NEW LAW BOOKS.
// is the intention of The Green Bag to have its book reviews written by compétent reviewers. The usual custom of magasines is to confine book notices to books sent in for review. At the request of subscribers, however, The Green Bag will be glad to review or notice any recently published law book whether received for review or not.
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DEPENDENCIES: A Study ot the Evolution of the Federal Empire, with Special Reference to American Colonial Problems. By Alpheus H. Snow. New York : G. P. Putnam's Sons. 1902. (vi. ¡ 619 pp.) Thrs book is not to any considerable extent controversial or theoretical. It is obvious enough, to be sure, that its author deems it both expedient and just for the United States to have permanent depend encies; but the reader with a contrary opin ion will not find that the book is in the least inappropriate for his reading. What the author chiefly _undertakes to demonstrate controversially is simply that Imperial possi bilities inevitably must have been in the minds of the founders of the United States and actually were recognized in the Consti tution, and that hence it is not revolutionary for the United States to undertake the ad ministration of new dependencies. The book is scholarly in tone; and its method is both analytical and historical. That the author is skilful in his analysis of ideas and clear in his use of language, is indicated by the following interesting pas sages: "Government so constituted that the depositaries of governmental power are per sons of ordinary common sense, without ex pert knowledge and experience, is popular government. Government so constituted that the depositaries of governmental power are qualified to decide the problems by ex pert knowledge, investigation, and. reason ing, and actually do so decide them, is ex pert government. . . . The possibility of the government being wholly popular or wholly expert exists in every kind of State. ... As matter of fact, no States do commit
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themselves wholly to the theory that gov ernment is the expression of the popular will or wholly to the theory that it is a science. ... A State and its dependencies, in what ever light the latter are regarded, consti tute, according to the accepted public law of the civilized world, an Empire. The old conception of an Empire as a Kingdom composed of Kingdoms, and of an Emperor as a King who rules over other Kings, is passing away, and in its stead has come the conception of the Empire as a State com posed of distinct and often widely separated populations or States, of which a State is the Central Government or Emperor. The State so acting as the Central Government or Emperor—whatever may be its inner constitution, whether monarchical, oligarchi cal, republican, whether federal or unitary —is called the Imperial State. The study of the administration of dependencies is in fact, therefore, the study of the form and nature of the Modern Empire." Passing from the explanation of the gen eral point of view and of the phraseology adopted, the author devotes the greater part of his book to a detailed history of the mode in which England has governed colonies both in America and elsewhere. There is also an adequate account of the mode in which our own Government has dealt with regions not included in the original or the new States. Less elaborate, but sufficient for the purpose, is the description of the theory and practice of colonial administra tion pursued by France and other Conti nental powers. Throughout, there is en lightening use of quotations from documents and treatises. The volume is, indeed, a storehouse of valuable information, thor oughly fitted for the use of the trained and laborious investigation, and carrying him as near as is possible to the original sources. Its defect—if so strong a word may properly be used—is not in execution but in plan; for the plan, praiseworthy in so many res pects, fails to include—for the benefit of those who cannot be called trained or labori ous, but who are numerous, to say the least —an occasional summary of the system ex
