CONTINUED SUCCESSFUL OFFENSIVE IN THE WEST.

NOTHER four weeks have passed. But those four weeks are remarkable for the further advances the Anglo-French Troops have been able to make on the Western Theatre, east and west of the Somme. Each advance has been won by sheer hard fighting and superior artillery, admirably aided by the militant airfleet which has now established its unquestioned superiority over that of the enemy. Their careful patrol and intelligent observation of the enemy's diverse positions have been of the highest value to the Generals in command on the land and on the coverts, and woods so thickly fortified and barbed by divers ingenious devices. Perrone is in a state of seige, and its fall is only a question of the last resistance of the enemy. Winter has almost set in, but day after day bombing and artillery duels of a most destructive character on each side are exchanged, with final victory for the Entente Troops who were never more in such high spirits, the nearer the beginning of the end is clearly discerned. The Generals in command of both the Armies have known the secret of their success. Hence they are able to take every step forward on the Rhine with absolute certainty of success. Still, the long looked-for decision has not been reached, and it seems it may yet be weeks before it is arrived at. But in a warfare of this character, immense patience and powers of endurance have to be exercised.

Meanwhile the enemy, so continually defeated in the daily sanguinary struggles, seeks to find some comfort or compensation for the dejected people and the depressed military Camarilla, at Berlin, in the diversion he creates on the east coast of England or even near London by means of its air raids. Big Super-Zeppelins were in evidence in the early part of October, but the

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superior vigilance and careful strategy of the air craft have brought two of them down, one all aflame from stern to stern, so to say, and one in pieces Meanwhile, the "campaign of frightfulness seems to be carried on with all the dire vengeance of the beaten foe. The submarines, in defiance of all international law on the high seas, and in defiance of the feelings and whatnot of the Neutral Governments, are daily torpedoeing merchant vessels and playing havoc with them. But how long these murderous pirates will be able to carry on their nefarious campaign remains to be seen.

All the same, the Government of the United States seems to be adamant and unable to take any decisive measures either by diplomacy, or by stronger means, to bring to bay the lawless enemy, who seems determined to go down to the world's history as the most barbaric and brutal of all the nations from times historic and prehistoric. President Wilson's imbecile statesmanship, under the pretext of the strictest neutrality, makes even angels in Heaven weep. But very recently Viscount Grey embraced the occasion, at the dinner given by the associated neutral foreign offices in London, to give a clincher to all the quibblings and the shiftings of the State's Secretary in this matter, quibblings and shiftings deserving only of the pettifogging attorney with a hopelessly rotten case. That statesman, so calm, so unmoved, and so adament in his firmness, has also openly declared that no peace is of any value which does not guarantee the sacredness of treaty obligations in the future for the safety and freedom of all the nations of the world. Mr. Asquith too in a most patriotic speech declared to the same effect in the House of Commons. In fact, all the principal ministerial utterances during the month have made it clear

to the enemy that the Entente Powers are determined to continue the war to its bitter end.

GENERAL ALEXEIEFF (Chief of Staff of the Russian Armies). THE EASTERN THEATRE.

In the Eastern Theatre, the Italians have become full masters of the Trentino, and are heroically hurling the masses of the Austro-Germans who are struggling to regain many a lost strategic position. The Italian Army has been achieving brilliant military feats which shall form a bright page in history. In the Balkans, affairs seem to be fluctuating. The Russians do not seem to have made any tangible progress in the Carpathians. Evidently Austria is bent on recovering Galicia with the aid of the Germans, but so far as events have gone, it is in a hopeless state. The Serbians are fighting heroically and driving out the Bulgarians from Greek Macedonia. They are reported to be within 6 miles of

Monastir, where the French are assisting them. The Roumanians have been somewhat checkmated in the Dobrudja owing to some original miscalculation. For a time it seemed that the advancing tide of the Turks and the Bulgars, led by the Germans, might cross the passes and be thundering at the frontiers. But their advance has been greatly checked in time by their ablest General; and, as we write, the Roumanians are valorously holding the principal passes in Transylvania. If they succeed in firmly holding them, of which there is yet some fear, then the Bulgars and Turks are bound to meet their fate. Russia meanwhile is at the back of Roumania and doing yeoman service in the Dobrudja.

The Entente are fast on Salonika and doing their best to drive away the Bulgar from part of Greece where, owing to the rank folly of the king, urged by his kinsmanat Berlin, some forts had been allowed or ordered to be needlessly surrendered. The situation at Athens is of a most critical character. A whole army corps of ten thousand had been kidnapped and transported to Berlin, creating a great sensation and vexing the soul of the patriotic Greeks. They are said to have been sent back and are disarmed by the Entente. The king is still very stubborn and unable to see his way to join at once the Entente. His following is daily falling off, and it is only a question of days when he may have to submit unreservedly to the conditions demanded by the ultimatum or note recently submitted to him or to fly for life. The Greek fleet is now fully under the control of AngloFrench Admirals. Monsieur Venezelos has issued a manifesto from Crete, where he has formed a provisional government. He has asked the king to still respect the constitution and save his people. If he fails, it would be his only fault and final fall. All eyes are turned to Greece, but the Entente are firm and sitting in patience, knowing that the ultimate fate of that unhappy country is in their own hands. The next four weeks' events will clear the Greek atmosphere, and the struggle with the Balkans will be simplified.

HINDUISM: THE WORLD IDEAL. By Mr. Harendranath Maitra. Cecil Palmer and Hayward. 2/6 net.

