopes to see adopted by the family of nations at the end of the present war. The Executive Committee of the Central Organization designed them primarily as aids to the members of its various International Committees of Research, which are travailing over the weighty problems of its Minimum Programme; but it hopes, also, that they may be of service to the many minds in many lands which are grappling, individually or collectively, with these same problems, the difficulty of which is commensurate with their vast and vital importance. If the essays are widely read, this hope would be largely realized; for most of them are filled with instructive and stimulating suggestions, and are written by well-known publicists.

That the volumes partake of a largely international character is apparent from the facts of their authorship. Of the thirty-five essays contained in the two volumes, seven are written by Americans, six by Englishmen, five by Austro-Hungarians, four by committees of Hollanders, three by Norwegians, two by Belgians, two by Germans, and one each by a Brazilian, Frenchman, Italian, Swede, Swiss, and a committee of Danes. Seventeen are in English, ten in German, and eight in French.

The subject of annexation and conquest is discussed in one essay; the freedom of the seas in one; the limitation of armaments in two;

the open door in three; democratic control of foreign policy in four; the rights of dependent nationalities in five; and the development of the judicial and legislative work of the Hague Conferences in nineteen. Thus it is seen that while some of the chief causes of the present and other wars are dealt with in sixteen of the essays, more than half of the whole number are devoted to a consideration of other than military means of settling controversies between or among nations.

While there is, naturally, some divergence of opinion expressed in the essays, there is, despite widely variant national viewpoints, a gratifying consensus of opinion on the great question of international organization. Such a book, produced while the greatest of military tempests is raging in so large a part of the world, is like a rainbow of promise for the future success of mankind in rendering even the threat of another such tempest harmless. The public-spirited committee of Netherlanders whose initiative and energy are back of these studies are to be heartily congratulated on these first fruits of their endeavor towards the constructive international statesmanship of which the world is at present so sadly in need. Their efforts are especially appropriate and praiseworthy in the land of Hugo Grotius and the two Hague Conferences.

WM. I. HULL.

Germany and England, 1740-1914. By Bernadotte Everly Schmitt. Princeton University Press. 1916. pp. 524, 2 maps, index, and appendix.

The title of this work is misleading, for it fails to make clear either what the content or the purpose of the volume is. The author, who is Assistant Professor of History in Western Reserve University, has, however, produced a book much more interesting and valuable than the reader would infer from this heading. In the short space of fifteen chapters the writer has given us a complete and fascinating story of the chief European diplomatic activities during the quarter of a century preceding the war, which either had a bearing on, or led up to, this great conflict. In spite of the proximity of the year 1916 to the period under discussion, and of the atmosphere of partisanship which hovers over all parts of the earth at this time, he has handled the subject in an eminently historical and unbiassed fashion.

Dr. Schmitt describes the numerous intricate and delicate international questions over which all the disputes of the past twenty years have arisen, with justice and fairness to all parties. He points out clearly the main features of each problem and the different point of view taken by each participant in the discussion. And he explains the foreign policies of Germany and Great Britain, the aims and methods pursued by each, together with the measure of success or failure attained by each of these states in recent years. Among the voluminous literature on the war, which has appeared up to date, no other single volume is better adapted to giving the general reader and the student a clearer view of the conditions leading up to the great conflict than this book of Dr. Schmitt. It ought to become a standard work on the period with which it deals.

We are pleased to note the lucid and interesting style, which will commend the book to many people. It is a satisfaction to see an increasing number of the younger historians produce volumes which are as readable and attractive in form as they are learned and accurate in contents. For it is no longer true that histories to be valuable must be "dry-as-dust," or a mere procession of accurately related incidents told in chronological order.

Dr. Schmitt's book would have been stronger, if his grouping of chapters had been arranged so as to give a continuous story of the same topics of discussion. For instance, he separates the account of the European competition in the Near East, giving most of it in Chapter 10 on "The East East" and the rest in Chapter 12 on "The Eve of the War." And the story of the Moroccan conflict is divided between Chapter 9 on "The Triple Entente" and Chapter 11 on "Agadir and Its Aftermath." Then his account of certain diplomatic "incidents" loses force because of the omission of important final details, or a tendency to slur over some vital facts. For instance, his story of the "Near Eastern Questions" would have been materially improved if he had given in detail the "initialed" agreements between England, Germany, France, and Russia concerning the commercial partition of Turkey, which had been satisfactorily concluded by June, 1914, assuring Germany of the lion's share of the economic development of the Ottoman Empire. Again, in writing of the diplomatic rapprochement between France and England in 1904, he fails to give due weight to the series of earlier agreements between these states concerning their African possessions, conducted between 1882 and 1899. And,

in discussing the "German Empire," he gives more space to Emperor William II, and less to the lack of political acumen and foresight among the German people, than the best authorities probably would give.

It is unfortunate that the publishers did not put better maps in the volume; and possibly Dr. Schmitt could have materially improved his book, if he had delayed its publication for a year or so longer, until he could have had access to some documents not accessible when he was writing. However, we congratulate him on his excellent volume, which so effectively disposes of the various "myths" and "claims" concerning the causes of the war. It is recommended as a valuable work, useful alike to the student, the general reader, and the expert in international affairs.

N. DWIGHT HARRIS.

The Life of John A. Rawlins (Grant's Chief of Staff). By James Harrison Wilson. New York. The Neale Publishing Company. The subject of this biography is described in the title page as "Lawyer, Assistant Adjutant General, Chief of Staff, Major General of Volunteers, and Secretary of War." The author is well fitted for his work, which was undertaken at the dying request of his subject. He was associated with him in General Grant's Staff in the Vicksburgh and Chattanooga Campaigns, and served in the same army in Grant's advance on Richmond, which gave him special opportunities of knowing and recording the services of the Chief of Staff.

The author is one of the few remaining general officers of the Union Army who gained distinction for gallant service in that memorable contest. In some respects his career has been unique in our military history. A graduate of West Point on the eve of the Civil War, he entered the Union Army a youth in years but of high standing as an engineer officer, and rapidly passed through all the grades of promotion from a lieutenant to major general, first in the volunteer and afterwards in the regular army, at the close of that war a corps. commander. Having retired from the service, he reëntered it in the Spanish War, in which he served as a corps commander and as department commander of two important provinces of Cuba. Again, when the Boxer outbreak threatened the lives of our diplomatic officials and citizens in China, he was recalled to the service and

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