The east needs more population also, but the east must wait until the wanderers cease from wandering. In the meantime the wanderers should be looked after and told that if they must migrate that the Northwest should be their destination.

Perhaps it would be as well to close the universities and medical colleges of the east for a few years in order that we may get more brainy farmers for both the east and the west. This would be an immense benefit to the whole country. Our high schools and our universities, as they are run at present, are detrimental to the best interests of agriculture and commerce. Let us give the professors a five-year vacation and by that time we will have better farmers and better business men.

Mrs. Fitzgibbon, a step-daughter of the late D'Alton McCarthy, has made a valuable suggestion in the London Times. She proposes that the "surplus" British women of the better classes be trained in dairying and agriculture at an institution established by the Canadian Government for that purpose. The Times says that there are a million and a quarter "surplus" women in England, and believes that much can be said in favour of a scheme to train some of these and establish them in the Northwest.

Let them come by all means, and let

them be trained as farmers or as farmers' wives-whichever they may choose. But why not have a similar scheme for training the "surplus" men of England ? We want agriculturists, not mere labourers-men with intelligence and knowledge; and we need trained men just as much as we need trained

women.

The most striking feature of recent developments of governmental policy

is the announcement of the Minister of Finance that the expenditure during the coming year will be increased, and will probably be about fifty millions. This is not the kind of policy that was expected of a Government which when it was in Opposition declared that an expenditure of forty millions was rank extravagance. The party must have been wrong then, or it is wrong now. I incline to the opinion that it was wrong when it was in Opposition, and that the proposed increase in expenditure has some justification. Still it cannot be fully justified, and some of the Opposition criticism is well founded.

Yet Canada is wonderfully conservative as compared with the Australasian Colonies. Including New Zealand, their total population is 4,500,000, fully a million less than that of Canada. Their governmental revenue is $150,000,000, as compared with our $40,000,000; even if we added to our federal revenues that of all the provinces it would not total over $50,000,000. The public debt of all these Australasian Colonies is slightly over a billion of dollars, or nearly four times our net federal public debt, and more than three times that of the Dominion and Provinces combined. The total gross debt of the Dominion and the Provinces is just about four hundred millions; and the assets are about one hundred millions. Australia has $65,000,000 in the savings banks; Canada has about the same amount. In addition, we have deposits in the chartered banks to the extent of over two hundred millions.

John A. Cooper.

HE development of our country is well chronicled and admirably gauged by the various writers in the fifth volume of "Canadian Encyclopædia."* It is divided into seven sections, an enumeration of which may be permissible :

1. Agricultural Resources and Devel

ment.

2. Literature and Journalism.
3. Our Chief Cities.

4. Financial History, Loan Companies and Insurance.

5. Natural History.

6. Constitutional History and Development.

7. Industrial Development, Forests and Fisheries.

There is the same overlapping in the articles, the same incoherency in the arrangement of the minor parts, and the same carelessness of details as in

the previous volumes. As an example of the overlapping we find in Section II. the three following papers: "Historical Sketch of Canadian Journalism,"

," "Character and Position of the Canadian Press," and "A Review of Canadian Journalism." These three papers could have been cut down to two with a great saving of words and time. As an example of incoherency: Sir Charles Tupper writes of the origin of Confederation, and Senator Macdonald of the Confederation movement in Prince Edward Island, but there is no mention of the Confederation movement in the other provinces. As to carelessness of details, one example must suffice: On the first page of the volume under review appears the expression "couriers de bois," while in

* Toronto: The Linscott Publishing Co.

Vol. I., p. 50, it reads " coureurs-dubois." Both of these are, to say the

least, unusual.

Each

But aside from these minor points, the volume is very creditable indeed, and the various writers who have contributed are to be congratulated upon the excellence of their work. article evidences a special knowledge on the part of its author, and through all run the patriotic fervour and the buoyant spirit which are at present so profoundly stirring all parts of our country. There is a joyfulness over what we have done, and a hopefulness over what we are doing, which assure for Canada a future standing of no mean excellence amongst the nations of the world. It strikes me that, however imperfect Mr. Hopkins' volumes may be from one point of view, he has done a grand work in presenting Canada as an entity to Canadians who may not previously have recognized her as such. As Sir Alexander Lacoste says in his introduction to this volume: "May it serve the double purpose of increasing the respect for Canada abroad and cementing the spirit of union and harmony amongst us at home."

There is no mention of this being the last volume of the Encyclopædia, and there is a rumour that the sixth is under way. It is to be hoped that Mr. Hopkins is not trying to make this work like unto Tennyson's brook.

NEW FICTION.

