BOOKS OP THE DAY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2175, 13 June 1914, Page 11

BOOKS OP THE DAY.

MR. WELLS ON THE WORLD. Mr. Wells was, as quite a young man,' a schoolmaster: Ho has never got rid of the pedagoguish habit. On tho contrary, it grows upon him. His later novels are full of that "sermonising" which comes so naturally to the schoolmaster. Onco upon a timo ho taught youths elementary scicnco. Today he lays down the law to an adult audience, and has a broader range of subject. .But ever.ho is tolling thq world how to do it, and, perhaps, with a trifle greater insistence, how not to do it.. In his latest book, "An Englishman Looks at tho World" (Cassell and Co., per S. and W. Mackay). Mi. Wells gives the world the benefit of his contemplation of,' and thoughts, not a t'mv ; on political and social problems. But in- neither his point of A'iew nor in the manner of its.expression is he tho typical A fact,-no doubt, upton which Mr. Wells would rather pride himself than deny. For Mr. Wells holds that so far from everything being "as right as can be" in the' world, and, particularly ill the British world of. to-day, most tilings aro wofully, terribly wrong. It would bo hardly fair to call him a pessimist, but assuredly his spectacles are of blue or green rather than rose-tinted glass.

Backward John Bull. Especially is ho severe upon the deficiencies—quite a lhild term as compared with some- of ■ thoso -employed by Mr. Wells—of John Bull's education system. The foreigner of the middle and upper classes, "from which invention and enterprise come—or, in our own case, do not come—makes," ho says, "a better class of . man then we do.

' His' science is better than ours. His training is better than ours. His imagination is livelier. His mind is more active. His requirements in a novel, for example, aro hot kindly, sedative pap; his uiiconsored plays deal with reality. His schools are places for vigorous education instead of penteel athleticism, and his home has books in it, and thought and conversation. , Our homes and schools are relatively dull and inspiring; there is 110 intellectual guide or stir in thqm; and to that we owe this new generation of nicely-behaved, unenterprising sons, who play golf and dominate the tailoring of the world/while Brazilians, Frenchmen, Americans and Germans fly. ... \Vo seem to be doing feeble next-to-nothingsin ' tho endowment of research; Not oiie in twenty of the middlo and upper classes learns German or gets more than a misleading smattering , of physical science. . . . Moat of them never learn to speak French. ■ ... The universities are poor and spiritless, with no ambition to lead ; the country. . . . Wo still have our Derby Day, of course. Mr. Wells's fcfeal State, Mr. Wells is a Socialist, a pMo-; sopliical Socialist,although j I believe he has forsaked' his quandom associates of the Fabian Society. Did he not rudely caricature those good , "comrades," Mr. and Mrs. Sidney AVcbb, in one of his recent novels? Also, ho is not a Socialist of the G. I). "Pshaw" variety. Ho does not beljevo that the State could do anything and everything better than could tho individual. His _ ideal community is a community, of individual efficients— no drones or loafers encouraged or allowed on the premises—a community in which the man "will be neither under the slave tradition, nor a rebel, nor a vehement elemental man." -

. 1 Essentially lie will bo aristocratic, aristocratic nob in thd sense that lie has. slaves or class inferiors, because probably ho will liave nothing of tho sort, but aristocratic iii the sense that ho will feel the State belongs to him and ho to the State. Ho. will probably bo a public servant; at any rate, ho will be a man doing sonio work in tho complicated machinery of tho modern community for a salary and not for speculativo

