To meet the demand for a book of simple lessons for foreigners which, while aiding them to learn English, should at the same time give information concerning the principles of our government, has been the aim of the author. A very limited vocabulary has been used in presenting the subject. Topics have been limited for the most part to a single page, so that each subject may be treated in as concise a manner as possible. This also makes the book more adaptable for pupils whose attendance is likely to be irregular. The volume, which is well illustrated, gives the elementary facts about the different city departments and officials, about the state government and state law makers, the courts and the national government. Occasionally realistic and practical lessons are included such as a telephone call for the doctor and a petition for naturalization. At the close of the book is a vocabulary in Italian, German, Swedish, Polish, French, Greek and Yiddish. JAMES P. HEATON. ANNUAL REPORT ENGLISH PRISON COMMISSION For the year ending March 31, 1912. Wyman & Sons, 32 Abingdon St., S. W., London. Price 8d. Partly because English prison and crime statistics are better and more centralized than ours the annual reports of the English Prison Commission are always well worth reading. In the year ending March 31, 1912, the proportion of persons committed to prisons in England was the lowest within statistical record, 439.2 per 100,000 of the population of England and Wales. The commitments for serious crimes particularly show a decrease. The bane of the English prison system is still the short sentence for misdemeanants, 81 per cent of all prisoners having been sentenced for one month or less. Over 50 per cent of those committed to prison are sent in default of paying a fine. This is considered by the Prison Commission one of the most urgent social problems demanding the attention of Parliament. The commission still regrets that the committing magistrates do not take advantage of the chance to classify prisoners when sentencing them. The Borstal Institution (the English Elmira) continues to satisfy; it has now a population of over 400. The Borstal Association, a released prisoner’s aid society for Borstal, has placed 250 out of 270 lads received. Of these about seventy-five out of one hundred cases turn out well. The “Borstal girl” from the girl’s reformatory has proved satisfactory in conduct after prison in twenty-nine out of fifty-four cases. An interesting feature is the development of a modified Borstal (or reformatory) system in the local prisons for the younger prisoners, just as though in New York state we introduced into the county jails and penitentiaries a modified Elmira system. The problem of payment to prisoners is engaging the commission.