NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 2, Issue 461, 20 March 1909, Page 9

NOTES.

Mr. Ernest Currie writes from Napier to the editor of Tub Dominion: —"According to your review of Professor Wall's last book on Saturday, March 6, you believe that your article on 'Blank Verse Lyrics' was the first recognition of bis work that appeared in a New Zealand newspaper. I believe I am right iii saying that a review of 'Blailk Verso Lyrics' appeared 'in tho leading columns of the Christchurch 'Press' some years- Jieforo that. Was not the same journal's review of 'Kill" Marchannt and His Itaganuifiin'—the occasion on which its authorship was announced —also previous to your article? About the same time as your article, and all prompted, probably, by the same event, there were not a, few references to this writer in various Australasian papers. This opportunity may servo to mention a graver inaccuracy, occurring in a recent article by Mr. A. G. Stephens on Professor Wall. j. Both the article and the bibliography prefixed to it imply that 'Blank V«rsa Lyrics' was Professor Wall's first book of verse. The omission of all reference to 'At the Cross Roads,' an earlier volume published under the author's name, ercatly detracts from the value of the article in question" ' Accordingly to the "British Weekly" Mr. Kipling has ready for publication a new novel—his first 10112 story since "Kim." It is a;romance of the future, when aeroplanes will be common, and other visions have been turned into realities. The title is "With the Ni<:ht Mail."

The lata Mr. Oswald Crawfurd was not only : tho .author of a number of books, but was for a time, if we remember rightly, the manager of one of the London publishing firms. Interviewed on one occasion on the subject of reviewing, Mr. Crawfurd said: — "My own idea, is that, speaking generally, t-oo many books are reviewed .in the first place, and, secondly, that the.v are reviewed in the wrong way. • It woyld be much better if editors weeded out moro csrefully the' books uhcy rcceivo before sending them to their reviewers at all. As to. tho reviews themselves, for the most part I believe them to be honest, and I see them to be cle.-jr, but itwojld be idle to' deny that they are often lias'v, and sometimes—rarely, of course—either -over-friendly- or over-hostile." What tho book-buyer-.wants to know, Mr. Crawfurd hcld\ was not so much the reviewer's opinion of a book as something about its contents. 1

The "Independent" of New York is r.-ther scathing in its review of Miss Corelli'r, "Holy Orders." "Miss Corelli," it says, "has always found it ensy to get off tho earth when she writes fiction —not that sho hai an ethereal imagination, but she is like the man Sir Gilbert Parker tells of, who w.is_ always 'devilling the stars.' To dovil the' stars is one of her peculiarities as a novelist. Another is to bo always in a quarrel about her books. There, is a preface t,o this volume addressed to her American readers in which sho claims tliatywo havo misunderstood her because we tak'? the London newspaper man's representation. She forgets that her books circulate freely in this country, and.that wo have alweys been able to understand the worst tfjnglisb fictidn without the-aid ! of London reporters.".

In spite of. international agreements book piracy is not- yet, it woi'H appear, an obsolete occupation. The editor of tho "Publishers' Circular" does not usually mince his words when hn-believes bo has a strong ease, and an article in his last week's issue contains extracts from tho letters of authors whjeh seem to five ampli justification: for the heading "Thomas B. Mosher, tho Amer'cou Book .Pirntn: A Warning to English. Booksellers."' Mr. L.iiig, for in-stance,-writes: —"To ire it seems unaccountable'that decent' British serials should publish his advertisements and- that, he should be allowed to, sell .'in'" this' 1 -' country what he. (steals'from; me!'. .. The illegality i>nd impudence are intolerable." • ,Mr. Meredith avers that ,"Mr._ Mosher, of Portland, Maine, printed and issued a porn of mine without sending a request and without paym?nt. l'k» book was well oreseuted." Mr. Maurice Hewlett testifies that "Mofher stole from me in '06, and he has gone on stealing since. Of course, he paid nothing, but with sublime impudence hp o nco sent me a copy of his plunder I" AVith such testimonv before him. the editor of the "Publishers' Circular" ouotes -Mr. 'Mosher as feeling "moro deeply'than ever the responsibility of;.my. individuality in bookmnki»g, . if. . such ], a phrase iVpermitVl. and that on this short day of Frost and I havo accomplished anything at all its issues out of the Ideal lying beyond Reality."

Dr. Robertson Nieoll. in * sneceb p f the annual rmth"ripcT of (ho E'lyibnrgh Booksellers tb" other eveiinis, said lie was "nfc afraid of the future of the pr?ss at all: —"He Mfc confident, in tho iror.nl sense nf tl'° peo r nK when fairly appealed to. a"d,he did not belicvo in Ihoso who talked about i m m«fnl nanor 1 !. unscrupulous panors. etc. If they told the people tbeir case. tb»v would semi nut, down immoral, nnso'-Mp'.'lnus, and dishonost journalism. British journalism' was undoubtedly the best in +he vhol" ivorld at tbe present moment. What he feared was that there, wonld be a preat. newspaper tr"st formed, in which tbe vhol" power of tl"». would be i" the hands of a few "'il- - billionaire nrop r i n 'ors. THt would not be good for tho British people,! and. he wps sure it wmild not be good' fcthe journalists themselves." . Dr. Nieoll added that he "loved independent, hehestfidhtiwi journalism, and bo boned tkit tb" great power of tho newsagent would bo i'»cd to/prevent tiff; establishment of'a trust.!'