BOOKS AND BOOKMEN.

Evening Star, Issue 14784, 27 January 1912, Page 10

BOOKS AND BOOKMEN.

•TEfandboeb dor Ttegionalcn Geologis,' \ 01. Til. Edited by Prof. Dr G. Stein - maan and Prof. Dr O. Wilckens. Jena : Bohn. Part I.—' New Zealand and Adjacent Islands." Bv P. Marshall, M.A.. D.Sc, F.G*S.. etc., Professor of Geology and Mineralogy, University of Otagc, Dundin, N.Z. The small portion of this monumental •work which, lefcxs to' New Zealand and the adjacent islamls -has been printed in English, and contains 78 pages. I 1!'"!'. Marshall; of the Ota.go University, was selected as the contributor, and a careful perusual of the contents shows that the | publishers were justified in their selection. The adjacent islands included are iho Chatham.'). Bounty. Antipodes. Auckland, Campbell, and Macqu-icio Islands. The' work 'is well iiiriu'shed with sketch snaps and diagrams, is printed on heavy paper, and is remarkably free from tho typographical errors so frequently met wth in* teohnual works primed in English from a iorei.gn press. The contents are divided into six parts: 1.. Morphological Summary: ll™ Stratigraphy and lathologv ; 111.,* Geological History; IV.. Orographic Elements; V.. Economic. Geology; VI.. Literature. Naturally, as the work is only part of a whole, there is neither iutrodui tion nor preface. The morphological summary is both concise-and precise. To a lar.ge extent this may be said to apnly to the whole of the work. After reading it attentively the reader feels at the close thai in the present state of otrrknowlodgeof the Dominion's geology all there is to say lias been said, and woni]crs that the information could l>e conveyed in so few* pages. The morphological eomrnary gives an outline of the geographical features, the topographical divisions, the mountain systems, the volcanoes (extinct and existent), the volcanic plateau, and the gravel plains. Chapter 11.. Strai.icr.vphy cud Lilholegy. naturally ovcnr-ies the largest space in the book. ■* It will be more critically)read than airy otheT chapter, and will -live rise to more discussion. No two ideologists who have attempted a classification of the rock series oecnrrint: in New Zealand have yet been able to agree even as to the names to be given to the different, systems, to sav nothing of the rock series contained in" those systems. Tho result, is a mass of names," frequently place names, d-e----rifed from the locality where the observer first met with and studied the series, or where, in bis opinion, tlte series is best developed. The. work under review is not altogether free from this multiplication of terms. Prof. Marshall has adopted the following classification for his * systems :—Manapouri = Arehea.n ; Aorere= Oidovi ciam; Bate n 11 i ve r= S i hi roDevonian: MaiLai = Trias-Jura ; Cainazoie; Wangan-oi = Pliocene. For purposes of comparison the classifications adopted by Hector, Hutton. Park, an<l j the"new Geological Survey arc all given, , and the author gives hi- reasons ! for differing from these when difference of opinion exists. Frequently the divergence is great, both in time and apace. Tints Hutton correlated j his Maitai system with the Carboniferous : of the Paleozoic age, whereas the author, j as the result of further researches, place- 1 ; j his Maitai system in the Mcsozoie age : and | again, although Hut-ton .it one time placed tho crystalline complex of Western Otago in the" Arehean, ho afterwards removed these rocks to the Triassic, They form the Mtuitvponii system in lite present work, j In tho work render review the! Maitai system (Jura-Trris) is brought into a prominence it never before occupied in the geology of New Zealand. It now, to quote the author, ** iiK-ludes the Carboniferous and part of the Devonian (TeAr.au) of Hector, as well as his Triassic, Ehaetie, • Jiassic, and Jurassic, or the Maitai and Hokonai systems of Hutton, as well as the Otago schists, and the narrow belt of (drnilar rocks in Wmland, which "Hector placed in the Silurian, Devonian. CarbonifßTtrasj and Permian: whilst Hutton, in his last work, classed them as ArebeaiL" Such a sweeping aiterati-.m will give- rise, to much discussion, as it practically makes ell prsvioos c!assiiieationb <rf historic v;iJue nnly. The evidence brought, to bear in support oi the .author's pews is vei-yeon-vinc-ing, and wiiatever donbts he may ha\ p o felt in corrciatim; his Manapoori system with the Arc-bean, he has none whatever ■' his Maitai system. Hitheilo vhero has been a tendency to introduce imcoitformrties to account for any pcesiblo dieccirdance in the stxatigr:tphy of the rocks. Even in the Oamo.ru system, which is 'frequently exposed in raihei- distwrVd {BCtiont! hi different parts of the middle, iufcrnd, breaks in the liave been j ijtarodnced by diffortnt obseners to a-c- | «ncmt for obscurities met with_ in the field : yet, there is as great a divergence of. ' opiuionas to the purticular where : tliese strncttrral breaks occur as tltea'e_ is the classing- of the toclcs which these sapposwl breaks :u'B assumed to eeparat-e. Tno author has ewept awa.y mancv of these minor uncoiifonnities, and atfchongh the placing of the Otago schists. 10 high op in the geological sequence as the tJura-Triassie will tiuue- as a surprise to many stiwlonts, the- evidence, given m its favor is very oemvincrag. Tlioaniiior sayt - .: " In the Ci'utlra Valley there a"? typiea.l Trias-Jusa Toeks at Bak-.lutha, :wA typical schists at Beaiunoiit. an<l between them there is an aJmc-sJ, coiitinuous section ; yet no imconformity could be detectenl, but a gradual transition from unaltered recks to the completely foliated mica whists as the river was. ascendetl." Other similar sections are quoted, natl to these the writer can add. from personal observation, Waikaia Vnlh-y sex-tiou. Tho stratigitiphy of the Oamaru and Witnganui teries is worked out with the same tendency to simplification. The paleontology of the difknuut systems is <-o!tcisely bat exhaustively U-eaied. whilst the conixmparaaeons itrneons Lntrucio.as .-uid effusions are detiit with in their place. In Part 111., Oeologic-.il History, the probable geographical distribution of the land, the orogeny, the faulting, the episodes ot volcanic disturbance, the conditions of sedimentation, the characters of ihe flora and fauna, and the dimalic changes tn-e fully treated. Part Orographic Elements, deals ,vnth the atrortiii-.d and phydogratiliic features of th«j motrntain ranges, t':ie isolated aionnfciins. tIK I voktirioes, the Tokanic plateau, ami the gravel plains pf the mainkind and the outlying islands, and in this chapter the ell'ects of gta-c.ia-tion are referred to. Part V., Economic Geology, 1 rents upon tire mineral wealth of the islands.. _ The metallic elements include gold, silver, platinirm, coppjr, antimony, arsenic, inm, chrorrrium, tiiaugaiiese, tungsten, and nickel; the non-metallic products coal, petroleum, oil shale, kauri gum, phosphate. building stones, r.nd cement. The source of the alluvial gold of Otago and WeslLtnd.Js set down as obscure. Part VJL, Literature: This chapter ■wHI be vai.'ied by all studoiiLs of geology, and givc3 a list of the geological literature relating to New Zealand published since Wilckeus's catalogue, a list of the more important works on the geology of New Zealand and tit' outlying islands, and the works cited in the trad of the publication under review. A first-rate index completes the work. Although the general reader will find a great deal to interest him in the book, it 18 by the student of geology tiiat the work ■will" be fully appreciated. If is a collection of facts clearly stated. There are no theories or hypotheses which, by their startling innovation, are calculated to appeal to the imagination of the reader. The work bears the impress of having been written by one who has taken the task sariously—one equippad by Nature and training for the work, a deep reader and thinker, a keen observer and hard work-st, both in the field and laboratory—who has plac»d on record in plain but necessarily technical language the issue of his investigations. The result is a conBiderabU simplification of the geology' of New Zealand. 'Other Sheep' (a study of the peoples of India, with particular reference to the collision between Christianity and Hinduism). By Harold BegUie. London : Hodder and Stoughtou. Tliis is a. companion volume to the fiamo author's 'Broken Earthenware,' and, like it„ has called forth keen controversy, much praieei, awl .some misinterpretation. "Tlio i British- .Weekly.* iwie-wer .fell-foul-ot'.;it,.

