Evening star., 1939-01-15

VI lldll Clllllk1llS. ACdIl IOu1Ao
tells part of it here, weaving in the
life story of one of the great Ameri-
can lawyers of the first half of the
10Th century, Edward Livingstone,
member of Andrew Jackson's cabi-
net. This volume consists of series
of lectures delivered at Tulane Uni
versity, in Louisiana, in 1886 on the
occasion of the Tooth anniversary of
Livingstone'S death.
Dean Pound emphasizes the prac-
tical basis of the development of
American law. The lawyers and
judges who nodded it were not the
orists. They were far from the
philosophic atmosphere of their Eu-
ropean contemporaries, men like Sir
Henry Maine in England, who were
delving into the anthropological and
sociological foundations of law.
Their laboratories were courtroomS,
not great libraries.
1t was a development of which no
American lawyer can afford to re-
main ignorant, and the story hardly
could be told more authoritatively
or Interestingly than by one of the
countrys greatest teachers.
T. R. H.
BACKGROUND TO MODERN SCI
ENCE. Edited by Joseph Need
ham and Walter Pagel. New
York: The Macmillan Co.
This volume is a revision of a
history-o science lecture series at
Cambridge University-the sort OF
series which is becoming almost an
annual event at many American in
stitutions of higher learning.
1t presents the stories of progress
for 40 years in the fields of physics
astronomy. physiology, pathology
biology and parisitology. This has
been, perhaps. the most momentou;
period in the annals of the human
mind-the period when the thinking
of the ages in the field of natural
philosophy came into blossom anc
the dry limbs of science fr1lited with
thousands of benefits for mankind
The quality of the material is
vouched for by the names of the
lecturers-Sir Arthur Eddington
Lord Rutherford, j. B. S. Haldane
F. NJ. Cornford, Sir William Dam
pier, F. w. Ashton, j. A. Ryle. G. H
F. Nuttall, R. c. Punnett. Seldom
has such a galaxy of intellect beer
gathered between the pages of one
volume. These names constitute nc
small part of the glory of the human
mind in this generation. and many
OF them belong indisputably with
England's immortals.
These men had to sketch thei,
fields hurriedly. None of them evel
claimed to be a master of popular
presentation of a complicated sub.
Ject. Nonetheless, they have fur.
nished fascinating reading which
has the additional advantage of in.
disputable authority. T.. Ri.
THE BLACK JACOBINS. BY c. l.
R. James. New York: The Dial
Press.
Toussaint L'Ouverture is esteemed
by this biographer as the most
greatly gifted single figure to ap-
pear on the historical stage between
1889 and 1915, with the lone excep-
ton Of Napoleon. Mr.. James
after scrupulous investigation, ha.
brought a detailed justification o1
his belief by probing virtually al
available accounts of the gallant
Negro who, perhaps more than any
one else, instrumented the liberia.
ton of the slaves and ultimate in.
dependence of San Domingo.
Mr.. James does more than that
Employing the same care and thor.
oughness, he delves into the root o1
the San Domingo revolution, de
nounces the tyranny and cruelty o
white property owners and econo
mists, follows the rise and fall o
mulatto and mulatto influence,
domination and the constantly shift
ing alliances of the many Influential
factions and classes. both domesti
and foreign. Conditions on tn
island became and remained turbu
lently inverted from the fall Of tn
Bastile in France and altered in &C
cordance with every major convolu
ton of the French Revolution unit
Toussaint took his authoritativ
hold.
Amid such scene did Toussaint
son of an African chief and brother
to the bonds of slavery, lift himself
| out OF the confusion to champion
as few men have ever SO unswerv'
ingly championed, the cause OF lib
erty. Great organizer, astute diplo
mat, though handicapped by th'
inability to write, strategic, coura
geous fighter inspiring the large an
scattered, ill-equipped raw arm
of independence" which drove tn
British and Spanish from the islan'
and held the French at bay-Ml
James is efusive in awarding Tous
saint these attributes. Yet he i
always reasonable and well fortifle,
with references. What is more, h
handles this chronicle of vividl
dramatic history with vigor and An
I dramatic sense. j. 8.
VENEZUELA. BY Erna Ferguson
New York: Alfred A. Knopf.
Citizens Of the United States as
whole are conscious more than eve
in their history, perhaps, Of thei
neighbors of South and Centrs
America. The events of recent year
leading up to the Lima conferenc
and President Roosevelts plea for
common defense mechanism upon
continental basis, have done muc
to awaken a real interest in thos
neighbors.
It is safe to say, however, that tn
average citizen of this country hs
only the vaguest notions about tn
personalities, lives, problems and as
pirations of the citizens of HI
neighboring republics. He possibl
has been vaguely distressed to hes
that those neighbors accuse him {
"impetialistic" designs in his dea
l.