ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

Taranaki Daily News, 31 August 1935, Page 21 (Supplement)

ADDITIONS TO LIBRARY

COLONISING IN WEST AFRICA. “SECRET SERVICE” ADVENTURES. - The chief librarian of the New Plymouth Public Library reports the following books in popular demand:— General Literature. “With the Dictators of Fleet Street,” RusSell Stannard. “Shifting Sands,” Major N. N. E. Bray. “Sttnrlse to Evening Star: My Seventy Ycars in South Africa,” Marina King. “Through Jungle, Bush and Forest,” Derwent G. Heslop. “Puppets Info Scotland,” Walter Wilkinson. “Thirty Years With Philippine HeadHunters,” Samuel E. Kane, Fiction. “The Little Country,” John Guthrie. “This String First,” Michael Home. “Blood Relations,” Philip Gibbs. “God’s In His Heaven,” J. L. Hodson. “She Fell Among Thieves,” Dornford Yates. “Mary Peters,” Mary Ellen Chase. The following books have been added to the’ library recently:— “African Passage,” by A. J. Reynolds. (Frederick Muller Ltd., London). Mr. Reynolds’ acquaintance with the Gold Coast, Nigeria and other parts of Western Africa began 25 years ago. He makes it clear that there was little to attract admiration, or to create a desire for residence in We&t Africa in those days. He saw the developments made in the decade which ended with the close of the war,, and he bears testimony to the general improvement brought about by British administration. , The author visited Monrovia, the capital city of Liberia, the State founded with American aid for the repatriation of slaves arid their offspring. He found Monrovia in a shocking condition, and Liberia so ill-governed as to cause the conclusion that “the Liberian Is a travesty of the white man; boastful with nothing ip the world to boast about; arrogant without real dignity, he believes he rules the earth, his power over the few whites whose misfortune it, is to earn their living in his country has gone to his head . . . After 1 100 years of self-government they are as far away from success as Were their ancestors in the cotton fields of the Southern States of America. They arc effite, boastful, lazy and emotional, and, what is worse, appallingly ignorant.” That- is a dreary picture, but it raises the question Whether those responsible for the slavery system • are- not blaming the negro for Weaknesses that system ' was bound to implant-and: develop. Mr.: Reynolds found plenty of rodm for criticism as Well ■ as for - admiration of British administration. He describes a “trial” of a number bf natives by a young white magistrate. The “Bench” Was bored, the weather was hot, so a bunch of. prisoners- received, a three months’ sentence without the annoyance of listening to the evidence for and against him! Of- course imprisonment, meant to them merely, the certainty of clothing, fo'dd and shelter with a few more: or less annoying tasks to.be undertaken. Even these taskscould -be lightUed in West Africq, for often; 4he Warders were countrymen of the prisoners fend belonged to. the. same secret-society. All this, however, has passed away “and lhe Colony te.run to-day in as just and honourable ' mariner .as .any place on earth.” • . -Mr.- Reynolds .saw the rivalry between Britain arid Germany for the shipping and trade of West Africa. He compares the pre-war shipping methods of Germany with those of England and declares that the former’s efficiency and intelligent manipulation of opportunities would inevitably have given _ her a monopoly of West. Africa: trading had not the war intervened. The author saw service in that war and the German Cameroon territory is how under mandate to Britain. He has written from actual experiences of a Phase in African colonisation an interesting narrative. It is obvious that like most men who haVe worked, for years in the tropics he has never quite lofet a desire to return to scenes of danger and discomfort, but also of actual accomplishment.

“The Hills Sleep On,” by Joanna Caiman. (Hodder and Stoughton Ltd, London).

