Walter P. Hall

STAHL, KATHLEEN M. British and Soviet Colonial Systems. Pp. ix, 114. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1951.

STAHL, KATHLEEN M. British and Soviet Colonial Systems. Pp. ix, 114. New York: Frederick A. Praeger, 1951.

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2.50. This little book presents a clear if brief analysis of British colonial administration, but when it attempts to do the same with that of the Soviets it breaks down. It could not well be otherwise in view of the scarcity of information as to what is taking place in Central Asia. Miss Stahl allots but thirty-five pages to the Russian side of her picture, and the scanty material which she does use consists largely of extracts from Stalin’s writings and from the Soviet constitution, all of which we have learned by experience is of dubious value. About the only contrast between the British and the Soviet system that is valid is that the former tends to

WATKINS, FREDERICK. The Political Tra dition of the West. Pp. xiv, 368. Cam bridge: Harvard University Press, 1948.

not significantly distressed by the fact. In analyzing human nature in the second lecture, on &dquo;The Justification of Freedom,&dquo; the author maintains that &dquo;what makes man man&dquo; is reason and control by truth, and conscience and his capacity to live under an ideal obligation. Thus human nature is not a matter of determinisms; its essence is moral freedom. The implications of this are that: (1) all men have the dignity attached to freedom; (2) our equality lies in this common dignity of freedom; and (3) this peculiar status makes each individual an end in himself. The third lecture, on &dquo;Freedom in Society,&dquo; wrestles with the problem of reconciling public order with private freedom. Freedom must be socially achieved, and &dquo;rights paired with duties.&dquo; However, the contemporary tendency is to multiply the imposed external controls, especially those of the state, in some countries by intention, and everywhere in effect. To this

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Lives of great men oft remind us that the lives of second-rate men, such as David Curtis DeForest, are necessary to round out the picture of the past. These men are not only more representative of their age; they are also less on guard against posterity, and leave it less refractory materials to work with than the marble and bronze of the great. Only a DeForest preserves for posterity a letter in which, addressing a business associate who is also

AULT, WARREN O. Europe in Modern Times. Pp. xvi, 859. Boston: D. C. Heath and Co., 1946.

not unimportant to know that, with all its imperfections and discounting the criticisms of enemies and the adulation of friends, the British Constitution illustrates admirably the political maxim which is the central theme of the discussions. This is not only an excellent book for the ordinary citizen, but it ought to be invaluable for students beginning the study of British constitutional law, especially in foreign jurisdictions. W. P. M. KENNEDY University of Toronto

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problems in Indo-China since the conquest. He views these problems as the result of an attempt to synthesize two utterly different types of civilization-the secular, republican, individual, and industrial system of France, and the religious, aristocratic, collectivist, and agricultural system of Indo-China. The author describes the change from a military to a civil government, the disastrous attempts