BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 9, Issue 2699, 19 February 1916, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

THE NORTHERN TERRITORY OF AUSTRALIA. of the matter contained in Hiss Elsie ft. Masson's book, "An Untamed Territory: Tlie Northern Territory of Australia" (Macmillan and Co.), has already appeared in print in tlie form of articles contributed to the Melbourne "Argus" and various New Zealand journals. The a-rticlos were, however, well worth repeating in book form, affording as they do an interesting and instructive account of the huge, thinly inhabited,, but fertile and potentially wealthy territory with which they deal. At Port Darwin the cosmopolitan character of the population renders the place for a time at least very picturesque to the visitor. Insect pests are troublesome, and the heat of course is very oppressive, but of rccent years residence in Darwin has become .. much more tolerable. Miss Masson gives a lively description of the curiously composed population of the place, wbicl includes so many Chinese and Japanese. The servant question is a difficult one for new arrivals to solve. In Darwin uo such person as a white servant can be found. A Chinese cook is sometimes procurable, being a much-coveted p'rijso. For the most part, however, the residents have to depend upon aboriginal help. The block boys and "missies" are fairly honest and develop in . time much more respect for cleanliness and a much greater intelligence than newcomers at first give them credit for. The chief trouble is that- they are so "casual." Miss Masson writes:—

George has no specified day off, but he takes one whenever he feels inclined, sometimes to the great inconvenence of the household. On his return, Boss "plenty growl." "What for you go out to-day?" he asks. "Corroboree—my brudders and sisters," answers George. He, seems to have an endles supply of brothers and sisters, who pass their days in holding corroborees. "Want ..go see my sister to-day, Missus," he says. ."Where is your sister?" "He louga hospital." "What name your sister?" asks a suspicious missus. A long pause. "Maudie, I think," answers George, carelessly. The missus at last tells George he really must not .go to any more corroborees, whereupon George retaliates by bringing the corroboree there. Suddenly there is a burst of Boise from the backyard, clapping of hands, buzzing of bamboo pipes, and endless chanting of a monotonous refrain, varied by shrieks of laughter. After an hour of this Boss brings .the corroboree to an end. George, however, invites his friends to spend' the night, and next morning in the backyard thero ' aro five sleeping blacks, under blue blankets, instead of one. ? The author describes the leading industries of the Territory, pearling, tortoiseshell collecting, buffalo shooting (for the skins),, mining, and cattlebreeding, and : gives an interesting account of tlie country gecerally. The Territory, she thinks, has a prosperous future before it if only the right kind of settlors aro attracted. Every year there is less trouble with tho blacks, although ■ the Chinese exercise a mischievous influence over ' them, ' ""enslaving them with cheap grog' and opium to' which they fall easy victims." In courso of time, with the extension of the Tailway and tho development of the mines, a white population will, predicts the author, increase and multiply. "The last Asiatics will dio or return to their homes, and the strange flavour of the East will pass away." A greater respect for law aud older is every year being shown, and cases of serious crime are comparatively rare. Tho administration of justice still proceeds, however, on unconventional lines. ' For instance, in tbe course of her account of a murder trial at Port Darwin, the author gives somo amusing examples of the pigeon-English which has perforce to be employed when aboriginal witnesses are being examined. One. illustrates the way in which the Judge administered the oath to a black witness, "a short, stout "lubra, dressed in a blue cotton frock, and a red handkerchief round her neck, curlyhaired, with sad eyes, like a dear old retriever dog."

Tho Judge said, pointing to the prisoners; 'Now, 'Ada, you savvy those blackfella there?" "Yaas, me savvy." "You see those white gentlemen there?" (motioning towards the jury). "Yaas, mo see 'em." "All right, Ada. Now, you tell those gentlemen all you savvy about those blackfella. And you talk straight fella." "Yaas." "And loud fella." "Yaas."

The book, which contains a number of illustrations, some depicting the scenery of the Territory; others various native types,: is dedicated to Dr. J. -A. Gilmth, formerly of Wellington, and now Administrator of tho Northern Territory, and Ms. Gilruth. (N.Z. price, 7s 6d.)

WARS OF THE OLDEN TIME. Now that, alas, "wars and rumours of wars" constitute the staple of so much of our daily conversation, a wellwritten narrative record of some of tbe great wars of ancient times is possessed of special interest. Such a work is Mr. Alfred Miles's "Wars of the Olden Times—Abraham to Cromwell" (Stanley Paul and Co.). Without pretending to be a complete history of the period covered, Mr. Miles's book deals with the wars of the Hebrews, the wars of Ancient Greece and Home, the wars of Alexander the Great, Hannibal, the Scipios, Julius Caesar, Alfred the Great, the Crusaders, and the wars of England, from the Norman Conquest to the end of the English Civil War, including descriptions of the chief battles, connected by synopses of intervening events. The history will, the author tells us, be continued in due courso to tho close of the great war now in progress. Mr. Miles has drawn much valuable material from tho pages of tho great historians of the world, and his narrative generally is characterised by commendable clearness, and, where occasion demands, by an impressively dramatic style. The interest and value of the volume are considerably enhanced by the illustrations, of whidh there aro a large number, many being reproductions of battle scenes by artists of repute ; others showing tbe costumes and weapons of the various periods dealt with. Tbe synopsis of events which follows each chapter is a very useful feature of a volumo which should bo very popular, and whicli would form an excellent gift or prize book for young people. (Now Zealand price, 65.)

Jean Webster, author of "Daddy Long Legs" and other popular stories, is a grand-niece of the late Mark Twain. She was married recently to a New York lawyer, who is to have a doublo as the Scots surgeon in Miss Webster's novel. "Dear Enemj."