New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1881-09-06
LONDON LITERARY TOPICS.
1.-THE ENGLISH CITIZEN. SERIES.


NOUNCEMENT OF CONIRIBUToRS-AN NE" 'oi0
UME IN ENGLISH MEN OF LETTERS
IFRoM THE REGULAR CORRESPONDENT or the rTihuNA''
LONDON, Aug live are threatened WIN "n-
other series of Primers; the tenth OF perhaps lne
twentieth published during the last ten years Inc
word Primers may well enough include the multi-
farons series of books protesting to give condensed
summaries of knowledge about Men OF Letters
Painters Men of Science Men of Light ana Leading,
Ancient and Foreign Classics and many Others.
They are not all we'll adapted for First Books II it
Is to be supposed that any children first books
Bnt they are Short Books good for refreshing
revising and collecting into a portable form such
knowledge on "a particular subject the youth
mddle-aged person may have; or may have had in
earlier and less busy days Nutriment 50 condensed
is likely to prove indgestbc by the mere beginner
Yet to the beginner, well as to the more advanced
but still mperiectly equipped student. is addressed
this new series. which Messrs. Macmillan. who
the publishers and also for aught that appears. the
editors, have fit to entite " The English
Citizen " and which they describe as a series OF
short books on his Rights and Responsibilities.
Intended to meet the demand for accessible in
formation on tie ordinary conditions and the cur
rent terms of political life. is Messrs. MacmIl-
lans' statement of the purpose of their enter
prise. and they favor with page more of eluci-
dation of rather pretentious sort, and written in
style which leads to hope that the author of 1t
has completed his part of the task. 1t would per-
haps be too much to ask that such books should be
purely exposlt0ry. and not instruments for the dis
semnaton of the theories of this that writer
One subject announced is State interference with
the citizen in his training in his labor, i'll his
tradickmg and in his home" One may infer that
the author of that phrase is disciple of Mr.. Her
bert Spencer. Mr. Spencer's name is not to be men
toned without the respect due to great abilities and
utter sincerity, but it would be strong thug 10
that his views of the relation between the State
A..
country Mr. ii. ID. Trail (Mr. GreenwOod's alter
ego in The ST. Jan,esS Gascte leads of the list with
n treat Use on Central Government y; while Local
Government is dealt with by Mr.. NJ ID. Chalmers,
apparently a new writer. Some we'll known names
are III the prospectus Mr. A. Wilson, the excel
lent financial editor of The Pau MAI Gasette, writes
on 1.-THE National Income. Expenditure and
DEBIT; Mr. L. Ii. Farrer of the Board of Trade,
who holds perhaps more eccentric views copy
right than any man living, appropriately teonsdcr-
Ing his official pOsltion dlscourses on " The State
in Ilts Relation to Trade; Professor Stanley
Jevons the bitter and unsuccessful assaiant of
John Stuart Mill. on " The State in Relation To
Labor; Mr.. Frederick Pollock son of the trans
iator of Dante and grandson to tho late Lord
Chief Baron of the Exchequcr. and himself lawyer
Of learning and lately anthor of the best existing
book Oh SpinOza, writes on The State and the
Land" The State and the Church ~ mtruSted
10 the Hon. A. ID Elliot second sou of the Earl of
Mimic nominally barrister, elected to Parliament
last year from RoxburghshIrc; Liberal. of course
but equally of course a Wing; a word which III add
ton to its historical value serves now non
intensive prefix to the more modern word Liberal
But to explain who an Elliot is. to explain him
to anybody who knows the modern history of Eng
land and of English oticc-hoders is piece of
extremely superuous presumption. MIR Spencer
Waipole has two subjects tll The Electorate and
the Legislature; (2l e" Foreign Relations" HIS
to he flee of nh ic tea her far
one knows his authorship of an incomplete
History of England from the Conclusion of the
Great War in 1878" which has the honor Of being
cut up i'll the current Quarterly, being written
sin the Radical interest" and though incomplete,
very long Altogether thirteen volumes of "rhe
English Citizen are announced. If they prove To
be simply written free from controversial disquISi-
ton, lucid in statement aud devoid of too much
detail or technical matter they will probably, to
repeat the publishers phrase, meet the demand.
Such books really wanted. But there ought
to be editor; and editor who has very def
mite ideas of his duties i'll relation to his contrbu-
tors.
What such editor can do may be seen by any
body who has read OF even looked over the Eng
lsh Men of Letters" series of which more than
twenty volumes have been published. and ten
Others promised. On the choice of subjects
aud of writer's may depend the whole value of such
series. Out of tho twenty three published biog-
raDhcs two decided mistakes; not in subject but
in the selection of the writer to handle the subject.
and i'll his handling of it, This is not a large pro-
portion surely In almost every other instance tho
selection OF writer's has been not merely sufficient
but delicious. Could this have happened 1t there
had been editors or if there had been an editor
less catholic in spirit aud in Judgment than
Mr. Morley Yet many publishers seem to be of
opinion that such series of books will edit itself
may be edited by the printers foreman. Mr..
Morley in this case rather think appointed himself
editor. In other words. it was he who conceived
the des gn of tho series; which does not detract
from the credit due to Messrs Macmillan in carrying
ont their part of the business. The commercial
success of it has been remarkable. The character
aud reputation of the books being once established
each conner has been lifted into popularity on
the shoulders of his predecessor; not having To wait
for a large circulation To be won by individual
merit.
For example, the latest of the series Is q mono.
graph on Lander by Professor Sidney Colvin Now
II there be a modern English Man of Letters to
whom almost every condition of popularity is
wanting. it is assuredly Walter Savage Lander
Mr. Colvin begins with the remark that few men
have ever impressed their peers SO mnch OF the
general public little; adding that of all cele-
brated authors he has hitherto one of the least
popular. He might have further illustrated his
point had he chosen to say that neither the Life of
Lander" by John Forster. the collected edition
OF Lanior's writings in eight volumes, was a sue
cess from the commercial point of view Mr..
Forster's two tlick volumes of biography were
more, and more solid, than the public cared for.
The collected works. issued by MeSsrs. Chapman &
Hall. were. in the language of the trade sold off
and havi.g been bought by house dealing largely