Mr. Leland Buxton, his publisher tells us, possesses personal knowledge
which makes him competent to describe life in a Crown Colony. This is not a particularly reassuring fact to the Imperialist reader, for the author gives us a rather too vivid story of the happenings in " Mongolia," where serious consequences, including a native rising, are brought about by the unscrupulousness of British concessionaires, who try to obtain benefits for themselves at the expense of the native population. The Imperialist in the book is made to hope for a Labour Government that would retain all professional Governors, as these, backed by a Government of the Left, would make ideal rulers of primitive peoples. As the book is written in a decidedly sarcastic tone, however, it is difficult to know whether Mr. Buxton puts forth this suggestion as a serious solution of Imperial problems. The author is not very happy when he leaves " Mongolia " for England, but his descriptions of life at Government House are amusing, and there is a siege by natives of an up country bungalow that is really thrilling. Altogether Mr. Buxton has produced a noteworthy book, though its construction betrays the hand of an amateur.
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