ART. VIII.-SYNOPSIS OF THE QUARTERLIES AND OTHERS OF THE HIGHER PERIODICALS.

American Reviews.

BIBLIOTHECA SACRA, July, 1880. (Andover.)-1. Do the Scriptures Prohibit the Use of Alcoholic Beverages? by Rev. A. B. Rich, D.D. 2. The Sabbath: the Change of Observance from the Seventh to the Lord's Day; by Rev. William De Loss Love, D.D. 3. Church Parties as Apologists; by Rev. Francis Wharton, D.D., LL.D. 4. The Data of Ethics; by D. M'Gregor Means. 5. The New Testament Vocabulary; by Prof. Lemuel S Potwin. 6. Relations of the Aryan and Semitic Languages; by Rev. J. F. M'Curdy, Ph.D. 7. Theological Education.

NEW ENGLANDER, September, 1880. (New Haven.)-1. Historical Position of Modern Missions; by Rev. N. G Clark. 2. Professor Nordenskiöld as an Arctic Explorer; by Rev. S. J. Douglass. 3. Bryant; by Rev. John L. T. Phillips. 4. The Avesta and the Storm-Myth; by Dr. J. Luquiens. 5. Relation of Evolu tion to Christianity and Rational Truth; by Rev. L. Curtis. 6. Forcing Truths and Duties into Antagonism; by Rev. F. A. Noble. 7. Do we Need an Ethical Revival? by Rev. Henry M. Goodwin.

NEW ENGLAND HISTORICAL AND GENEALOGICAL REGISTER, July, 1880. (Boston.) -1. Biographical Sketch of Joel Munsell; by George R. Howell, Esq. 2. Mun sell Genealogy; by Frank Munsell. 3. Records of the Boston Committee of Correspondence, Inspection, and Safety. (Concluded.) 4. Gray and Coytmore; by William S. Appleton, A.M. 5. Bristol Church Records, 1710 to 1728. 6. Longmeadow Families. 7. Petition of William Horsham, 1684. 8. Taxes under Gov. Andros. 9. Marriage Certificate of John Tucker, 1688. 10. The Cumberland Cruiser. 11. Capt. Hugh Mason's Gravestones. 12. The Edgerly Family. 13. The Great Boston Fire of 1760. 14. Hallowell, Me., and its Li brary. 15. Records of the Rev. Samuel Danforth of Roxbury. 16. Churchill Genealogy. 17. Petition of the Friends or Quakers to the French National Assembly, 1791. 18. Schools in the Last Century. 19. Record of the Rev. John Cotton, 1691 to 1710. 20. Indenture of Apprenticeship, 1747. NORTH AMERICAN REVIEW, September, 1880. (New York.)-1. The Ruins of Central America. Part I. By Désiré Charnay. 2. The Perpetuity of Chinese Institutions; by S. Wells Williams. 3. The Trial of Mrs. Surratt; by John W. Clampitt. 4. The Personality of God; by Prof. W. T. Harris. 5. Steamboat Disasters; by R. B. Forbes. 6. Insincerity in the Pulpit; by Rev. E. E. Hale. 7. Recent Works on the Brain and Nerves; by Dr. George M. Beard. PRINCETON REVIEW, September, 1880. (New York.)-1. Physical Habits as Related to the Will; by Prof. Henry Calderwood, LL.D. 2. Late American Statesmen; by Francis Wharton, LL.D. 3. Popular Education as a Safeguard for Popular Suffrage; by President Robert L. Dabney, D.D., LL.D. 4. Poetic Style; by Principal Shairp, D.C.L. 5. Organization of Labor; by Simon Newcomb, LL.D. 6. Symbolic Logic; Prof. John Venn. Herbert Spencer's Theory of Sociology: A Critical Essay; by President Porter, D.D., LL.D.

QUARTERLY REVIEW OF THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOUTH, October, 1880. 1. Of the Authority of General Councils. 2. Foreign Missions-Progress, Charac teristics, Needs. 3. Southern Methodism and Colored Missions. 4. Studies in Shakspeare. 5. Evolution. 6. Christian Ethics versus Agnosticism. 7. Bishop Marvin. 8. Sunday-school Centenary Celebration. AMERICAN CATHOLIC QUARTERLY REVIEW, October, 1879. (Philadelphia.)—1. The Character of Sanctity in the Catholic Church; by Rev. Aug. J. Thebaud, S. J. 2. Physiology and Modern Materialism; by C. M. O'Leary, M.D., Ph.D. 3. Positions of the Intellectual World as regards Religion; by A. de G. 4. Notes on Spain. Part II; by St. George Mivart, F.R.S., F.Z.S., Sec'y L.S. 5. The Con

flict of Christianity with Heathenism; by Right Rev. John J. Keene, D.D. 6. A Pioneer of the West-Rev. Charles Nerinckx; by John Gilmary Shea, LL.D. 7. Aubrey de Vere's Poems; by M. F. S. 8. The Recent Ministerial Change in England; by J. D. S. 9. Suicide, Considered in its Moral Bearings; by James 10. Some of the Uses of the Microscope in Science; by D. J. MacGold

