THE BOOKMAN

Evening Post, Volume CII, Issue 62, 10 September 1921, Page 15

THE BOOKMAN

"Down Under With the Prince." By Everard Cotes. London : Methuen and Co. Mr. Cotes was one of the prees eoriej Bpondents with the Prince of Wales on his Australiau and New Zealand tour. It is of that section in the Royal itinerary of which Mr. Cotes more particularly writes in this book. His style is easy, fluent, and essentially journalistic. He made a close personal study of the •Prince, and as the result of his observations concluded that the Heir to the Throne is as "diffident as, say,-the officer who blocked Zeebrugge Harbour or the flight lieutenant who brought down 'the first Zeppelin-over London. The (touch is British affid of the essence. It is <ar> odd inconsistency of race consciousness whioh makes us recognise and take ipride in it, but we do." The Prince, as ithe writer found, possesses the almost divine gift of tact. "There ie never, a Ihint of boredom in his face or beaTing" ; but, from Mr. Cotes's description of come ■incidents of the tour, there was reason enough for the Prince to have been ■bored to death. Mr. Cotes holds it to-be "no depreciation of the personal magnetism of the H«ir to the Throne id say that he brought to light and stimulated Imperial ©nthufiiaism already existing below the surface, and waiting only to be evoked, rather than that he created anything not already in being. Beside, the charm, the buoyancy of youth, he has the romance of an epoch of world history, full of possibilities for the peoples who ■live under the British flag. To this ■romance he contributes all that he is, ■and he .contributes it in the most whole-, hearted manner." Writing of the New Zealand tour, Mr. 'Cotes first describes Mr! Massey as "that embodiment of notable ability, kindly gooH sense, and unquenchable spirit." The little difficulty that arose between the Railway Department and the locomotive drivers when the Prince was at Rotorua is also referred to, and praise is bestowed upon the New Zealand tAmalgamated Society of Railway Servants for, its part in the a3justment. The incident left Mr. Cotes to remark : "Industrial discontent is more manageable in a. country where a-great majority of the men own. their own homes and the half-acre that surrounds them." Mr. Cotes made some discoveries in New Zealand that trill come as a surprise to some who live here, and among them he attributes fame, to Taranaki .for production^ of "a , particularly delectablo^ Stilton." A -wellknown New Zealand journalist •till in newspaper practice is described a* "Professor Guy Scholefield, who- holds the Chair of English' Literature at the University of Dunedin." ■ i The author of "Down. Under With the Prince" has not quiteth* same opinion of New Zealand politics and politicians as Lord Bryce, for, as he eees things: "It is impossible to travel through New Zealand and to meet the men it sends into public life wrtiout being .impressed by the high character, moderation, and conservativeneES which characterise politics in this Dominion." Mr. Cotes's record of the tour is most entertaining to read, and is a valuable contribution to the literater* of a great •event in. the history of the British Empire.

"An Empire View of the Empire Tangle." By E. 0. Mousley. Mr. Mousley originally came from Palmerston North, and subsequently was a master of King's College, Auckland. He did research law work at Cambridge before the war, and was then with General Townshend'a 'force in Meaopo: tainia, where he was in captivity for a long period. Recently he has been Chief Legislative Draftsman in the Judicial Department of Mesopotamia, at Bagdad, but he hag now returned to London. His interest in the question of British Constitutional Law and his study of it have extended over a number of years, and though probably he is unable to unravel the tangle, he has, in the book to be published, made a very clear statement of the difficulties to be faced. "The principle of partnership 'in a family of nations is recognised and admitted," says Mr. Massey in the preface to the volume. "Concerning'this theue is no difficulty, neither is there any desire or possibility, of interference with an autonomy of the overseas countries. What i« wanted, however, is a clear understanding as between the different portions of the Empire, so that they will be able to take up their duties and responsibilities as well as enjoy their rights and privileges without friction in the future when changing conditions : may bring difficulties in their train. That 6nd may not be reached just yet, but Mr. Mousley's book will help to elucidate what at1 present may appear ■ to, be a complicated problem." The Post's London correspondent writes that in his first chapter Mr. Mousley has gathered together extracts from expressions of public opinion in the Dominions which show how diverse are the view-points on this very difficult problem of Empire. But.he points out the importance of finding at least one common standpoint between us all. The reasons for these special points of view are thus given: "In South Africa the Nationalist movement sees in the League a possibility, of ' absolute autonomy. The recent election on the issue oK secession decided overwhelmingly for Empire, but the heterogeneous races and the Boer War still' bias the politics of South Africa. Australia is herself a Commonwealth and strongly conscious of growing individuality. She has and would retain great purity of race. In size the equal of Europe, with a population less than London, she fears the covetous Asiatic millions over the sea | and plumps for a Monroe doctrine in the Pacific. It is to be noted she cannot defend herself or afford to pay for her defence. New Zealand is alone in' the ocean. In size, features, climate, and therefore, habits of her people, this country bears close resemblance to the Motherland. She has practically no separatist theories, and turns simply and' trustingly to England. She is decisive on the white question, and necessarily strong on Imperial defence. The policy of Canada is influenced by her geographical position, as is South Africa's from her history. She is less assailable than Australasia. She is, to a degree, shel= tered by the Monroe doctrine. The brunt of solving the Japanese question must fall on the U.S.A. More than the other Dominions she is independent of Imperial support. On the line taken by Canada, the oldest, nearest, and greatest of our Dominions, with her interesting equality of race, a good deal of this problem must depend," The writer probably condenses tie aspirations of the Dominions into a single paragraph: "In so far as is compatible with the preservation of Statehood and unity of Empire, they want the greatest amount of freedom possible for their national and domestic affairs, ,In affairs of Empire decision (war, peace, foreign policy and defence) they want to contribute to the decision. And as regards countless matters which do not concern themselves alone, but other parts of the Empire (outside the four matters) they want every facility for co-operation. All these ate possible and cannot rigfitly be withheld. Least of all Great Britain wants to withhold them. If agitators and theorists leave the question alone, problems will answer themselves. That is the history of our Empire." These few extracts will give ,aome (light idea of a volume which present*

problems which directly concern every citizen of the Empire, and, as the author maintains, "the burden of this task has been undertaken and must be shouldered by the British democracies." Leaders of thought who are in positions to be good judges think very highly >of Mr. Mousley's contribution to a vital Imperial problem. The book is dedicated, "To those who fought for and with the Empire."