for a tax commission to investigate and report. Nothing came of all this; and yet it is clear that sooner or later and probably sooner rather than later-noteworthy changes will be made in Michigan. In Massachusetts the movement for a general succession tax is gaining strength. A bill for a graduated tax ranging from 1 per cent. on estates under $50,000 to 8 per cent. on estates over $5,000,000 was passed by the Massachusetts House; and, when this was rejected by the Senate, another bill for a level tax of 5 per cent. was passed by the House, but also failed in the Senate by a narrow vote. Here, too, it is only a question of time when this addition to the tax system of Massachusetts will come; while it must remain a question whether the change will be accompanied by other needed readjustments in the tax system. IN the Jahrbücher für National-ekonomie (No. 5 of the current volume) Professor J. Conrad brings down to the present time the index numbers for prices in Hamburg which have been published from time to time in that journal; and in the Journal of the Royal Statistical Society for March Mr. A. Sauerbeck brings to date his much-used index numbers for English prices. Some of the salient results of these inquiries are here noted for convenience of reference and comparison. The simplest and most easily comparable figures are the general index numbers showing the arithmetical means of the prices of the several years. Mr. Sauerbeck's figures represent an average for 45 commodities in London; Professor Conrad's, for 163 commodities in Hamburg. For the former the average for the decade 1867-77 is taken as the base (= 100): for the latter the average for 1871-80 is taken as the base (= 100). Professor Conrad's figures are given year by year only for the most recent period. These divergences in the basis and method of presentation of the results need to be borne in mind. The figures are: — The trend of the figures is the same in both cases; and for recent years they indicate that, while a slight rise of prices. took place in 1897 and 1898, the range is still below that for 1893. Substantially the same results are derived from the price quotations collected in Germany by the Imperial Bureau of Statistics, which, like Mr. Sauerbeck's, are continued to the year 1898. In these, with the whole period 1879-98 as a basis (= 100), the index numbers are: Professor Conrad gives still a different set of figures, representing the weighted mean for 22 articles, the articles being weighted according to the quantities consumed in Germany. The index numbers so obtained are: This weighted mean would indicate a fall in prices far greater than that deduced from the simple average of the 143 Hamburg commodities. But as only 22 articles were used in making up the weighted average, the discrepancy is not necessarily significant of a divergence in the outcome of the two methods; and the much larger number of commodities used for the simple mean makes the figure so obtained the safer one. For 47 Hamburg articles prices are on record for the period 1840-1897 which are strictly comparable; that is, of commodities whose quality has remained the same. Virtually, all of these show in 1897 prices lower than their average for the earlier half of the period; i.e., for the years 1847-70. Only four show higher prices; namely, coffee, cocoa, herrings, and linen yarn. As compared with the years immediately preceding, the year 1897 shows no changes of much significance. RECENT PUBLICATIONS UPON ECONOMICS. [Chiefly published or announced since April, 1899.] I. GENERAL WORKS, THEORY AND ITS HISTORY. COOLEY (Charles H.). 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Pol., April. FLUX (A. W.) and HOBSON (J. A.). Saving and Spending. [A criticism and a reply.] Econ. Rev., April. GRABSKI (S.). Zur Erkenntnisslehre der volkswirthschaftlichen Phänomene. Jahrb. Nat. Oek., 17, Heft 4. GRAZIADEI (A.). e la Macchina. April. HENRY-LÉON. Quelle est la Véritable Définition de l'Individualisme? Journ. des Écon., April. PARETO (V.). I Problemi della Sociologia. Riv. Ital. di Sociol., March. Il Lavoro umano Giorn. degli Econ., Б II. SOCIAL QUESTIONS, LABOR AND CAPITAL. CALWER (R.). Arbeitsmarkt und Arbeitsnachweis in ihrer Bedeutung für die Arbeiterklasse. Stuttgart: J. H. W. Dietz. 8vo. pp. 68. .30 m. CLARKE (Allen). Effects of the Factory System. London: Richards; New York: Scribners. 12mo. pp. 178. $1. COSTIER (P.). Les Retraites Ouvrières. Etat Actuel de la Question en France et à l'Étranger. Paris: Larose. 8vo. pp. 360. DÉSVEAUX (L.). Les Grèves de Chemin de Fer en France et à l'Étranger. Paris: Marchal & Billard. 8vo. pp. 222. 6 fr. ECKERT (H.). 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