BOOKS OF THE DAY

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 134, 23 February 1918, Page 11

BOOKS OF THE DAY

The Oppressed English. Under tho title of "The Oppressed English" (Angus and Robertson; per S.and TV. Mackay), Mr. Lan Hay (Captain lan Hay Beith) author of "Tlio First Hundred Thousand,'' iias written a very outspoken and very amusing little book on tho Irish question. Captain Hay challenges, in a vein of gentle but effective satire, the claim of Ireland to consider itself oppressed under British rule. On tho contrary, he shows how Ireland enjoys much more freedom to-day than her so-called oppressor. He exposes with force aud logic the stupid mendacities of the professional exploiters on both sides of the Atlantic of Erin's alleged wrongs. Ireland has, ho points out, escaped tho national insurance scheme and conscription. "To the black sliaino and grief of every true Irishman," says Captain Hay, "Ireland to-day stands officially aloor and alone in tho struggle for liberty and humanity." As to the agrarian question, the author remarks, that -under Mr. Wyndham'3 Laud Purchase Act the Irish tenants were enabled to "buy" their farms from the landlords, a board deciding between tho values placed on the property by the landlord and tenant respectively, tho difference being met by the English taxpayer. "This little experiment in philanthropy," -says tho author, "cost the tyrannical English considerably more than five hundred' million dollars (£100,000,000). Under the provisions of the Avyndham Act every Irish peasant is his own proprietor. Evictions are a thinjj of the past. And yet how often is tins fact so much as admitted by soulful exploiters of Erin's wrongs in America or tho Dominions?" Captain Hay skilfully analyses the Irish political parties. Of each of the first three, the, official Nationalists, tho Protestants of the North, and the Unionists of the South and West, he writes in relatively sympathetic terms. It is otherwise when he comes to deal with the openly-disloyal Sinn Fein: lastly, that • curious medley of brooding visionaries—ever the prey of the agitator—political place-hunters, subsidised pro-Germa!ns, and ordinary cut-throats, ■ which calls itself Siun 1 Ji'ein. This interesting organisation is actuated by a variety of sentiments, varying from a passionate remembrance of woes long past down to a sound business instinct Jor the loaves and fishes of salaried _ office. ; The tie which binds together all its incongruous elements is a fierce hatred of England, derived possibly ( from the remembrance that rather more than two centuries ago Oliver Cromwell sacked the fair city of Drogheda, or in certain individual cases, from a lively recollection of having been committed to gaol for three months by a tyrannical magistrate for the trifling indiscretion of burglary or theft. Captain Hay playfully, satirises not a fow English foibles_and faults, and can be on occasion satirically humorous at the expense of liis own countrymen across the Tweed. His closing remarks are delightfully sarcastic,: I have said enough to demonstrate to unbiassed observers the present deplorable state of that unfortunate country, England.- To-day her chief officos of State .ire, occupied by Scotsmen of the most ruthless type; Wales supplies her with Prime Ministers, while Ireland appropriates her spare cash, aiul calls her a bloodsucker. When tho War is over, and the world has leisure to devote itself to certain long-postponed domestic reforms, it is devoutly to be hoped that the case.of that unhappy, but not. undeserving neople, the English, may bo taken in hand, and they be granted some measure, however slight, of political freedom. After that we must do something for Poland. j Captain Hay's amusing . little brochuro, which has enjoyed an immense circulation in the United States, where its author (011 leave fi'olll the front) was reecntly lecturing oil the Allies' cause, was forbidden publication in Great Britain, exactlv why it is difficult to understand. The presentedition, an Australian reprint, will nc doubt have a large sale in this country. (Price Is. 3d.) Almost Human. Iu a handsomely-produced volume, "Almost Human: Reminiscences from the Melbourne Zoo" (Melbourne; Whitcombe aud Tombs), Mrs. A. It. Osborn gives Tis'the Tesults of her- many-inter-views with Mr. A. A. W. Wilkie, overseer at the Melbourne Zoological Gardens. Mr. Wilkie has for half a century been on intimate - familiarity with the numerous birds, beasts and reptiles•whose habits and idiosyncrasies are described in this fascinating book. He has provided the facts, and Mrs. Osborn's skilful .and graceful pen has givet them a very pleasant literary setting. In a - brief preface to the liook, Mr. Short, editor of the Melbourne 'Leader," in which journal, in an abbreviated form, Mrs. Osborn's sketches- first appeared, .reminds us that animal life, while differing from the human, has many of its characteristics, and we may see mirrored in their ways an adumbration of the feelings and motives which influence our own actions. Animals are responsive to" kindr.ess\ always allowing for the legacy of hereditary incentive, are subject to rages, and often display an astonishing capacity for memory. : There is evon', Mr. Short contends, evidence of actual reasoning power.' Mr. Wilkie tells some quite wonderful stories of the -intelligence exhibited by certain of his charges. . The book contains many amusing anecdotes, and is not only a most entertaining but a valuable addition to tho literature of popular zoology. Somo of Mr. Wi'.kie's stories would be difficult to beliove were not their credibility vouched for by such an expert authority. The bright and. essentially readable style in which Mrs. Osborn lias presented Mr. Wilkie',s studies arid reminiscences is most engaging! The illustrations, of which there are a large number, including many full-page plates, are an exceptionally attractive feature of the book. They are all reproductions of photographs taken specially for the work, and constitute a zodlogical portrait gallery of considerable interest. As a gift book for young people, or as an addition to a household library, "Almost Human" should be widely popular. (Price, 7s. 6d.)