A. Cain. rick, S.S. In a justly severe notice of Dr. Lindsay's absurd book entitled, "Mind in the Lower Animals," the "Catholic Quarterly' furnishes some valuable contributions to our knowledge of the true character and susceptibility to education of the Australians. Dr. Winchell rates them as lowest in grade and first in time of the human race. It is very important to know then how low

the lowest is:

Catholic missionaries are even now engaged in converting and civilizing the "black fellows of Western Australia" with marked success, and these people, so long looked upon as the extreme of hopeless degradation, show an astonishing intelligence, aptness, and industry. A perusal of the simple account of the mission of New Norcia, near Perth, in Western Australia, which was published in the "Messenger of the Sacred Heart" during the whole of the year 1879, must be sufficient, in any candid mind, to justify to the utmost that confidence of the "worthy people," at whom Dr. Lindsay sneers, in a "potentiality" for culture and civilization existing even in the lowest savages. It gives a direct contradiction of facts, be it remembered, to every one of the reckless assertions we have quoted above. For instance, with regard to their intelligence and capacity for improvement, Mgr. Salvado, Bishop and Superior of the mission, writes: "One day, while I was teaching some little natives to read, one of them learned in ten minutes forty letters of the alphabet, large and small. I believe that few scholars of the same age in Europe would do the same. Another mastered in a few weeks the four rules of arithmetic. third, seeing a captain of the navy taking the meridian with a sextant, watched him closely, and then, taking up the instrument, repeated the operation with perfect exactness. Nor are these isolated cases. "Mr. Thomas, the present official in charge of the aborigines in the district of Victoria, (South Australia,) who has carefully studied the subject, says that the children easily learn to read and write, that they readily commit to memory some lines of poetry or short songs, that they are very fond of oral lessons in geography, and perfectly understand the use of maps. A young native took, two years in succession, the prize for geography in the normal school at Sydney." A still more decisive instance is the following: "A young Australian woman, who with her father and mother had ranged the woods in the most degraded state of barbarism, was a few years ago received at the mission. She was instructed, baptized, and, because she showed more than ordinary talent, educated with special care, and

A

finally advantageously married. She now superintends the postoffice and telegraph station of our department. The government of the English colony gives her, besides lodgings, seven hundred and fifty francs a year. All the Protestant journals in Australia have recorded the appointment, and passed the highest encomiums on the mission where Ellen Cuper-that is the name of the young woman-received her education." The above account is confirmed by an official dispatch from the governor of West Australia to the Earl of Carnarvon, Minister of the Colonies:

"No. 9.

WEST AUSTRALIA, GOVERNOR'S HOUSE, PERTH, January 20, 1876. "MY LORD: It will probably interest you to know that the present director of the post-office and telegraph station is a native woman, who a few years ago was brought to the Roman Bishop Salvado. She performs the duty to the complete satisfaction of the postmaster-general. We have, moreover, a more recent example of the happy influence exercised on the natives of West Australia by this bishop. A few weeks before my arrival Ellen Cuper, the postmistress mentioned above, was obliged on account of ill-health to absent herself for a short time from New Norcia, and I began to look about for some one to supply her place. The bishop at once informed the postmaster-general that he had at his house a young native girl, named Sarah Cann, quite intelligent, and able after a few lessons to take care of the telegraph station. I willingly agreed to give her a trial. During my visit to the mission I found her at the office. She was already quite at home in her new position. On my return to Perth I sent her my congratulations by telegraph, and she at once returned thanks in the most courteous terms. . . . I have the honor to subscribe myself, your lordship's very devoted servant,

...

WILLIAM ROBINSON, Esq., Governor of Perth.

Even in the freedom of their native forests the Australian blacks are by no means the senseless beings, lower than the brutes, nor even the children, that Dr. Lindsay would fain have us believe them. The testimony of Sir Thomas Mitchell on this point leaves no doubt on the question: "The frequent intercourse I had with the inhabitants enables me to speak with full knowledge. I must say that the individuals we come across in the cities are unfair specimens of the race. Those we meet in the forests and immense solitudes of the interior are handsome in appearance and lead a free and happy life. The first one I saw was tall and well-proportioned. His grave demeanor and penetrating look inspired respect. Two white-bearded old men were seated near him before a fire. One of them was most dignified, almost diplomatic, in bearing. He was so observant of decorum that when one of the children spoke a word while I was asking for directions, he admonished him with a slight tap of his long lance. ... The man who consented to be our guide was smaller and less robust than the others, but he was full of resolution and courage, while his acuteness and rare judgment made him so useful that Í always kept him by my side. . . . He spoke little, and always in maxims, which made his sayings easily remembered. This Australian rendered us great services. I should add that his countrymen are not at all so void of intelligence as is generally given out. To me, who saw them in their natural condition, they seemed at least equal, in this respect, to the peasants of England.