, Mr. Wells goes one better, or _ as sonio of as may be pardoned for thinking, 0110 worse, than the ordinary land for he would nationalise all buildings as well as land I Tho daring of-these pedagogue-philosophers of today! -They would our-Georgo even tho defunct and venerated Henry of tho tribe, albeit, in another essay, Mr. Wejls speaks Quite slightingly of tho Socrates of San Francisco. "Tho Disease of Parliaments." Upon tho present British Parliamentary system our prophet-pedagogue is specially sovero. Tho special object of tho particular discourse bearing tho -above title, is to advocate proportional representation, bu. even Mr. Wolls admits that what ho calls "sano noting" may not be a short out to the millenium. "It is," ho says, "no way of changing human nature, and in tho new type of assembly, as in tho old, spite, vanity, indolence,' self-interest, and downright dishonesty will play their parti" England —especially Liberal England—has, ho thinks, relied too much in the past upon "progressive enfranchisement." At present, he says, there is a new situation, "tho discontent of the enfranchised, the contempt and hostility of tho voters for their elected delegates and Governments." After pointing out tha t tho discontented workers form effectivo voting majorities in many constituencies, send alleged Socialist and Labour representatives to Parliament, and havo their trades union officials elected officials, Mr. Wells remarks that nothing is now more evident than "tlieso Labour members and officials" and the like "do not speak for their supporters, and are ta and less able to control them." 111 the Syndicalist movement, in sabotago in France, and Larkinism in Great Britain ho sees (regarded from the point of view of social stability), "the most sinister demonstrations of the gathering anger of tho laboi/ring classes with representative institutions. "These arc angry a.nd vindictive movements. They have' behind them the most dangerous and terrible of purely human forces, the wrath, the blind destructive wrath, of a cheated crowd." He is severe 011 both parties. "The recent exposures of tho profound financial rottenness of the Liberal Party havo deepened," ho says, "tho public resolve to permit no such enlarged possibilities or corruption as Tariff Reform would afford their at lrast equally dubitabje opponents." "Contemporary politics"' is, he tolls us, for the most part ''forensic cla'j-trap.' "Official wire-pullers effectually bar the. election of men.of real intelligence." The Cabinet System. Under proportional representation,'such U his belief, Parliaments would become a '•gathering of prominent men instead 0. a means to prominence .... tho party supported Cabinet, which is now the real government of tho so-called democratic countries, woulrl ceaso to be so, and government would revert more and ir.oro to tho goneral assembly." And not only would the latter body resuino government, but it would also necessarily take in to

itself all those large and growing exponents of extra-parliamentary discontent that now darken tho social future. The case of tho armed "Unionist" rebel in Ulster, the caso of tho workman who engages ' in sabotage, tho caso for sympathetic strikes and tho general strike, all these cases aro identical in this, that they declare that Parliament is a fraud, .that justico lies outside it, and hopelessly outside it, and that to seek redress through Parliament is a waste of time and energy. San© voting .would deprivo all these destructive movements of tho ex- . euso ana necessity for'violence. This is not a column in which politics should bo or may bo discussed, but this much may and can bo said, that even thoso. who may differ most emphatically from many of the theories and arguments set forth in the chapter headed "The Labour- Unrest," "Tho Great State," and "The Disease of Parliament," must admit that much of what our prophet pedagogue says "gives furiously to think," as tho French ex-1 pression goes. Warfare and Efficicncy. In view of certain recent and muchdiscussed pronouncements on Dreadnoughts and submarines, etc.—by Admiral Sir Percy, Scott, Mr. Wells's "anticipations"—he has used the term as tho title of a previous work— on naval warfare largely support tlio theory that the "moro Dreadnoughts" cry has been a mistake. It is not an instance of "I.told you so," although Mr. Wells, as the author of "The War in tho Air," might well be. excused that expression. But it is clear he is honestly, sincerely, and most terribly in earnest -in his belief that it would be next door to open insanity, mere "midsummer madness" for John Bull—or John Bull's oversea sons —to rely wholly on the Dreadnoughts. Mr. Wells is convinced that wo "are spending upon tho things of yesterday tho money that is sorely needed for tiie things of to-morrow." Well, "to get down to dots," what does hs suggest? This: "A greater supply of able, educated men,, versatile men capable of engines, of aviation, of invention, of leading, and initiative." Wo need moro laboratories, more scholarships out of tho general mass of elementary scholars, .a quasi-mili-tary discipline in our colleges, and a great array of new colleges, a much readier accoss_ to instructionin aviation and military and naval practico .... let us -begin at the top. Let us begin with tho educated and propertied classes ; and exact a couplo of years' service in a destroyer or a waterplane, or on an airship, or in a research laboratory, or a training camp, from tho sons of everybody, who, let us say, pays incomo tax without deduc- ; tions; . Excellent,, i' faith, but, really, what about young John Bull's golf practice? And also, the sauco for the gooso being, proverbally, good for tho gander, what about Mr; Wells's own attacks, jn other chapters of his book, on "conscription"? If it bo good and proper, and ri»ht and wiso,, State —oh, blessed .term!—to insist 1 , upon Gerald Guy Montmorency do Vere-Tompkyns "putting' in" his two years on a waterplane, or- in a "research laboratory, then, assuredly, plain John Jones or Bill Smith must not be coddled up by pedagogue philosophers, or anybody else,- in the belief that his duty to the State is to lie low and spend lus spare time ill witnessing a "soccer' final or aßucby Union finish. %

