does not profess to be original; it fully confesses its obligations to recent economic books, and to certain great names, like Kingsley and Maurice. But, though nowhere going deeply into social questions, it is an encouraging sign of the times. First, it is by a priest of the English Church; secondly, some of its lectures appear to have been addressed to the professional classes; thirdly, it shows that recent social work and thought is bearing fruit in open speech. account. The book repeats itself a good deal; I do not find fault on this For what has now to be done is to repeat again and again, to audiences of average folk, the facts of social life and the principles of the Christian religion, side by side. Epigrammatic horsemanship and display is all very well; but "hammering on the hard high-road " is absolutely essential to any general progress in social ideas of the mass of men. The middle and upper well-to-do classes must be talked to with importunity, and supplied with such telling illustrations as our present winter experiences are likely to give us in abundance. Repeat, then, by all means. If there be criticism to offer, it is this, that at times the author seems a little too anxious to hold a brief in Church defence, and to assume that more sympathy with his views exists in clerical circles than is actually the case. The country clergy, at all events, are not yet so generally inoculated with the newer ideas. They are mostly members of one political party only; and members-often active members of partisan leagues. It cannot be too loudly proclaimed that the truest Church defence consists in the Church's taking a decided lead in all these questions, not for the sake of her own popularity, but through the compulsion laid on her by her Master to befriend the poor. I do not feel quite sure whether I understand fully the scheme of Church reforms suggested in one lecture. But, if I do, it seems that the principle of order is not sufficiently safeguarded. It is a good thing that the working-man too should be told the truth as to his own shortcomings. Those who are labouring to emancipate him can do so freely. Material comfort is but a poor ideal, if the only ideal. No emancipation will last that is not moral and spiritual too. The author is plain enough about this. It is to be hoped that other men will have the courage to speak out, simply, forcibly, intelligibly. It is now time to come down from an Academic gallery, and take possession of the arena. Those who agree on principles must organize, and must use the press. Why should Catholic Churchmen be silent, while the Romans and the Secularists are hard at work? It is for this reason that I thoroughly commend, without always agreeing with, the studies in this book. T. C. FRY. LAND NATIONALIZATION. By HAROLD Cox, B.A. [189 pp. Crown 8vo. 2s. 6d. Methuen. London, 1892.] The author has given to the public rather a discursive work, treating briefly of various topics, all of considerable interest, and all more or less of importance as bearing on the question of land nationalizatiou. The fact of the matter is, that any such scheme, simple as it sounds when enshrined in a short formula of two words, is of very widereaching consequences, and necessarily, therefore, of a very intricate and complex kind. So in Mr. Cox's book, though there is a want of cohesion and connection apparent at first sight, yet the subjects which he handles all have their place in the discussion on the land question. Moreover, when ardent advocates like Mr. Henry George have drawn out elaborate pictures of the certain results of their pet scheme with the intention of proving that simultaneously with its adoption the millennium will begin, others who, like Mr. Cox, have their doubts about such a "cheap millennium must be pardoned if, in following them and showing up the weak points of the scheme, they have to lead their readers rather a dance. One strong point in the book is that it bases its reasonings on the study of history, and that nearly sixty pages are occupied with an historical treatment of land tenure and taxation in the past. Economic science has suffered grievously in the past from a want of historical ballast, and perhaps no branch of economics has suffered so much in this way as the whole question of rent. Happily, a more arduous investigation of the past, combined with a more real attention to the actual state of the present, is doing a good deal to discredit crazy theories; and the work of Mr. Seebohm, Professor Ashley, and Dr. Cunningham is making it more and more difficult for any one to fall in with the fallacies, moral or intellectual, of agrarian doctrinaires. Let it not, however, be supposed from this that Mr. Cox's book is a mere old-fashioned defence of the rights of private property there is a good deal of temperate and well-advised discussion of such subjects as mining royalties and the growth of town populations, which shows a lively consciousness of the need of much reform in our social relations, but he protests against reform taking the shape of an attack upon one particular class of men and one particular class of property. An interesting chapter, called "Some Suggestions," closes the volume, and deals with many subsidiary questions connected with the land. W. H. FRERE. TRAVAUX DE CONGRÉS DE pratique des questions sociales. [209 pp. 8vo. 2 fr. 50 c. Fischbacher. Paris, 1891.] There is much interesting matter in this report to all whose duties or inclinations bring them into contact with the problems which are here treated. 