BOOK NOTICES

New Zealand Tablet, 30 October 1919, Page 17

BOOK NOTICES

Armageddon^ or Calvary, by H. E. Holland, M.P. (Maoriland Worker office. 2/-.)' * " It is a pleasure for a reviewer to find under his notico a book by a man who has not only something to say, but also the power to say it well. This is the third time it has fallen to our lot to review a publication by Mr. Holland, and we hope it will not be the last. We notice that he has in the press at present some further works which -we Avant to read badly. However, it is - with the present volume Ave have iioav to concern ourselves, and certainly in it Mr. Holland has a message of vast weight for New Zealand readers, and it loses nothing in the delivery. Armageddon, or Calvary is the history of "the conscientious objectors of NeAv Zealand and the 'process of their conversion.' " It is the mature and documented indictment of the tyranny of Militarism introduced into the Dominion during the Avar by the Coalition Government, and it is a story that ought to be read before the coming elections by every man and woman who loves freedom and hates despotism, whether of the genuine Prussian brand or of that of its too successful imitators. Mr. Holland collects and arranges here the facts which, when spread over a number of years, lost their force of appeal to humane people; he sums up, as it were, against the indicted Militarists, and readers of his book Avill go to the polling booths with the eA r idence fresh in their memories. . The book avill reach a large number of people Avho have only heard belated and bowdlerised accounts of the facts; it will bring home to them in unmistakable fashion Avhat Militarism means, and what has been done by Militarists in NeAv Zealand. People will see for themselves that Militarism is a bad thing for Prussia, but that it is no better for New Zealand; and they will ask themselves what must be done to crush the spirit out here as it has been crushed in Prussia. We doubt not that to make people ask themselves precisely that question is Mr. Holland's aim. And there can be no doubt that in this book he has succeeded as well as any man could succeed. While Ave fought against tyranny there was a tyranny in our midst; Avhile Ave denounced the breaking of treaties our own Ministers were breaking agreements and tearing up scraps of paper; while we raged about the atrocities in Belgium Ave had our OAvn Wanganui and our own transports on which conscientious objectors were tortured by brutal soldiers. Read now the account of the sufferings of Briggs, of Ballantyne, of Baxter, and ask yourself whether such things were endured at the hands of Prussians or of New Zealanders. Read hoAv the War Ministers overrode the will of the pedple and broke faith with them in their hurry to pour out of the Dominion thousands of conscripts to swell the armies fighting in Europe. Read of the douching with cold water, the beating, the violent stripping, the "crucifixions," the kicks and bloAvs which conscientious objectors had to suffer, and you will have some idea of what Militarism is. Recently the American Envoys to Ireland reported that almost similar treatment Avas meted out to political prisoners by the Brithuns in Ireland. Macpherson denied it, and nobody believed him. Will anybody who has read this book accept an official denial as a refutation of the plain narratives of the men who suffered? Will tho pro forma "Not Guilty" of our Militarists convince anybody who reads Mr. Holland's book that Militarism is not indeed