accusing tho author of having no good word for any form of Christian work in India save that of thu Salvation Army, and of belittling the central, truth of Christianity itself. Iliere charges evoked an.emphatic denial from Mr Begbie. Other reviewers \\i<ri' not only mure gene.'tis. but more accurate. It "is astonishing how religious bias, even in tho best-intentioned of men. lends them into false positioiw, and not infrequently makes them incapable of estimating the value and nature of another person's work. Tlio 'Daily Chronicle' review and summary give a much hotter presontatiori of the' contents of the book. After pointing out that Mr Harold Begbie has, at a psychological raomeut in tiie social and religious "evolution, oi India, eoiitri-' bated a series of studies, as .well as painted a ntimber of vivid pictures of iis people. that will pnt new heart into many of its lost friends, tlio writer continues:—Mr fieghio introduces us to new l/eiop! o - new leaders working for their emancipation, ami to an atmosphere thr.t is at once Apustc-lioand hopeful, if not Utop'wut. He doss* more, lie <!iscusses the problems of In<lia from tho" sf-andpoint of the raia-ion-ary and the statesman, and loaves tho reader with the impress-ion that he has got at the kernel of more problems tion he wots of. The book is remarkable for tno ir-iaght that the author has of the-'Brah-man, the city walla, the peasant, th-; low crist-f, uv.d t'.le elrisii. forgotten bib ltriboc tii;it exist- by plunder aim! crime. —Children of Israel.— Tlur-ianity in a Bombay bazaar bus novir. ■jiorh-'ips. lic<T'. so sympathe,tic;dly and poetically jMir'irayed as in the chapter 'Children el" India,' a line literary canvas of which this is tiie conclusion: "These people, whose der-liny hi's i-omo into our hands by tiio pr.ivideme ot <!cxl. are children, and. like th-' children of Israel, they are on a great march ivorA servitude to freedom, from darkmts to licht. from ignorance to knowledge-." In '"the Temple of Horror' Mr Begbie is it ins hc-l. ' lie marshals facts, with their obvious and wiggtrstive interpreiatioiis', in a w.iy that will disturb the laisser. faire seho-ol which holds to the delusion— [ the author's verdict—"that the East is! spiritually superior to the West (a faith I largolv g.itl-crcd from the writings of j Arnold. "Hlavatsky. and Besant). And I what a:v these tacts'' Brahmanisr.i remains adamant- and tt:eouijuered before the hosts of Christi- | auilv. Term:- is the- sjiiiit of HinJuism. j Convert a de\ il-daneer. make him quUe J sere that Cod is iove, and that Chrirt j has saved him from peniition. a.nd '-till ! von will find him haunted by the tear i that- Satan L- never a'oseut from h:s ; side, waiting to seize and destroy him j on the smallest oiinoitunitv. j I —Cods of Baal. — | But stc they not worshippers, and where (here is worshio is there not spirituchty? Mr Beidiie goes to the root <:f the matter when he says: "The stories concerning their gods and ginidesses are not- ordy contemptible an<l ridiculous, they are so frightfullv obsoene and so abondnably lilthy that they cannot even be obscurely I hinted or vaguely adumbrated in English [ print." The author takes the reader into j a veritable Hades of the Mast in the chap- i ters dealing with 'The Witch' and 'Devil j Priests.' But he <loes not- leave us to ■ suppose that the forces of Western civilisations and education have not mad., a j deep dint in the foeial life of the Hindu, j They have, and yet the amusing convetsa- i tion that Mr Begbie had with a " tecq c-ct- ; able Hindi:" leaver one in doubt as to j whether the