It may safely be said that the book of the month in Canada has been "David Harum." It has been cunningly advertised and well placed before the public. I am not surprised at its popularity-I suppose I wouldn't

be expected to confess the fact, if I were because the book has a homely humour which is irresistible, and because we take a delight in listening to a man who knocks down orthodoxy and conventionality. When David

bested the Deacon in a horse trade, the whole continent laughs, because it knows the weaknesses of deacons and such. When he buys a horse from the professing Christian on a Sunday, people chuckle because they know the degree of genuineness of the average modern Christian. David says some very old things in a new, bright way. But to class "David Harum" as a literary production of first rank is to strain the imagination. As a novel, it is poor in plot, uneven and jolty in treatment. As a character, David is a creation-and that is all that can justly be said in praise of Mr. Westcott's book.

"A Double Thread,' "* by Ellen Thornycroft Fowler, the author of "Concerning Isabel Carnaby," is a splendid book. The dialogue is clever; and the plot, while not entirely new, is cleverly handled. . The author is the daughter of Sir Henry Fowler, late Secretary of State for India. Her previous book was quite popular because of her treatment of the nonconformist religionists of England, and because of its spirited style.

This

story is just as spirited in the telling and less controversial in its handling of religious themes. Captain Le Mesurier falls in love with a modest governness named Ethel Harland, who by the vagary of a deceased grandfather is kept poor while her twin sister revels in luxury. The captain knows the rich sister also, and tries to effect a closer friendship between the two sisters. The rich girl refuses to see or assist her unfortunate sister with whom the captain is in love. The rich sister in the meantime endeavours to win his regard, and in her efforts is ably assisted by the captain's bachelor uncle who promises him a large estate if he

*Toronto: William Briggs.

will marry the rich instead of the poor sister. But the captain being a simpleminded but whole-souled chap is faithful. Suddenly comes the discovery that the two sisters are one, that Elfrida Harland the heiress has been masquerading as the poor sister to test her lover's faithfulness. Alas, the discovery disenchants the lover and he refuses to marry the heiress who has thus toyed with his affections; and who can blame him? It is unwise to test love and friendship unnecessarily.

These were their last words together -for a long time :

But, Jack dear, I love you so." "You love me, and yet you made a fool of me! No, Miss Harland, I cannot believe in such love as that.'

"I only did it to make sure of you. Can't you understand how sick I was of shadows, and how I wanted to find one true heart?"

"And so, having found it, you broke it to see if it was breakable. Well, it was."

"Then must everything be at an end between us?" Elfrida pleaded; "surely, surely you cannot mean that!"

"But I do mean it. Don't you see that now you have once deceived me I can never trust you again? And love without trust is impossible."

This dialogue explains the point on which the story turns, but it is not an example of Miss Fowler's best style. She is seldom sorrowful or dramatic; she is rather of a humorous turn with a lively appreciation of the best that is in life. Many of her remarks and reflections are worth remembering :

'As long as people are civil to me to my face, I don't care what they say behind my back; our faces are our own but our backs are our neighbours'."

"Englishwomen hide their feelings as carefully as they hide their garters. "Spoiling a pretty quarrel is on a par, to my mind, with shooting a fox."

"The intelligent woman combines the respectable dulness of a Church Congress, with the mental fatigue of a mathematical tripos, and yet never loses the lynx-eyed exactingness of the unattractive woman."

Another strong novel is Conan Doyle's latest production entitled "A Duet with an Occasional Chorus."* The one point at which it is vulnerable is where he introduces a scarlet woman in order, apparently, to make a contrast between her and the young wife of Francis Crosse. Surely it is possible to show the excellence of virtue without comparing it with vice, and to picture the sweetness and pure-mindedness of an innocent wife without comparing her with a fallen and profligate person of the same sex! It is reported that a firm of publishers in New York refused the book because of this superfluous character. Mr. Doyle was asked to remove her but declined. If this be true, the publishers of New York have amongst them the one or two righteous men who may save Sodom. This woman is but a minor feature, however, in a rather sweet tale of courtship and early marital bliss. The arrival of the important person who makes the duet a trio is cleverly handled, with that mingling of humour and pathos of which only the greater novelists and orators are masters. The description of this arrival ends thus:

"So Frank went down into the darkening room below, and mechanically lighting his pipe, he sat with his elbows on his knees and stared out into the gathering gloom where one bright evening star twinkled in a violet sky. The gentle hush of the gloaming was around him, and some late bird was calling outside amongst the laurels. Above he heard the shuffling of feet, the murmur of voices, and then amid it all those thin glutinous cries, his voice, the voice of this new man with all a man's possibilities for good and for evil, who had taken up his dwelling with them, and as he listened to those cries, a gentle sadness was mixed with his joy, for he felt that things were now forever changed-that whatever sweet harmonies of life might still be awaiting him from this hour onwards, they might form themselves into the loveliest of chords, but it must always be as a trio, and never as the dear duet of the past."

