THE BRITANNICA

Dominion, Volume 23, Issue 220, 13 June 1930, Page 10

THE BRITANNICA

New Edition in* Library SOME MISTAKES ' The new complete edition of the Encyclopaedia Britannica is the latest acquisition of the Wellington Public Library. Nicely bound in red, in 24 volumes, the fourteenth edition now rests in the place formerly occupied by the 32 leather-bound volumes which comprised the last complete edition of the national book of knowledge. . Much thinner paper than that in the previous edition has now been used, and is one of the factors which have resulted in a saving of space. Though the same style of typography has been maintained, journalism hds been called in to destroy the bleakness of the pages which was so marked a feature of the previous edition. A system of sub-headings similar to those used in lengthy newspaper articles has v been introduced, and besides lightening the dull pages of type it also acts as a running index ,to each section. The New Zealand section occupies 12J pages as against 8 in the twelfth edition, which, in itself, may be regarded as satisfactory. The historical portion of the section has been -written by the Hou. W. P. Reeves; that on military defence by Major-General Sir George Aston, K.C.8., lecturer in naval history at the University College, London, while the naval section is by Captain S. T. H. Wilton, R.N. (retired), late assistant director of naval ordnance. Admiralty, London. Strangely enough, the section dealing with the political organisation comes from the Pen of Professor H. J. Fleure, D.Sc.. professor of geography and anthropology in the University College .of Wales. The remainder of the article dealing with population, immigration, education, finaqee, agriculture, ami land settlement has ’ been contributed by Mr. H..JT. B. Drew, director of publicity in London, formerly a well-known Wellington journalist. The matter of the new edition is deserving of comment, but not of unreserved praise.

The New Zealand section contains an illustration of a Maori wrapped in a native cloak near the end of a pa, so that the “god” is shown. The first impression on reading the title is that New Zealand must be somewhere near Alaska for ft is “a Maori warrior beside a totempole.” And this is published “by courtesy of tho Canadian-Pacific Steamship Company.” But this is not the only piece of the contents where complaint may be made. Notwithstanding the large amount of interest which the subject of medals bears, due to the war, the section dealing with medals which occupied eighteen pages in the old edition, has become a subsection of “numismatics.” Descriptions of the awards arc meagre and misleading, and although a list of bars to the British for naval services was announced in 1020, the Britannica says “No battle clasps have yet been issued fnr tho World War.’’ Upon looking nt the German section, it is found that the real war medals have been omitted, nnd instead, n list of the commemorative mednls struck for such '■".•its as the sinking of the Lusitania, von Kluek’s march on Paris, nnd the Zeppelin raids over London have been included. Under knighthood, all the beautiful plates of the decorations so necessary to the understanding of the subject, which wei-e in the twelfth edition, have been withdrawn, though extracts from the original article which have been used can be clenrlv distinguished. Under “newspapers” the short paragraph devoted to this country .announces that Invercargill has two morning papers, whereas it has only one morning nnd one ■ ing journal. . It seems a pity that. a work which has "iiined such a reputation as the Britannica should contain such lapses ns those, and in view of the policy which is being •"•sued of issuing complete editons only once in many years, this is doubly to be regretted.