The sun., 1908-08-09
SOME NEW BOOKS.
spencer Walpole's Essays.

Spencer Walpole's Essays.
Mr.. Francis Holland has rendered q
service hy republishing in book form some
ten Essups. Political dnd Rio0rd phicdl ,E.
p. Dutton d Coz, by the late Sir SPENCER
WALpoLB, widely known as the author OF
"A History Of England From 1885, to which
he added Q supplement-, not quito completed
at the time Of his death, called -The History
OF twenty-five Years. The value Of his
historical writings is appreciated on this
aide Of the Atlantic as well az In his native
country. In the judgment OF Sir Alfred
Lyall the Indian ohapters In the lost volume
Of the History Of England constitute the
best short narrative Of the stirring period
with which they deal that has ever ap-
peared. Mr.. James Rhodes In an address
delivered by him In October. 1907, to the
Massachusetts, Historical Society dwelt at
length upon the interest. the accuracy and
the impartiality OF Walpole's History
while he described as ~masterly' the chap
ter on "The American Civil War; In one
Of the essays here reprinted Walpole re-
turns to that subject. discussing 1The
Causes OF the American Civil War; or
singular interest also are the essays Oh
George Crabbe.' on 'The Croker Papers,
on the part which at one time was played
In English politics by 'Mne. do Lieven'
and on sThe Dining Societies Of London
In all Of his writings he had the advantage
Of understanding, from his membership OF
an old political family. the point OF view Of
Englsnd's governing classes, while to bis
kindly nature nothing human was alien
II In doubtful whether any man Of his time
was better qualified TO relate the story CT
the transition from the Old World CT the
generations before Waterloo to the New
World as It appears when transformed by
tho wars, ny the revolutions and above
all by the inventions which have shaped
the nineteenth century.
L.
We naturally begin our notice OF this
book with the essay on "The Causes OF the
American Civil War At the time when he
wrote this paper It was true that the aver
age 'Englishnnan, although Mr.. Bryce hnd
given him some insight into the mechanism
OF American politics, knew lees Of the his
tory OF his own kinsmen on the western
side OF the Atlantic during the nineteenth
century than he knew Of the record of
France or Of tho rise Of Germany during
the same period. The average English
man dozen years ago would have been
reluctant to acknowledge that he could not
give an ineligible account Of the coup
d'etat OF 1881 in France. yet he would hardly
have been ashamed to confess that he had
scarcely heard of another epoch making
event. so far a. the United States wss con-
cerned-the compromise of 1850. Sir Spen-
Ger Walpole recognized that there we're
several reasons why this state NJ things
should not endure. He foresaw that the
Increasing intercourse between English
uen and Americans must make the people
OF each country more Interested in learning
the recent history Of the other. The posi-
tion which the United States has already
attained In tho world and the part which
II 10 evidently destined TO play must in |
evitably create an increasing concern in
all that has tended to its development. |
while the fact that during the last hall
heen the scene OF the greatest drama, t,.e |
most tremendous struggle. which has
taken place In the modern world could not |
inquirer. Sir Spencer was also keenly alive |
and OF it's causes IL still invested with lively |
lutcftBt. ~ 10 uuV bhAhk tuO tOttOtb VI VIC |
slave have been stricken on but the negro |
is still present in the States. and IN certain |
districts he Ia multiplying his kind with !,
a rapidity which eIcites alarm and which |
threatens to wrest numerical supremacy |
from the white man. In other words. the |
sins Of the fathers are being visited on the |
children; and the encouragement Of slavery |
in one century has been succeeded by
"5lack peril in another.
When he speaks Of the Tsins Of the |
fathers however, Sir Spencer frankly ao-
that the sin was not exclusively |
that OF the American colonist He knows. |
and gives full weight to the fact, that |
throughout the eighteenth century no |
European country chung more resolutely |
to the slave trade than did Great Britain. |
He recalls that the one popular article In |
the treaty Of Utrecht was the provision |
which secured for the British an absolute |
monopoly in the supply Of slaves to the |
Spanish colonies. He recalls further that !
under George III. instructions were given |
I'd the Royal Governor Of Virginia. upon |
pain OF the highest displeasurc.' to assent |
to no colonial law by which the importation |
OF slaves should In any respect be pro- !
Mbited or obstructed. In the hundred |
years which preceded 1776 English and |
colonial ships carried to the West Indies |
and the English continental colonies nearly |
three million negroes Sir Spencer points |
out that even good men in England were |
then insensible to the horrors Of the traffic. |
The ship In which Hawkins commenced |
the trade was named the Jesus; Whitefeld. |
the revivalist, was not only a slave owner |
himself but argued strongly for the intro |
duction Of slaves into Georgia; the Society |
for the Propagation Of the Gospel was
large slave owner; Lord Dartmouth, one
Of the most religious statesmen Of the
eighteenth century. declared that England |
could not allow the colonies to check or
discourage in any degree a traflo 30 bone
fetal to the British nation. and finally |
Newton, the evangelist. who at ono time
was the captain Of slave ship, said that
he never know 'sweeter or more frequent
hours OF divine communion than on his
last two voyages to Guinea.
Nor does what We have here reproduced |
represent the limit Of Sir spenoer's candid
He admits with equal free
dom that while IN England statesmen
and religious men were warmly defending
slavery and the slave trade public opinion