W. D. Howells has allowed the gentle stream of his genius to run into another novel. A young girl, ragged but beautiful, takes the fancy of a rich old lady, who adopts her, takes her *Toronto: George N. Morang.

abroad, and at her death leaves her older but still "ragged and beautiful." As a novel, "Ragged Lady "* is a striking piece of work, bearing to the other current novels the same relation as a steel engraving bears to a strong lithograph. Because of this excellence, it will appeal only to those who can appreciate mezzo-tints and that softness and gentleness of detailed delineation which marks that school of novelists who place art first. The Canadian edition is sold at a lower price than the United States edition, but contains all the illustrations and is a most creditable production.

Beatrice Harraden has taken for the title of her latest story,† the words, "Our Soul is escaped even as a Bird out of the Snare of the Fowler." The Bird is Nora Penhurst, a bright, young classical teacher, and the Fowler is a small, heartless man, who tries to tame her, subdue her mental powers, and make her his slave. The story of the struggle and the final triumph of love and nature is the story which Miss Harraden tells. "The Fowler" is a curious book, almost as curious as "Ships that Pass in The Night"; and it is difficult to form an estimate of it. Perhaps it is best not to try, but simply to say that it is curious-unique -eccentric, a book which may be read and wondered over. Its lesson is elusive, but there is no doubt it has one. To different readers the lesson may be different.

NOTES.

The love of country is the root of much that is good, and Rev. W. J. Mackenzie, Rector of Chippawa, has shown that his love for Canada has not dimmed his appreciation of his motherland. His volume, entitled "Scotland's Share in Civilizing the World,"‡ is a collection of lectures delivered be

*Toronto: The W. J. Gage Co.

+ The Fowler, by Beatrice Harraden. Toronto: The Copp, Clark Co.

Toronto: The Fleming H. Revell Co. Cloth, $1.00.

fore Scotchmen in various parts of Canada. In its two hundred pages this enthusiastic clergyman has mentioned every one of Scotland's heroes in battle, in politics, in literature, in science, in discovery, in invention, in fine arts, in manufacturing and in finance, and given concerning each many interesting details.

"The Story of the Cowboy,"* by E. Hough, is not a piece of fiction, but an interesting account of the cattle trade of the Western States. Much of the everyday conception of the "cow-puncher" is snipped off as one reads this sane and truthful description of the life, work and history of the cattle-men who were, to a great extent, the pioneers of Western North America.

La

Any Canadian desiring to read the latest popular science series published in French may secure twelve volumes of "Les Livres d'Or de la Science,' by sending twelve francs to Schleicher Frêvrs, 15 Rue des Saints Peres, Paris. Among the volumes ready are: Panorama des Siècles (historical); Les Races Jannes : Les Célestes (ethnological); La Photographie de l'Invisible, les Rayons X.; Histoire et rôle du Bœuf dans la Civilisation; La Préhistoire de la France; Les Microbes et la Mort (medical); Les Feux et les Eaux (scientific). The volumes are small but well illustrated and have been compiled by specialists.

inside history of the relations existing between Kipling and Clemens the greater.

Some time ago there was published an illustrated volume entitled "The

Origin and Services of the 3rd (Montreal) Field Battery of Artillery." The author is Captain Ernest J. Chambers, a well-known writer and journalist, and the publisher is E. L. Ruddy, of Montreal. The book is a credit to both, the letterpress and binding being of an artistic-one might almost say aristocratic-nature. This corps of artillery was on service during the Fenian Raid, and both before and after that date was called upon to aid the civil power in repressing civic disorders. Its history is interesting reading.

George N. Morang & Co., Toronto, have just issued two striking volumes by two Englishmen : "The United States of Europe on the Eve of the Parliament of Peace," with nine maps and one hundred illustrations, by William T. Stead, and "The Amateur Cracksman," a collection of short stories, by E. W. Hornung. The former volume will, undoubtedly, be as much talked of as any of the author's other sensational books. One significant feature is the fact that the frontispiece is a picture of the Czar, while there is no portrait of the Queen or the Prince of Wales in the book. All the other European royalties are present.

The Wentworth County (Ont.) Historical Society has published its second volume of transactions. Among the papers are the following: The Six Nations Indians in the Province of Ontario, by J. O. Brant-Sero; Documents Relating to the Battle of Stony Creek; A Century of Achievement, by James H. Coyne; Niagara on the Canadian Shore, by the Rev. E. J. Fessenden; King William's War, by Miss FitzGibbon. In addition there are many minor articles dealing with the local history