BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 10, Issue 2982, 20 January 1917, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

The Vindication of Croat Britain. Mr. Harold Begbie's now book "The Vindication of Great Britain" (Methuen and Co.) is described on. its title page as a "study in diplomacy and strategy with reference to tho illusions of her critios and the problems of tho future." Primarily and nominally Mr. Begbie is concerned with proving that Great Britain honestly endeavoured to secure the permanent peace of the world,'- and that such a desire was st the bottom of all King Edward's personal concern with international affairs. Mr. Begbie has a second object in view, namely, the-defence of Lord Haldane" from the bitter, and at times personally off en-, sive, attacks to which that statesman lias been subjected, especially from tho Northcliffe, Press.

In his opening chapter,' "The Causes of the War," Mr. Begbie is, I am afraid, altogether too merciful to the Germans. He tries to prove, and very Laboriously, that ther is still a national. conscience in Germany, and would have' us believe that the war was at first unpopular with the Germans.- In view of what bas been put on record by persons —such as the French Ambassador to Berlin —who are far more to be accepted, as reliable witnesses on suoh matters than is Mr. Begbie, the author's view that the "Kaiser probably strove for peace" and was only "intellectually converted to the view, of the war party in the. summer of 1913" seems to me,, at least, unworthy of acceptance. On the other hand, Mr. Begbie's vindication of the late King Edward from the charge of deliberate and sustained enmity to Germany, a charge which is even to-day constantly boing repeated in the German Press, is very welcome. Mr. Begbie says:—

His (King Edward's) policy, having' seen the entente of-his own country with its ancient enemies, Russia and France, (concerning whom our Jingo. Press had quite recently ' been' uttering the most ferocious hatred and scorn);-was to persuade Germany, thus isolated and" imperilled, to make a fourth party in this grand alliance of the' Great Powers for. the peace of the'world. It cannot be too emphatically stated or too known that Edward the Seventh never' suggested, never supported, and never once entertained the notion, of isolating Germany. His mind was not destructive, but constructive. ,

As I have said, Mr. Begbie devotes a largo portion of his book to a defence of Lord Haldane against the charge that lie neglected'the national defences, and especially that he "turned down" the good advice given by theVt-e Lord Roberts on the subject of national service. - In establishing, as it is only fair to say he does, the injustice these attacks, Mr. Begbie is perhaps, too rhetorical, and allows certain personal political inclinations and prejudices to have too -unrestrained a sway. . At the same time he gives us chapter, and text in_ proof of his contention that a. grave injustice has been done to Lord Haldane. He tells us that Lord Haldane enjoyed the complete confidence of King Edward, and that his appointment as Minister of War in Campbell-Banner-man's Cabinet was made at the monarch's suggestion.-: } v.'.'!' J. Mr. Begbie discourses'afc length upon lord Haldane's work afc the WarOfficeV Various writers,. notably.- Mr.- Oliver in his "Ordeal by Battle," have attacked the Government for its alleged unpreparedness, and especially for not accepting Lord Roberts's views on nai tional service. But Mr'. Begbie tells, us that the party leaders of neitherside 'favoured national service on Lord •Roberts's plan. Lord Haldane' instructed the General Staff to'inquire, impartially, into the matter, and the opinion of the French General Staff was obtained. The result, says Mr. Begbie, was that—

after full consideration, National Service was rejected by tho General Staff of the British Army. It was rejeoted by the General Staff, after a most careful examination, on rational ; miiitary grounds, which commendcd themselves to the shrewd and careful judgment of King Edward's War Minister. It was definitely rejected because such a change would have utterly weakened, deranged, and probably destroyed our organisation for war. Above everything else, while the chango from'one system to another was T>eing made, there must have been a long and most perilous hiatus, a period of confusion, a time of > neither one thingnor the other, which would have been extremely tempting to a jealous enemy. In a time of profound peace sucli a change might'hare been attempted, but in a time when T!urope was constantly disturbed by political unrpst, no change of that kind could be made without the gravest danger.

Then, again, as to the. appointment of Lord Kitchener, a rumour was long current that Lord Haldane was unfavourable .to the appointment, and that the real credit for it is due to the "Daily Mail" and "Times," which howled for Kitchener just as loudly as not long before his lamented death these journals were calling for his retirement. As a matter, of fact, so Mr. Begbie says: ' That Lord Kitchoner should go to the War Office was. Loj'd Haldane's suggestion, a suggestion made at the very be.ginnning of the crisis; Mr. Asquith adopted this suggestion before the newspapers knew that war was declared; and only Foreign Office anxiety atiout Lord Kitchener's command in Egypt delayed the appointment for a dtty or two. These things are perfectly well known to everybody who has any acquaintance with tho history of those days. \i Again', with regard to the Navy, credit must be given to Lord Haldane, so says Mr. Begbie, for being the first statesman publicly to advocate the formation of "a North Sea Squadron" at a. time when practically overy new ship of. the British Fleet was concentrated in the Mediterranean, and a man-of-war under the white ensign was very infrequently' seen in tho i\ T orth Son.

It wilt be seen from the above quotations tliat Lord Haldane's conduct with regard to military and i naval matters was very far from being what it has been pictured by tlio Northcliffo press as being. Mr. Begbie, in bis obapter "Germany's Place in the World,!'raises several very debatable points, and his final chapter, "The Ordeal of Poace," contains many suggestions which at present at least appear to be of too TTtopian a character. But his book, disagree with tho author's arguments as tho readers may—and as many of them probably will—is undoubtedly a thoughtful and able examination of'the subjects dealt with! (N.Z. price, 7s. 6d.). "Soldiers' Spoken French." It was a happy thought 011 tho part of Mrs. Helene Cross (nee Helene Fodor), a well-known Christchurch lady, to prepare tho woll-planned and in every way excellent little-guide to French conversation which is published under, the title of "Soldiers' Spoken French" (Whitcombe and Tombs). The author is an expert authority on tho French language, and was therefore specially well fitted to porform the task she has laudably undertaken. In no other guide to conversational French with which I am acquainted has eo sue-

cessful an attempt been made to give an easily comprehensible phonetic pronunciation of French words and phrases. Another good feature about this'admirable manual is the commonnense exliibitcd. in' the choice of the various vocabularies. Any intelligent, decently educated soldier, albeit originally without the slightest knowledge of French, should bo able, with a few weeks' -careful study of Mrs. Cross's little book, to be able to make himself understood when asking simplo questions of a Frenchman, and to grasp the meaning of such necessarily simple language in which it is probable he would be addressed bv_ French people. I warmly commend this useful little book, produced, by the way, by its publishers in a specially convenient and attractive form, to the attention of otir soldiers. A copy of Mrs. Cross's book should find a place in the kit of every New Zealand officer and soldier who is going to tho Western front. As for those who are already there, they' would, I feel" sure, warmly wolcomo the j receipt of such a practically useful' gift. (Price,, 2s. 6t1.)