it in these pages would be to miss the real meaning of one set of Papers, for by errors of this kind are Empires lost.

Another blunder which showed a fundamental misconception of the conditions under which the war would have to be fought is to be found in the instruction sent to the Colonies-"Infantry most, cavalry least serviceable." The point need not be laboured. It is so much more agreeable to turn to the evidence the Papers afford of the ready loyalty of the Empire, the eagerness with which the Colonies sprang to arms. This is not, of course, the first time Colonial troops have been engaged in fighting for the Crown, for Canadians and Australians have seen service in the Soudan; but it is the first time England has been taught to regard the Colonies as a valuable military reserve. The political importance of the Colonial offers of troops and of the unbroken series of formal expressions of approval of the policy of the Central Government can hardly be over-rated. Indications such as these of the real unity of the Empire mark the beginning of a new era, which may reasonably be expected to lead to a more formal Federation. South Africa alas! presents the sole example of disunity; and how deep-seated is the division there, and particularly in Cape Colony, can best be appreciated by a study of the Documents showing the extent and nature of the rebellion among our Dutch fellow-subjects.

With purely military blunders in the field this Review need not be concerned. The Despatches speak for themselves. Error and censure are written plainly across many of them. Nor need space be wasted in elucidation of the distasteful fact that Lord Lansdowne as Secretary of State for War suggested that Sir Redvers Buller should re-write his account of Spion Kop. The gloss that was put upon this request by the ever chivalrous Mr. Balfour when the subject was debated in Parliament disappears the moment the telegraphic communications are examined; and the one man who emerges with credit from the interchange of messages is Sir Redvers Buller, who stood by what he had originally written, and declined to rehash it for consumption outside the War Office. The incident is instructive because it suggests the lengths to which Governments will go in keeping the public in a dim half light when it is beyond their power to produce total darkness. Secretaries of State are still the victims of a craven fear of publicity, which is, however, the best check upon their errors and on the incapacity of those for whom they are responsible to the nation. The Hospitals Commission furnishes a case in point. But for Mr. BurdettCoutts' letters to the Times the probability is that there would have been no inquiry. The Report is, on the whole, favourable to the Army. It at least shows that in no previous war have arrangements for the treatment of sick and wounded been so elaborate or worked so well. But it also reveals that the authorities had no true conception of the medical problem before them, that there was a serious deficiency in the strength of the Army Medical Corps, and that the increases that had been asked for by the Director

General before the war had been denied him. It is the old story of want of prevision. The War Office did not expect war on so great a scale in South Africa; they were not, in fact, medically equipped for a great war at all; they had only sufficient men and means for so much as two Army Corps; and as soon as their organisation was subjected to strain there were delays and breakdowns. Though they did better than they have ever done before, they did not do well enough, or so well as they ought to have done and might have done. That is the essential meaning of the Report, apart from the question of the forced march to the north, when, as a matter of judgment and military necessity, medical and every other kind of transport was cut down to the lowest possible limit.

The remaining South African Documents are of a miscellaneous character, and do not call for further treatment than is given them in the body of this work. The most important of them is the shortest-Lord Salisbury's reply to the Presidents' overtures for peace. It is a masterly exposition of the origin of the war and of the policy of the Government. The entire story is packed into six or seven hundred words. Next in order of political interest come the despatches exchanged with Germany on the subject of the seizure of the Bundesrath and other vessels. These documents create a suspicion that at least in one case-the Herzog-there was contraband on board, and that release was due not so much to the innocence of the vessels as to the clamorous protests of the German Government-protests couched in terms so brusque and unfriendly as to call down upon their authors a caustic rebuke from Lord Salisbury. The avoidance of friction with Germany was, however, worth some sacrifice, and no great harm was done if the provisions the Herzog contained did reach the enemy. It was not, however, very gratifying to the sense of national pride to learn that Count von Bülow had declared in the Reichstag that Great Britain had expressed regret to Germany for the seizures. On the other hand, Germany did not carry her point that, according to the recognised principles of international law no question of contraband arises in trade between neutral ports. Lord Salisbury had little difficulty in proving that no such principle existed. Finally, there are the various military and other Proclamations issued in South Africacurious commentaries, each and all of them, on the immediate failure either of the policy of leniency or of severity, and of the ineffectiveness of mere Proclamations in bringing hostilities to a close.

The China and South African Documents are of such engrossing interest that those relating to other parts of the world are likely to be overlooked except by those who have occasion to refer to them. Mention should be made here of the preliminary report by Sir H. H. Johnston on Uganda; of Lord Cromer's account of the condition of Egypt and the Soudan, the chief feature of which is the growing prosperity of Egypt and the slowness with which the Soudan provinces are recovering from the Dervish tyranny; the Ashanti War Despatches; the Anglo-American Convention supplementary to

the Clayton-Bulwer Treaty; the West India Reports and Contracts, showing a slow but steady revival in that part of our Dominions; the Documents dealing with the Army, Navy, and Finances; the Report of the Royal Commission on the London Water Supply; and the reports of various committees. The list here given is not, of course, exhaustive, as a glance at the index will show. So far as the writer is aware no Document of present importance or likely to prove to be of future interest has escaped examination.