66 And first a word about the Association itself. It numbers now 502 members, of whom 303 are pasteurs," 164 laymen, and 35 ladies. Its aim is the practical advance of Christian Socialism; but it is careful to declare that it is ready to co-operate with all men of good feeling, without distinction of opinions. We may assume that the members share the opinion of their president, that "an age of association is about to replace an era of competition, unless man in his folly opposes it." But it is perhaps not so much the general aim of the society as the matter which is contained in their proceedings which is of interest to us on this side of the Channel. The two most prominent questions which were debated were Relief of the unemployed and Co-operation. Upon the first subject a great deal of important evidence was collected. We have first the experience of the Swiss Labour Bureau, founded October, 1888. Its aim is to act as intermediary between employer and employee. It is noticeable that in three years 7000 applications for work were received, and only 1389 applicants were placed. Unfortunately no details are given either of the quality of the work or of the workers. A more detailed account is given of the "Maison de l'Hospitalité par le Travail" at Lyons. Founded in 1889 on an annual subscription of 6400 francs, it was supporting an average of 27 people a day during January, 1891, at an average cost of 1 franc per head per diem. These waifs were kept for eight days, during which time each was occupied in wood-chopping, and the average per head is stated to have been fifty ordinary faggots in three days, selling for 10 francs per hundred, or thereabouts. The food supplied was most economical, and at the same time excellent; here it is as given in the report: "Au reveil une soupe aux légumes; á midi un plat de viande (tous les jours), un plat de légumes ou pâtes, fromage ou fruits, bière (!), pain; le soir soupe aux légumes, pain et fromage." The ration of bread allowed was one kilogramme a day. These same victuals are, it is said, supplied in Paris relief establishments, at an average cost of 68 centimes per head per diem. The experiment was tried of offering a bonus of 1 centime for every faggot above the regulation number, and it was found that a profit was thus secured for the "Maison." In spite of the comforts of the place, a large proportion of the men found work for themselves and did not return afterwards-a fact which speaks well for the tact employed in administering the relief, and also for the independence of the ouvrier. Thus, out of 675 men taken in, 100 left without obtaining work, 120 were placed with employers; 21 only were dismissed for refusing to work, and of the remainder" by far the larger number" found work for themselves. It is perhaps worth noticing that, though Switzerland and Germany were fairly represented among those admitted to the "Maison," there was not a single Englishman. The English unemployed plainly does not migrate to Lyons or its neighbourhood! Four applicants gave their profession as "Professeur," but the interesting detail, viz. "of what," is not given-unfortunately! The society hopes to open a corresponding house for females, and also to acquire "agricultural colonies" whither incorrigible vagabonds may be sent. It has been sometimes asked in England whether vagrants could not be set to some more paying work than wood-cutting. On this we have here the evidence of the president of a similar institution at Génes, where the men were employed in making "des paillassons, des souliers á semelles de cordes, du cartonnage grossier, des couronnes mortuaires." However, we find a deficit in the accounts of 10,000 francs out of an expenditure of 40,000. From the consideration of this subject the meeting turned to Cooperation. Here there is less to interest the English reader-especially as the chief speaker allowed a perhaps pardonable enthusiasm to lead him rather far into platitude. One remark, however, is worth mentioning. The reader of the paper complained that Co-operative Societies are too apt to consider only the immediate advantage of the circle of their customers instead of the good of co-operation as a whole. "Au lieu de l'égoisme des individus nous aurions l'égoisme des groupes." The same objection has lately been advanced in England. It is here suggested that a sort of co-operative parliament should settle from scientifically tabulated statistics the prices of all articles sold at cooperative stores. J. B. BAKER. THE THE HISTORY OF ENGLISH SERFDOM.1 HE history of dogma possesses a peculiarly fascinating interest it abounds in illustrations of what we may call collective mental processes. And this interest is not confined to the dogmas of theology; it is provoked by dogmas of every kind, -by the dogmas of history itself. Such a dogma, for instance, is what is known as the mark theory. I do not know whether it is necessary to explain to the readers of the Economic Review what is meant by the term. It is, in brief, that English social history began with the occupation of the country by groups of independent freemen; that these settled down in free village communities, with common ownership of the area they cultivated; or, if, as some thought, our forefathers had already arrived at the idea of private property in the arable fields, that primitive communism survived in their common ownership of the pasture and adjacent waste; and that the lord of the manor was a comparatively late comer, who contrived in divers ways to depress the villagers to the condition of serfdom. All this happened, it was supposed, in the period between the conquest of England by the English and the conquest by the Normans, and by the latter conquest the process was consummated. The appearance of this doctrine in Oxford was, I should imagine, roughly coeval with the establishment of the separate Honour School of Modern History in 1872. Up to that time, so far as English history was studied at all, the usual textbook was Hallam; and Hallam does not seem to have even suspected the existence of any such institution as the free village community. He laid down, without any misgivings, 1 Villainage in England. By Paul Vinogradoff, Professor in the University of Moscow. [464 pp. 8vo. 16s. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1892.] VOL. III.-No. 2. L |