They are even in advance of these in a certain politeness and reserve of manner and language that makes a very favorable impression."-Three Expeditions into the Interior of Eastern Australia, by Thomas Mitchell, Esq., quoted in the Messenger.

With regard to their asserted ignorance of the very idea of a God, we think the following passage from the published narrative so important, and the remarks made thereon so judicious, as to deserve quotation in full, despite its length: "It is exceedingly difficult,' says Bishop Salvado, 'to ascertain with accuracy the religious notions of the Australian savage.' And yet we hear certain tourists speak of them as matters well known to all. These travelers, without knowing any thing whatever of the language of the natives, spend a few days, nay, perhaps only a few hours, among them, and then come home and tell us that they are perfectly conversant with the manners, customs, and religious ideas of savages who, either through a spirit of mischief or reserve, have always been most reticent with strangers on these points. I am well aware how these truthful travelers pursue their quest for unpublished notes upon the Australian race. We may imagine one waiting for his prey. Along comes a poor native. Our knowledge-seeker pounces upon him. 'Have you a soul?' he asks. The child of the woods is disgusted and shakes his head, as if to say, 'I don't understand your jargon.' Our friend, the tourist, is delighted. He has made a discovery, and down goes the following note in his memorandum book: 'The Australians do not believe they have souls.' You see the thing from beginning to end is simply a mystification. As soon as he returns home his notes, with interesting illustrations, are given to the public, and, sad to say, by such truthful writers as our friend are the majority taught. Bishop Salvado, moreover, adds that the Australians, who are easily inclined to joke, often amuse themselves at the expense of the innocent traveler. One of them being asked the Australian word for water, replied cona, which in their language meant excrement. At another time they gave the generic name of the subject instead of its own specific one." Dr. Lindsay, by the way, asserts that "the language of the Australian blacks contains no word 'to express a general idea' or abstraction. It has no word, for instance, for the notion 'tree.""

"But from Bishop Salvado they concealed nothing.... They believe in a being all powerful, who created heaven and earth, whom they call Motogon. This Motogon is a man of very great strength and wisdom, a native of the country, and has the same dusky complexion as they have. When creating heaven and earth, and the waters, and plants, and trees, and kangaroos, he breathed and said, 'Heaven and earth, and waters, and plants, and trees, and kangaroos, come forth;' and they came forth and were created. It is interesting to notice the close similarity between the formula of creation, this breathing, and the words of Holy Scripture, 'Let there be light, and there was light,' as the book of Genesis says in describing the creation. The Australians FOURTH SERies. Vol. XXXII.—48

also believe in an evil spirit, whom they call Cienga. It is he who excites the fury of tempests; he causes the destructive equinoctial rains; he whitens their children with leprosy and kills them. Thus the savages believe in two principles, the one good the other bad. But, strange as it may appear, Cienga is as much worshiped as Motogon. I have seen them,' writes the missionary, 'in times of dreadful storms curse Cienga as the author of them, then run and put themselves under the shelter of their. great eucalyptus trees; but when, despite their cloaks of kangaroo skin, they get drenched by the deluging rain, they become furious and stamp the ground with rage, forgetful of Motogon and Cienga.""

We have said enough to show the gross inaccuracy of the idea of the Australians which is given by "Mind in the Lower Animals." The same, did time and space allow, could probably be done with regard to many other races of whom he gives a no more favorable character. We cannot, however, leave this interesting subject without quoting the following passage from the latest works of an eminent French anthropologist, M. de Quatrefages, relating to the community of wives, asserted by our author of the Australians: "We ought, perhaps, to refer to the idea of property, the manner in which adultery is regarded by some peoples.... Nevertheless, even among the most savage tribes, a more elevated feeling, and one which is connected with moral or social ideas, as we ourselves understand them, may be proved often in the clearest manner. The gravity of the punishment incurred by the culprit scarcely permits a doubt that it is so. The Australian, uncorrupted by the vicinity of the white and brandy, never forgives one who has destroyed the purity of his wife, and kills him on the first occasion."-Pp. 561–563.

The reader should particularly note the line where an Englishman places the Australian on a level with English peasants. On all this we query: Is Dr. Winchell after all right in placing the Australians at the bottom of the human race, and so at its historical beginning? May not the Samoieds of the Arctic be really as low or lower, and therefore the true originals of humanity? If both lie at the bottom, why may there not be two original races? May not man then be both a tropical and an arctic animal?" Or if the Samoied is to be held a degenerate variety, why not the Australian? Why not both a degeneration from an Edenic center?

The true conclusion seems to be that the human race is one; and that, surveyed as a whole, it rounds in upon itself exclusively, girt round with a chasin separating it from all other living The highest can pass to the lowest, the lowest to the

races.