POLITICAL SECTION.

[All Articles are arranged alphabetically, and, where possible, are grouped under a general heading. Thus matters relating to Africa-including Egypt and the Soudan-are dealt with in alphabetical order under Africa. Each section of the book is, therefore, as far as practicable, self-indexing; but on pp. 279-280 a full Index is printed which will facilitate reference to subjects upon which Official Documents have been published, and also to the leading points of the analysis in euch case.]

uneasiness which required careful treatment. The policy has been to dispel from their minds any illusion that the Queen requires the help of natives in maintaining her authority in her South African dominions, so far as Europeans are concerned. It is natural, however, that some of the chiefs should have regarded a serious misunderstanding between English and Dutch as their opportunity to shake free of any fetters that were uncongenial, and to embarrass the Government. The question of taxation, upon which your Excellency addressed the Paramount Chief personally last year, was seized upon by one or two men of rank, notably Jonathan Molapo, whose example to Lerothodi's son and heir, Letsie, had the effect of inducing the latter to constitute himself a leader of opposition.

In justice to the Paramount Chief, I must say that any wavering he displayed was due to the difficulty he experienced with his eldest son in particular. Desirous as he may be of supporting the Government in maintaining order, Lerothodi becomes at times paralysed by the injudicious conduct of his children, whom he hesitates to control as they should be controlled. He cannot be fairly brought to see that the duties of Paramount Chief transcend the affection of a father, and that children having tribal powers must subordinate themselves to his authority.

On the labour question, Sir Godfrey Lagden says:

Though for its size and population Basutoland produces a comparatively enormous quantity of grain, it has an industry of great economic value to South Africa, viz., the output of native labour. It supplies the sinews of agriculture in the Orange Free State; to a large extent it keeps going railway works, coal-mining, the diamond mines at Jagersfontein and Kimberley, the gold mines of the Transvaal, and furnishes, in addition, a large proportion of domestic servants in the surrounding territories.

The number of men who received passes for labour during the year under review amounted to 37,371.

These facts are the best rejoinder to those who urge that Basutoland is a useless native reserve. To others, who urge higher education of the natives, it may be pointed out that to educate them above labour would be a huge mistake. Primarily the native labour industry supplies a dominant want, and secondly, it tends to fertilize native territories with cash which is at once diffused in exchange for English goods.

The reports from the various districts contain nothing of permanent interest. The attitude of the Basutos during the war was unexceptionable. The following tele

From Resident Commissioner, Maseru, Basutoland, to the High Commissioner,The Paramount Chief with his sons and other chiefs have been here for the last few days. Lerothodi requests respectfully to be allowed to express to you, and to ask you to forward his thankfulness and congratulations for the victories gained by Her Majesty's Government over the Queen's enemies; to reiterate his expression of loyalty on behalf of himself and people. I beg your Excellency will be pleased to accept the message which was announced in public and cordially greeted.-LAGDEN.

From the High Commissioner to the Resident Commissioner, Basutoland,Please inform the Paramount Chief that I have pleasure in receiving and in forwarding for submission to Her Majesty the expression his thankfulness and congratulations for the victories gained by Her Majesty's troops, and I take this opportunity of expressing my approbation of the loyalty shown by the Paramount Chief and the great bulk of the Basutos during the trying period they have just passed through. I feel confident that they will continue in the future, as in the past, to be faithful and obedient to you as Her Majesty's representative, and will thereby continue to deserve her protection and goodwill.

[Cd. 431]. This Report by Sir Godfrey Lagden covers affairs for the year ending June 30th, 1900, and is devoted chiefly to a review of the political situation in the Reserve as it was effected by the war. Sir Godfrey shows that before the issue of the Boer Ultimatum Dutch intrigues were on foot with the object of winning the Basutos and shaking their faith in the British power:

That the Basuto nation was at heart more loyal to the English than to the Dutch could never be doubted. But history had taught its lessons from which it was fairly deduced that there lay a great danger to natives in being on the losing side. No more reasonable ground than uncertainty was therefore required for them to affect the deepest loyalty to the Queen whilst exhibiting secretly to the enemy a coquettish and friendly disposition until time should reveal the dominant race in South Africa. For many years it had appeared doubtful whether the dominance lay with the English or Dutch.

As the end is now approaching by which the position of Great Britain in South Africa is to be more clearly defined and maintained, it seems undesirable to be too critical in illustrating individual intrigue. Generally speaking, I do not believe that there were any chiefs in Basutoland who