STURHAHN, EDWARD MARSHALL. Reinsur ance. Pp. 249. Hartford, Conn.: The Author, 1941. No price. THOMPSON, KENNETH R. Reinsurance. Pp. vii, 275. Chicago: Commerce Clear ing House, Inc., 1942. $4.00

• Date: 01 November 1942
• Published date: 01 November 1942
• Author: Alfred Manes
• DOI: 10.1177/000271624222400172
• Subject Matter: Articles

214

It

also

seems

irrelevant

to

cite

the

route

followed

by

railways

to

stress

the

role

of

rivers

in

the

canalizing

of

trafhc.

Where

these

provide

easy

gradients

and

suitable

roadbeds,

river

valleys

may

become

well

traveled

thoroughfares.

At

times

their

na-

ture

may

forbid

it,

and

the

railway

may

be

driven

to

follow

the

interstream

ridges

or

a

route

straight

across

country.

Such

is

the

Shilka

in

the

Transbaikal

region.

Contrary

to

the

view

expressed

in

this

book,

extension

of

Russian

occupation

to

the

Aleutian

Islands

and

Alaska

is

more

than

a

prolongation

of

her

progress

across

Siberia.

The

Russian

hunter

and

fur

trader

was

presented

with

new

conditions

for

which

his

experience

hitherto

was

in-

sufficient

guide.

The

new

environment

called

for

a

culture

which

the

Russians

had

painfully

to

acquire,

and

this

new

adapta-

tion

made

him

a

stranger

in

his

old

world.

Similarly,

the

methods

which

made

the

Russian

the

master

of

the

taiga

and

the

riv-

ers,

little

fitted

him

for

coping

with

the

steppes

and

its

nomadic

horsemen.

The

conquest

of

central

Asia

called

for

a

new

technique;

till

he

had

acquired

this

by

bor-

rowing

or

improvisation,

the

task

had

to

be

postponed.

STUART

R.

TOMPKINS

University

of

Oklahoma

DE

MONTMORENCY,

GEOFFREY.

The

In-

dian

States

and

Indian

Federation.

Pp.

viii,

165.

Cambridge:

at

The

University

Press;

New

York:

The

Macmillan

Co.,

1942.

$1.25.

In

this

small

volume,

one

of

the

&dquo;Cur-

rent

Problem

Series&dquo;

edited

by

Professor

Ernest

Barker,

Sir

Geoffrey

De

Mont-

morency,

a

former

Governor

of

the

Punjab,

has

given

(1)

a

brief

account

of

origins

of

various

types

of

Indian

states,

the

ma-

jority

of

which

should

be

classed

as

&dquo;estates&dquo;

of

feudal

barons

not

enjoying

sovereign

rights;

(2)

a

synthesis

of

the

policies

of

the

East

Indian

Company

and

the

British

Crown;

and

(3)

an

account

of

the

attitude

of

Indian

princes

towards

an

Indian

federation

as

outlined

in

the

Gov-

ernment

of

India

Act

of

1935.

The

book

is

informative

regarding

the

position

of

Indian

princes

and

their

relations

with

the

paramount

power,

the

British

Government.

Its

value

has

been

marred

by

certain

in-

accuracies

and

by

the

author’s

bias

against

the

All

India

National

Congress

and

its

leaders.

During

the

period

1757

to

1813,

the

Brit-

ish

authorities

sought

support

of

various

Indian

princes

and

formed

alliances

&dquo;on

a

footing

of

at

least

political

equality&dquo;

(p.

38),

without

assuming

any

pretense

of

in-

terfering

in

internal

matters

of

the

states.

Then

with

the

growth

of

British

political

power

and

for

consolidation

of

its

authority

in

India

and

to

check

any

possible

com-

bination

of

princes

against

the

British,

the

British

authorities

pursued

the

policy

of

&dquo;subordinate

partnership

and

isolation

of

the

states.&dquo;

In

political

and

economic

mat-

ters

&dquo;the

general

principle

of

isolation

of

state

from

state

had

been

a

cornerstone

of

the

policy

of

the

British

authority

in

deal-

ing

with

the

states&dquo;

(p.

56).

This

policy

was

&dquo;necessary

on

tactical

and

strategic

grounds&dquo;

(p.

157).

During

the

period

1813-57

the

British

authorities

pursued

the

policy

of

absorption

of

some

of

the

states

and

adopted

a

new

policy,

paving

the

way

for

assumption

of

the

authority

of

a

para-

mount

power

over

quasi-independent

states

which

are

under

the

sovereignty

of

the

British

Crown.

Indian

states

&dquo;have

no

foreign

relations

or

diplomatic

relations

inter

se:

these

matters

are

in

the

sphere

of

the

British

authority.&dquo;

Although

the

British

Crown,

since

the

days

of

Queen

Victoria,

has

given

repeated

assurances

of

noninterference

in

internal

affairs

of

the

states

and

of

respect

for

the

rights

of

the

princes,

yet

the

British

Government

as

the

paramount

power

has

no

limitation

of

its

authority;

and

in

practice,

British

Resi-

dents

use

their

direct

and

indirect

influence

in

affairs

of

the

states

and

to

secure

the

interests

of

the

paramount

power.

The

author

points

out

certain

interesting

facts

regarding

Indian

states:

(1)

Some

of

the

Indian

states

are

much

more

pro-

gressive

in

matters

of

education

than

the

British-governed

provinces.

&dquo;The

admin-

istrative

arrangements

of

many

states,

especially

the

larger

states,

were

of

high

order

and

compared

favorably

with

those

of

British

Indian

provinces;

and

indeed

in

some

respects,

as

for

instance

in

the

mat-

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