"the Old North-west."

The Old Northwest, with a view of the Thirteen Colonies as constituted by the Royal charters. By B. A. Hinsd&le, Ph. D. New York : Towneend Mac Coun. This work is written by Prof. Hinsdale, whose chair in the University of Michigan is that of the Science and Art of Teaching. But Professor Hinsdale is not a man of one idea, and nis love of historie study has led him to write this history of the Old Northwest, and as he himself tells us in his preface, "no previous writer has covered the ground, and the work is wholly new in conception." "The Old Northwest" rneans the territory northwest of the Ohio river, and which was subject to the Ordinance of 1787, being now divided into the five great states of Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Michigan and Wisconsin. The first few chapters of the book are t'evoted to the story of discovery and colonization. They give a satisfactory account of the discovery and colonization of the Northwest by the French. The French beeinnings in the Northwest were within the Upper Peninsula of Michigan, and the territory within the present State of Ohio was the last portion of the Northwest to be explored and claimed by the French. Sault Ste. Marie is the oldest town in the Northwest, having been founded by Marquette in 1668, 14 years beforo Philadelphia was founded and 120 years before Marietta in Ohio was established. In the fifth chapter the author tells how England wrested the Northwest from France, the contest ending with the first treaty of Paris in 1763, by which France surrendered Canada as well as all its possessions in North America east of the Mississppi river. By that treaty France loetgreater dominion than ever changed hands at the close of any other war in history, and it determined that English and not French ideas and tendencies should domínate in North America. By this treaty Michigan for the first time came under English rule. The next few chapters are devoted to a discussion of the boundary disputes of the thirteen colonies, and the land policy of the British government. The land policy of that government so far as tke Northwest was concerned was one of restriction which culminated in 1774 in what is known as the Quebec Act, which among other things attached the Northwest to the Province of Quebec, destroyed representative government in the Province and restored the French system of laws. A chapter is devoted to a consideration of the position of the Northwest in the Revolution, Detroit being held by England and the commander of the Detroit garrison being the civil as well as the military head of the whole Northwest. Then follows a discussion of the difficulties which the United States ountered at the close of the Revoluion in settling its boundary lines. Uner the treaty of 1783 the Mississippi iver become the boundary line on the est and the Great Lakes on the north, he right of the United States to the orthwest territory being thereby esablished, although the transfer of this erritory was not completed until .Tuly 1, 1796, when Detroit was at last surendered to the United States. Then follow interesting chapters on he Northwestern Land Claims, the Northwestern Cessions, the Land Ordinance of 1785, the Ordinance of 1787, he Territory of the U. S. Northwest of he river Ohio, Admission of the Northwestern States to the Union, Slavery in he Northwest, the Connecticut Western ieserve, and finally a Century of Progress. It appears that the Territory of the Xorthweet contains 265,878 square miles of land- a larger area than that of Germany, or France, or Great Britain and Ireland. Of the five states carved out of it Michigan is the largest, containing 56,451 square miles, Ohio having only 39,964 square miles. The territory of Michigan wascreated January 11, 1805, Detroit being the seat of government. While, as has been already said, Michigan was the first part of the Northwest to be visited bv civilized men, it was the last, except Wisconsin, to obtain a permanent form of government. " No other part of the United States has seen so many changes of national and local jurisdiction. It bas belonged to France, to England, and to the United States ; from 179(5 to 1803 it was part of the Northwest territory, from 1803 to 1805 a part of Indiana, and then an independent territory until its admission to the Union in 1837." In 1S00 the population of the Northwest Territory was 51,007, while in 18S7 it is reported to be 12,800,000. The population of Michigan in 1800 was 3,757; in 1880 it was 1,036,937; and in 1887 it is said to have been 2,000,000. Of all the Northwestern States, Michigan had in ISSOthesmallest proportion of females, being 89,821 feraales to 100,000 male?. In the United States there are 15,36S foreign bom to every 100,000 of the native bom, while in Michigan there are 31,119 to 100,000. And in Michigan the greater nutnber of the foreign born are British Americans, of whom the State has a larger proportion than any other in the Union. The book is full of interesting and important information. It certainly reflecte credit on the writer. It is one of the books which every intelligent rnan in the northwest should be familiar with, and the citizen of Michigan should put it on his shelves by the side of Cooley's Michigan and Campbell's Political History of the State. Henry Wade Rogeks. Thb Detroit Evening Journal is correct when it says : " It is not true that the tariff has increased the millionaires 400 per cent. The Pullmans, Armours, Westinghouses, Goulds,Vanderbilts and all that class of men have made millions without the aid of the tariff. Railroads, inventions and monopolies are the prolific sources of great fortunes, and these would still exist under free trade." ________