the* terrible thing he • says it is? » and will ; he plead. in vain. that at the coming.: l elections the people of New Zealand see to it once, and; for all that in as far as in them lies they will make this part of:the world safe for Democracy by driving from public life'; the men who were guilty of, the crime of introducing Militarism into the Dominion? Mr. Holland's, book is a document- in the history of the Dominion that ought to be in the hands of all. We predict for it a great circulation and an immense influence on the minds of all to whom Democracy is more than a mere catch-word. . ;•; The Little One's Mass Book. (Talbot Press. 3d.) 'i^f Here is a real child's prayer-book, illustrated, printed in large type, and containing beautifully simple prayers for children. Nothing could be better. A Little Golden Key of Heaven. (Talbot Press. 2/-.) A vest-pocket prayer-book such as many men look out for. It contains all the essential devotions, and is well bound. The Coming of Guculain. -.;;,; In. the Gates uj the North. The Triumph of Guculain. Three volumes by Standish O'Grady. (Talbot Press Co.) Most of us who arc interested in the Gaelic revival have been often anxious to obtain in permanent form the beautiful stories of the ancient Irish, and too often our search for books such as we sought was vain. Nobody can understand modern Irish literature without a knowledge of the. old legends and tales. The best of Pearse, of Stephens, of Yeats is sealed to us unless we have studied the ancient mythology. To know it is as imperative for an Irish student as it is imperative for "a student of the classics to know the mythology of Greece and Rome. The Talbot Press already gave us in Standish O'Grady's Essays a most helpful book. It has increased our indebtedness now by the publication of the three volumes under our notice. In New Zealand we are glad to know that many are deeply interested in Ireland's past, and we are glad to bo able to introduce to them such works as Mr. O'Grady's, for the appearance of which Ave have to thank the well-known firm of publishers in Talbot Street. -Some time ago Ave quoted . a long passage from Padraic Pearse, and Ave saw how he regarded the study of the Celtic hero Cuculain as of vast importance for Irish boys. Cuculain was in a sense the model hero, and St. Enda's boys were taught to aim at becoming as it were Christian Cuculains. The Gaelic past lived at St. Enda's and its inspiration was drawn from Pearse deep lore of ancient Ireland.' O'Grady's books are calculated to do for their readers what Pearse did for his boys. They will bring back the lost knowledge, and will restore the ideals of national culture, which next to her Christian faith, are Ireland's greatest treasure. Writing of these books, A.E. says: "When I close my eyes, and brood in memory over the books which most profoundly affected me, I find none excited my imagination more than Standish O'Grady's especial narrative of Cuculain. Whitman said of his Leaves of Grass, ' Camerado, this is no book : who touches this touches a man ' and O'Grady might have boasted of his Bardic History of Ireland, written with his whole being, that there was more than a man in it, there was the soul a people, its noblest and most exalted life symbol set in the story of one heroic character.

iff? . When I read O'Grady I was as such a man who suddenly feels ancient memories rushing at him, and knows he was born in a royal house, that he had mixed with the mighty of heaven and earth and had the very noblest for j his '. companions. I It was ' 'the * memory'» of '"race which " rose ] up ' within me as I read, and I felt 1 exalted as one who learns he is among the children 'of kings. That is what O'Grady did for me and for others who were my '• contemporaries." It is the books that -made such an impression on George Russell it is our privilege here to recommend to readers of the Tablet to whom Ireland and her story are very dear. The three volumes are intensely interesting, and we take it that the men and women of our race have not lost that inner vision which enables them to enjoy heroic tales just as thoroughly as the clear-eyed children can enjoy them. A.E., who loved O'Grady's books, will best tell us how they ought to be appreciated: "In O'Grady's writings the submerged river of national culture rose up like a shining torrent, and I realised as I bathed in that stream, that the greatest spiritual evil one nation could inflict on another was to cut off from it the story of its national sold. Standish O'Grady had that epic wholeness and simplicity, and Cuculain is the greatest spiritual gift any Irishman has given Ireland for centuries." Man's Great Concern: The Management of Life. The Spanish Armada. That Arch-Liar Froude. Three volumes by Father Ernest Hull, S.J., Editor of the Bombay Examiner. (Is net.) Father Hull's name is a guarantee of the value of these books which are the most recent Examiner reprints. The first named is a summary of moral teachings based on such simple postulates as no religiously minded person can question. It starts from the supposition that there can be no morality without a religious foundation. It presupposes the fundamental notions about God, and while not involving any theological doctrine beyond the simple ideas common-to all enlightened creeds, it offers a course of teaching on a theistic basis such as might be imparted to non-Christian pupils. For Christian pupils it is a most useful manual. It goes to the root of many things which the Catechism does not explain, and it deals with reasons and principles at the back of law and duty, and the faculties and powers on the use of which moral conduct is dependent. The Spanish Armada is a study of a historical question regarding which many erroneous ideas have been circulated by anti-Catholic writers. We must remember that English historians have almost all imbibed the lies of the Reformers and given prejudiced accounts of the chief events in the history of Great Britain. Father Hull, than whom there is no abler critic, is taking up for study in the Examiner many subjects which need revision from a Cath, olic point of view rather from a strictly historical point of view. The present volume is the first of the series and it ought to be widely read. That Arch-Liar Froude, besides throwing more light on the unfair and uncritical methods of English writers of history, also deals with such interesting matters as the attacks made on the Irish Bishops for their anti-conscrip-tion Manifesto, the recent No-Popery campaign in England, and the Papacy in history. In order to enable our readers to become acquainted with Father Hull's books we propose ordering a large stock of them at once, and, as in the case of other good books, we will sell them to Tablet readers at favorable rates.