indirect elicits have pc-Jie- | trated ve.y dee[;!y the Hindu mind. j In the "'Laundry of Souls' Mr Begbie reads Benares like a pmonet - -it has scl- | dom been more graphically described —and in the "Collision ' ot-.e has a masterly re | \ic\v of the war between Christianity and i Bra'nmanisin. with this judgment upon its | ptesetit progr'-s: "The liiissionaiies oi ■ the t-h-n'stian religion have <loue a wotk in India .inly t-c.mpari.ble- with tho achieve- | icent of the fiiH Apostles in Europe, j lliey have not converted Brahnmnism into Christianity, bnt they have begun the Christianisation of Brahrnauisni." —Moral ami Message.— The kernel oi the !*ov.k is its messiige. Mr Harold Begbie is a preacher as well as j a poet lie has Iho IVimysoui.-in quest. Ami the part ot the weilr now beicre us. in whieii Eafcrr Singh, or CafmuHmr.ucr Boo'.h-'l'ucker, as !'.>> is better known in htigland, .diii'es fortii as a brilli.w.-- i:ght iti the mi'iisc of a den.= « Ov ; e>u.d d.u'kiass, | will be Tead and di-ci'.-sed for many days, j Mr r.eqbie has rendered a real and per- j nursent seivice to the cause of mis-ions by j his treatment ot the Salvation Army in J India. It has not been known till to-day. j When his book is read, (Jeneral Booth | raid his "Fakir" tribe in India will be j canoni.-r-d. For here is :i Bon Quixote in i real life, a Peter the Henri:- brought up j to ..late, a man who has bvgged Ins 'ice, from village to viliage, and v. hose con- j verts have penetra---d the of the hills and buiit-txl out the ciinu:mts t'td cut- | throats of tlie.-e regions and transformed j them into sublime, clean, and honest d:s- I ciples ot Christ. \"o Jotnanclst could ve j train from imparting color to the story_of'| how Booth Tucker reiioti."<-ei.l the Civil j Service for the joy of rroing down to the : level of the native, and on Pa til hie lines j seeking to win them to Christianity. But i Mr Begbie has resisted the temptation of I merely extolling the apostle. Hj Has te- j vealt'd the' Salvationist worker in a new j light-, and faced the whole Christian and : civilLsed worlds with this interrogation : j "is it not po-sible to a'.Tee that- only the essentials, the indisputable and beautiful j essentiai~. of tne Master's teaching should j be presented to India ; thai all wlu'.-ii lies ; beyond the rnutal essentials siiouid be kit j to India herself to <liseoTur and evolve'.'" j 'The l.e-avfs of the- Tree.' By A. C. | Benson. London : Smith. Elder, and ; t.'o. | Mr Benson's easy, scholarly style of j wriiin.';. in its peculiar atmospheie of calm , atid something of luxuriout-iitss, is admirably adaplecf to the la.-hioi:ing of bio- j graphics, an<l it is a very genuine pleasure j U> rend a!l he has to tell of the twelve gc-.-d :i:u: and true lie talks of in this I j;-:,!-- ;:n i.;:t:cdiu-tion, it is to Ik? Loped, j ;.o .urlhr-r - Leaves.' It is diflicult, tint! ot „. list that ini'liKKr Matthew Ajnohl, I Ciiaric:, Ki.v/.si.";.'. lii.-htip Lightl'oot, '. Bishop YViikiii.-on. and otheis us notttl , and hived. 10 d-.-t-ennine which will be of ; the utost general \.ihn— -that concerning j Atngsicy. perhaps. Vet as one writes so. ; .Matthew Arnold claims equal merit, and i tiieii oi.hrrs! '.i'hv volume pretends to be; oulv '.'