Actual India. By Arthur Sawtell. (Elliot Stock. 3s. 8d. net.)
—Mr. Sawtell says frankly that he is "an admirer of British rule " ; but he is no " through-thick-and-thin " apologist. There are things in our Indian system with which ho finds grave fault. The Excise system, as at present worked, is ono of them. But he takes a common-sense view of the whole subject. He will not allow, for instance, that famine is duo to misgovernment. If the rains fail, the crops will not grow, and the famine comes. Where irrigation might make up for deficient rain, and has been neglected, there is blame ; but such cases are comparatively rare. About one-fifth of the cultivable area in British India is irrigated. This includes the region where the work is easiest. And ways and means have to be considered. If a similar problem had to be faced in this country, it would be speedily solved by private enterprise. But private enterprise is not a great force in India. Wealth that would here be turned to profitable account is there more or less literally buried. Mr. Sawtell's book will be found a treasure of information, which may be accepted as coming from a well-informed and fair-minded person.
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