The New York herald., 1922-06-11
A Review by
ALLEN w. PORTERFIELD.

81 OF unimpressive appearance,
so little of a politician that he
was not prosecuted, even in 1917, for
publishing "seditious" pamphlets,
won undying fame by impressing
upon his countrymen the fact that
existing institutions are not to be
taken for granted, but to be. judged
by their. results and perpetually or
eanized so as to render the greatest
good to the greatest number. How
ever hackneyed the idea may seem
at present, it is in it that we must
ind the justification for this volume
we might fall back once more on
Jeremy Benthams overworked what
is the use of it?" There are lit
orally hundreds of histories of Eng
land in one volume. And yet. de-
spite everything, including the high
cost Of printing, here is another of
445 profusely documented pages.
with maps, photography. foot notes,
index of names and things, preface.
introduction and dedication-to AL
bert Mansbridge.
Benthams own proposition is the
answer to his and our, inquiry:
England is an institution and one
that cannot be taken for granted,
either by herself or her allies or her
Toes, admitted or secret. Her story
must be retold at stated intervals
after any unusual event-just as a
merchants stock on hand has to
be invoiced every now and then
TO see what progress has. been
made, and what errors have been
committed in the light of recent hap-
penings. The industrial revolution.
the Napoleonic wars, the rise of mu-
nlcipal socialism-these and all the
other incidents related and inter-
preted in this treatise have a mean
ing now that is quite different from
what they had in 1914 Mr.. Trevel-
yam has gone into the whole story,
from the North Ministry G77O-S2)
to MIR. Lloyd Georges Coalition. with
a fearlessness that reminds one
more of English fair play and a thor
oughness that upholds the best ira
ditions of Cambridge scholarship.
The book should be placed at once
and quite generally in the hands of
those Americans who affect to feel
that If our children are to be brought
up in the nurture and admonition of
unbleached loyalty to the flag. our.
school histories must be revised, rad
ically and before the opening of the
next session.
As to the principle of fairness, Mr..
Trevelyan is never blind to the mis-
takes England made, as he sees it,
during the century under investiga-
ton. He remarks with the unpity-
ing objectivity of a trustworthy his
torian that the Duke of York, instead
of being honored with a monument
that rivals Nelson's, should have
been let off with bust in some gall
lery of the War Office on the ground
that the most he did, after his un-
forgettable fiasco as Commander-in-
Chief of the Netherlands, was to help
ADLER generals than himself to reor-
ganize the army that Wellington
eventually led to victory. But he got
a tall column because he was the son
of George ILL., Mr.. Trevelyan also
contended that at any time in the
decade following 1882 Reform Bill,
Catholic Emancipation and the pay
ment of the Catholic priests by the
Government would have changed the
whole subsequent history of Ireland
and made it more delectable reading.
He writes: Irish history from 1882
to 1901 is the history of England's
first failure to know her appointed
hour" His picture of the horrors
of child labor, as allowed if not en-
forced until not so long ago, are
of almost excessive severity. His
account of the manner in which COM
missions in the British army were
bought outright by the highest bid
der as late as 1871 sounds incred-
ible. He says that if the custom
had not been abolished 1--WE should
have lost the war"