This volume is a valuable contribution to the study of the inner meaning and significance of the religion of the Hindus. It seeks to present the ideals of Hinduism in their universal aspect and point out their influence on the life and conduct of the Indian people. It shows with remarkable clearness and simplicity that the ideals of Self-culture and Self-realisation form the basis of Hindu civilisation, that they have been through all ages the one distinct note of the philosophy, the science, the poetry and the art of India, that in them all Hindu faiths find their reconciliation and all Hindu practices their justification, and that from them proceed the inspiration which makes the inner life of the Hindu more comprehensive, more universal, in fact, more truly human than that of his Western brother. The author, who has had exceptionable opportunity of studying the life and civilisation of the West, says that the ruin and devastation which now threaten them are due to the spirit of individualism, based on material and selfish interests that underlies them and suggests that the only way in which they can be rescued from the impending catastrophe is to remould them into harmony with the Hindu ideals. He maintains that the spiritual ideal which pervades pervades Hinduism and stamps it with immortality is a universal ideal for the human race and that it alone has the capacity to lead the nations of the world along the paths of peace, wisdom and love.

India holds her torch of spiritual culture to dispel the darkness of the world. It is the fire of spirituality that she lit in the infancy of human civilisation. That fire which she received she holds aloft to-day. It is the spiritual fire which the Hindus have sacredly kept and that is the only saving message in this world-cataclysm we are passing through to-day.

This is indeed a bold claim to put forward, but it is noteworthy that it has evoked a sympa

thetic response in the mind of the eminent Western critic, who has written an interesting preface to this volume. Mr. Chesterton admits that the unity of India is spiritual unity and that Krishna and Buddha are greater unifying powers than Napoleon or Frederick the Great. THE KEY OF KNOWLEDGE. By Champat Rai Jain, Barrister-at-law. Published by The Central Jaina Publishing House, Arrah, India.

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This is an elaborate work of over a thousand pages, expounding in the main the principles of the Jain religion, but reviewing and criticising practically every other well-known religion in the world. It deals, among other things, with Creation,'' The Fall' and ' Redemption,' 'Yoga, Karma,' The Jain Siddhanta,' and 'Reconciliation.' As the preface indicates, it is a work to be read in parts at a time and to be meditated upon. Its chief purpose is to reconcile the numerous theories in religion which are hitherto considered irreconcilable. The English is excellent, the style is lucid, and the work is full of sublime thoughts. The author's conclusion that' while other religions dread the search-light of intellect, Jainism insists on its full-blaze being turned on the problems of life' may not be acceptable to all, but we feel sure that the author is writing from conviction and has done his best to present Jainism in an attractive aspect.

HELLEN KELLER; THE STORY OF STANLEY; THE EXPLORER. Christian Literature Society. Price 1 anna each.

Small pamphlets belonging to a long series which are useful for those that wish to know something about some of the famous men and women of the world.

BIBLE LESSONS FOR USE IN ZENANAS. By Edith M. Annett. Christian Literature Society. Price As. 5.

Practical suggestions and outline courses useful for Christian work.

CHINESE RELIGION THROUGH HINDU EYES. By Binoy Kumar Sarkar. The Commercial Press, Shanghai.

Mr. B. K. Sarkar, well known as the author of "The Positive Background of Hindu Sociology" and translator of Sukra-Niti, has brought out the above work as a result of his careful study of the religions of China and Japan. The author rightly objects to the Western dictum that 'the East is East, and the West is West,' and points out, after an interesting examination of the outlines of Indian, Chinese, Indian, Chinese, and Japanese histories, that more or less similar movements in politics, religion, and other matters have swayed the people at large in both spheres from time to time. The author's special thesis in this work is the remarkable analogies between India on the one hand, and China and Japan on the other, in their religious conceptions and progress of religious thought. This parallelism is fully brought out by a consideration of the different periods of the history of each country. Buddhism in its two forms Hinayanism and Mahayanism, Torism, Confucianism, and Shintoism, are all described and compared, and the author maintains that Asiatic mentality has several common features which are worthy of notice, for instance, the conception of Rita or Sanathana Dharma, the conception of pluralism in worship, and the spirit of Toleration. The author also maintains that Buddhism is not extinct in India, as he considers that various forms of worship in modern Hinduism like those of Vaishnvaism, Shaivaism, and Tantric worship are all essentially the same as the Mahayanic cult of Buddhism. The work contains various other acute observations that may challenge criticism, but are evidently the result of wide study and careful thought. The work is worth serious study by all thoughtful Hindus. The bibliographies at the beginning and the end of the work are very useful. The work is published by the Commercial Press of Shanghai, and is neatly got up.

MUSLIM HOME. By H. H. The Begam of Bhopal. Thacker Spink & Co., Calcutta.

BAGAVAT GITA. By S. Narayana Swami Iyer, High Court Vakil, Tinnevelly.

THE STORY OF THE INDIAN MUTINY. By Henry Gilbert. George G. Harrap & Co., London. THE PRESS UNDER THE PRESS ACT. By K. Vyasa Rao, B.A. Srinivasa Varadachari & Co., Madras. A VEDIC GRAMMAR FOR STUDENTS. By Arthur Anthony Macdonell, M.A., Ph.D. Oxford University Press, Bombay.

INDIAN HISTORY IN THE CLASS ROOM. By H. L. Chablani, M.A. Sind Publishing House, Hyderabad (Sind.)

GAZETTEER OF THE CUDDAPAH DISTRICT. Vol. I. By C. F. Brackenbury, I.C.S. Government Press, Madras.

SUTASAMHITA. By S. Ramachandra Sastri and K. Kuppuswami Sastri. Sarada Mandiram, Triplicane, Madras.

By

PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION IN ANCIENT INDIA. Pramathanath Banerjea, M.A. Macmillan & Co., London.