The range of subjects in Mr. Wells's new book is agreeably wide. He lectures, for instance, on the future of warfare, about Traffic in and the Rebuilding of cities, on tho Endowment of Mothorhood; lie waxes as satirical (if not so ill-naturedly so), as does G.B.S. on Doctors and their ways; ho indulges in many ingenious theories and predictions as to. Coming Inventions and Possible Discoveries j he railv banters thoso rival literary and social philosophers, Messrs. Belloc and Chesterton: ho discourses on tho Contemporary Novel, and makes a rather unexpected (from this quarter) attack on certain latter-day arguments for greater freedom in Divorce. Lverywhere and always ho is fresh, stimulate iu", and thought-provoking. He is rarely rhetorical, and generally gets severely "down to the dots .as the Americans, say. You _ may like or dislike his theories, but it is, 1 think, impossible to say, conscientiously, tha.t they should bo contemptuously ignored. (Price 65.) THE PROBLEM OF THE NEW , HEBRIDES.

During the past three or four years, and more particularly within the last few months, many sensational statements have been made as to the alleged failure of the Anglo-French Condominium in the New Hebrides Group, which was 'established as tho result of an Anglo-French Convention in 1906. Allowance being made for a certain amount of prejudice on tho part of those who havo claimed that the Condominium is a complete failure, and that in particular'the treatment of British missionaries and traders, to say nothing of the natives, by the French officials, lias hceu at times grossly unjust, thcro is a very general opinion in Australia that tho • joint control should bo succeeded, and that as soon as possible, by some more efficient form of administration. This is an opinion which will bo found to bo strongly supported by the interesting facts and figures placed before the public in a book entitled "France and England in tho Now Hebrides" (George Robertson ami Co.), tho author of which, Mr. Edward Jacomb, is a barrister-at-law, practising at Villa, tlift principal European settlement in tho Group. Mr. Jacomb, who has been a resident in the New Hebrides for some years, declares that lie has endeavoured to be strictly accurate as to facts and to have drawn nono but fair inferences from them. He certainly makes out a very strong case for a change in the existing ' methods of administration, which is. by the way, tho subject of diplomatic negotiations now proceeding between the British and French Governments. After giving a useful sketch of the history of tho Group up till December 2, 1907, when the Condominium came into force, Mr. Jacouib describes 1 the official rrethods of tho Administration as they affcet the European traders 'the missionaries, and tho natives; next proceeding to deal, in turn, with (ho oompnsitioji of tne Joint Court, ana tho Joint Naval Commission, with land and labour questions, and tho position of tho missionaries. Ho is specially sevtre upon tho fltronuly pi o-.li rcnch leanings oF the Joint Court, from tho decisions of which, bv the way, can bo no appeal, and gives details or various oasos in which, so ho contends, gr'iive injustice has been done. Much liai been heard of tho allegedly hostile attitude of iho missionaries, especially the members of Iho Presbyterian Mission, towards the French officials, and it has boon hinted in iuoreihan ono Austialian journal that purely personal and improperly interested motives havo actuated much of tho criticism wlikjli, from tho missiouarr side, has fouud it« way into the Sjducy. and Mel-

bourno Press. Mr. Jacomb, it is clear, holds 110 special brief for tlio missionaries. Ho blames them for waste of energy in certain directions, for .not endeavouring to preserve, permanently, the knowledge thoy havo individually acquired of native customs and tongues, and for having," in their anxiety for the. spiritual welfare of tho natives, insisted too pronouncedly on tho adoption of European clothing and customs imsuitablo to tho local environment; and, yet again, for not paying more attention to the teaching of useful arts. Nevertheless, Mr. Jacomb's final verdict on tlio missionaries is eminontly favourable.

"The fact remains," ho says, "that tho missionaries havo been, throughout ■ tho history of tho Group, the truest friends tho natives have ever had, and they are still their best friends. 'Without hope of material gam, from a pure feeling of justic'o and fa.ir play, they have given many lives and much money to tho cause they • bolievo in, and havo not hesitated to speak out against oppression and tyraiiny whenever occasion called. An impartial estimate of their work and methods must always grant them a genuine tribute of real and deep admiration. Mission work is the one bright spot in New Hebridean history." , Mr. Jacomb gives chapter and text for tho charges lie brings against French influenco and methods in tho Group. Whatever ■ be tlio political future of the New Hebrides —and the author does not disguise his opinion that sooner or lato.r tlio Group, and with it News.Caledonia, must become Australian —it is absolutely certain, ho argues, that tho existing experiment of join control lias been a disastrous failure. Mr. Jacomb's book is one which should be read by all who aro interested in this future of the Western Pacific. Some illustrations and a map of tlio Group aro given, and a useful featuro is the full text, given in the appendices, of tho Anglo-French Convention. (Price, os.) n