The ‘‘hills’* Miss Carman refers to are the mountain ranges of Northern India and beyond. James Raeburn, a Foreign Office dilettante with a liking for mountaineering was sent into those hostile regions io ascertain and thwart the plans of a mysterious agency that apparently desired to overthrow Britain’s power in India and elsewhere. Raeburn’s adventures began almost as soon as he had received his instructions al the office. They continued on the journey to India, and once there the plot soon thickened. This is a good straight- 4 forward “secret Service’* thriller. The usual ingredients are used. There are the haif-breadth escapes, the affable stranger Who proves a Villain With a purpose, the lovely woman spy, and the grim countryside and people of Tibet. Of

cotirSO there is romance to sweeten the Story, and to make Raeburn’s efforts Worth while. Those who like swift action, with sufficient regard for probabilities to pass muster, Will thoroughly enjoy this book. Il is full of what 0. Henry once called, “he-men and heWomen” and the lover of adventure can ask for no more than that such folk be given the opportunities accorded them in this volume.

“Bitter Honey,” by Francis Pollock. (Jonathan Cape, London).

To the average citizen the life of a bee-farmer would seem to indicate a life Of careless ease. You give the bees proper shelter, they do the work and you collect the proceeds of the insects’ industry. Readers of “Bitter Honey” will be disillusionised in that respect, for it is evident that in Canda at all events, the life of the bee-farmer is one of strenuous toil Even in the winter there must be ceaseless care of the hives, and all this for payment that seems entirely inadequate for the labour demanded. Jerry Merlens was reaching this conclusion when his existence was broadened by a curious friendship he formed with Richard Cumberland, a paralytic who had been “a great figure in his time, a great lawyer, a great gambler, a man of 'good fortunes, as the French say,” Cumberland was a recluse and When a niece of his, Edith Lancaster, sought Jerry’s aid to break in upon her uncle’s hermitage she opened the way to another friendship that was to exercise much influence upon Jerry’s career.

Their acquaintance led to grave danger for them both, and with the escape from it broke the relationship which might have led to their marriage. Jerry’s friend Cumberland is c poisoned by another nephew who is anxious to obtain the heritage the older man had promised him. Cumberland’s last effort was to make a Will giving Jerry a chance to travel and “assort himself.” He died before the will was completed, and only Jerry and the murderer knew of the lawyer's intention. The crime was adjudged misadventure, and Jerry returns to his beekeeping, find. ,g in hard physical labour the only solace available for a man who felt that, somehow, he had missed the best that life might have held. This is an unusual book. It tells of life in the backwash of colonial development. Pioneering was over, and the inhabitant of the town, hip Jerry knew best were almost as hidebound in their methods, views and beliefs as the villagers of old England. It. was a grey atmosphere for an introspective soul, and one can sympathise with Jerry in finding in hard work assuagement for desires he Could scarcely define or understand. “Hollywood fey Starlight,” by R. X Minney, (Chapman and Hall Ltd, London). Mr. Minney had made a success of the play “Clive of India” at London, and Mr. Darryl Zanuck engaged him to make the film version for the picture Which entertained Taranaki cinema audiences a week ot two ago. . From the time he reached New York Mr. Minney learned that film-produc-tion was high-pressure work. His description of the journey by air across the United States rather debunks the theory of calm, swift and comfortable travel, but Mr. Minney was new to America and its ways, and gives one the impression that he did not like being bustled, and that he had hitherto been giving orders rather than obeying instructions. Also he struck an air voyage through a large size storm! He has written fen entertaining account of his work at Hollywood, and of the film-stars he met there. They included Charlie Chaplin, Mary Pickford, Walt Disney and Shirley Temple, and their tastes and outlook were as varied as their ages and experiences were likely to 'make them. Mr. Minney found the really big people of the camera-world, whether artists or producers, willing to be kind to the Visitdr. He writes amusingly of the “new language” a Briton must learn in Order, to appreciate American conversation, wit dr wisdom, and of how the infinite variety Of Los Angelas fascinated him. He found there wert beauty parlours in Hollywood "not only for women but for dogs and cats and the strange pets that some of the film stars keep,” and that Max Factor, the most famous of “make-up” artists “uses no knife; he is able to transform any face by the application of cosmetics alone." Although Hollywood and picture films have lost some of the romance and mystery that at One time surrounded them, there are many who are interested in the lives of artiste ahd the inner stories Of successful pictures. They will find great entertainment in this book.