The New York herald., 1868-03-01
BOOK NOTICES.

SAN FRANCISCO MUNICIPAL REPORTS FoR VIE
YEAR 1861. PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF TEE
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS.
The municipal authorities Of San Francisco have pub
lishsd . handsome volume OF reports and statistics
about their city and its or there s
nothing particularly interesting in the reports Of
any city government in tho ordinary way 10 people
living OF not having interests that city bu. this book
Ia worthy OF notice for It's competeness-for giving in
fact . most perfect exhibit Of everything connected
with San Francisco. II shows that this city OF mush
room growth which has sprung up II by magic, has
perfect model Of governmental machinery. But what
strikes most Is Its surprising increase In wealth ana
population. Twenty years ago there were but sew
hu,s where now stands beautiful city or over hun
dred thousand nhabants The real and personal estate
is assessed at hundred and nine millions Of dollars
and worth probably a hundred and hfsy millions
What an accumulation Of wealth within twenty
OF gold California has yielded every year since
s settlement but its agricultural development has been
still more astonishing Seventeen years ago nineenths
Of the breadslufs consumed there imported; now
the State exports thousands OF tons OF surplus
wheat Hour and other agricultural producta There ar
rive yearly francisco four hundred thousand
tons OF shipping from foreign and Eastern ports and
there are about Atty thousand tons in the coastng and
bay trade OF the foreign trade there thirty
thousand tons from Australia and New Zealand and
hfty thousand tons from China and other countries OF
Asia showing what vast trade growing up across the
Pacific Ocean. There Is something really marvellous In
the growth Of California and Of principal city, San
Francisco.
The CENTuRIoNs OF rHE GOSPEL, 30. By Rev. w.
A. Scott, ID. D., pastor Of the Forty-second
street Presbyterian church. New York: Anson
d. +. Randolph, ITO Broadway.
This Is republication Of book which originally ap.
pearod under the title Of 'The Church in the Army
the Four Cen:urons" II Is therefore, called second
edition The original title not good. We cannot
say the present ono 10 better II there Is
a difference as 10 the excellence OF the title,
the difference should say, in favor Of the first
rather than the second. The book is, after all, only
series Of pulpit discourses, and ii would have been
better II Dr.. Scott had simply called them by their
proper name 1t 10 the object Of the reverend DOCTOR u
the volume before US, to show that Christianity is COM
patible with every honorable cang-nay that in pro-
portion a. 10 good Christian so s he likely to be
efficient In whatever position In life he called upon to
I'LL This no new truth, although It Ia one which men
extremely liable TO forget and the doctor IL entitled
10 praise for endeavorng to the extent OF his ability
to preserve alive this truth in the memory Of man.
knd The object of the volume, therefore, Is good out
cannot say much for the ability which the volume
reveals There other and infinitely better books Of
the same class which equally accessible to the pub.
confess 10 having failed to discover any satisfactory
tor Its special existence That which good for
the puip Is not necessarily good for the press. Dr.
scott cannot be ignorant of this and although we are
we'll aware Of the temptations which cergymen with
large congregations have to appear IN PRINT he must
for saying that his reputation will not greatly
gain By "Ths Centurons OF the Gospel"