.itat it ic -a r.Lniple insight into the,' li\es, with their tan::., as well as their j virtues, their thoitcomings as tlieir love- j ablcncss, of these men as the- writer know j them. The work chould be of value to j other biogiv.pln.rs, and a pleasant cum- ] pauiou for all bool;iovers. I 'The Price of Coal.' By Harold Brig-| house. London : C!o\vai:s and dray. ' This little one-net play brings to mind j Hk- pathc.s of 'Caller llerriu',' with its j " In the mitkt o' life wc are in death, j There's no' a truer word nor tiwt. No j when ye live all' coal. There's w.imtnen j Itecpiu 7 house in tho pLaces_ tho co;il goes | that p;ty fur their coal wi' bmss. We j pay :i. sicht heavier fur it here : we pay j wi' : the lives o' men." The steno is la:<! j in a village, among coal pits and coal miners, and is an unusually interesting and useful piece of drama in its appreciation of the cotlier character displayed both in men and women. Tho ecene opens happily with_Maxy teasing her lover, ere he. sets oat for the mine, by refusing to give a favorable answer to his j proposal till night. Then, when a gram- | bling and pleading Jock has been sent ofi j to work, his North Country mother appears, disturbed and trembling over a terrible dream that, endured once beioro, was the forerunner of her husband's (Jock's father) death. The old woman's - part is capitally portrayed—passionate, fearful, yet'stoical from hard experience. Mary, not brought up always at the pit mouth, is curious, after hearing tho dream, I as to what happons wlien tho great alarm bell is sounded, and while tbev speak its dread sound cleaves, the air. The cage in which Jock went down has fallen down the-shaft. Then follows a time of terrible stress for mother and lover—tho latter held back from rushing to the- pit by the. ,; former, -W'bo IvHOWts-• t}»-tJ.ghte-;Bwt-.-thj.To.-

Mary's feelings proving too strong, the old mother locks them both in, when a violent knocking is heard at the door. It is unlocked by the mother, and Jock, very palo arnl with a broken arm, is there. So the little play ends up as it began, happily, with Jock saying : " ATI awa roon' an' sec the meeniefer aboot pittin' up the barms when ma airm's set. AMI be hnviu' somo time on ma haun's. A think gettin' inairrit'll fill in tho time beautiful." \ THOUGHTS OF MASTER MINDS. Illegal.—T)omg wrong tilings when you haven't any money. Recrrots are a- waste, of time in ew-ry possible, insteiiee except- one—-when they become vaJtrtble lessons for the future. Do not mistake sentiment for pity; theonly time you are really doing good is when you are doing some-thing that actually helps. Kvery p?r«m's feelings have a front door and a side door by which tln?y may be entered. The front door is on th* street. The side door opens at once into tho secret chamber. Be very careful to whom yon trust one of these.—o. W. Holmes. lOducation i« the eh'-apest defence of nations. —Kdmi-nd Burke. One should conquer the world, not to enthrone a mm, Irat, an idea, for ideas exist ior ever.—Lord BeaeonsScld. The imputetual woman, like tho nnpituctur.l man, occasions dislike, localise sb- provokes the reflection that we are not of sufficient importance to make her prompt. It is tho mark of a great soul in every sphere of lifo to suffer quietly in tho way of truth, and make no parade or comparison of its sulieiings with the glory of the end for which it suffers.—"Or Fergus. Truth is ;>.- structure that is reared ou the battlefield of contending forces. D. Winchell. Remember that in this world every mountain top of privilege is girded by the value of lowly duty. He cannot-'leid others wlso is trying t*> walk in two paths himself. OoncoalmoiiU. evasions, duplicities may pss for pleasantries; but tiie dislKinesty is left to benumb and paralyse tho heart. It- requires method, accuracy, organisation, industry, economy, tact, knowledge, discipline, and capacity for adapting success to cuds. All this is the essence of business.