The Southwestern Historical Quarterly, Volume 20, July 1916 - April, 1917 Page: 406

The Southwestern Historical Quarterly

Some readers are apt to feel that Dr. Chapman, in his desire to
furnish a broad perspective and exhaust the new material at his
command, has at times gone too far afield from the topics under
consideration, thereby impairing the unity of the work. This
tendency has been corrected to some extent by the summary which
introduces each chapter, but it would have been exceedingly help-
ful to the reader if a general concluding chapter had been ap-
pended, summing up the various contributions, which are often
obscured by a great mass of details. On the whole, very few
errors have come to the reviewer's notice. A slip or two in the
first chapter might be noted. New Orleans was not founded by
1716 (page 5). The Spanish establishments of eastern Texas can
hardly be said to have been destroyed by the French in 1719
(ibid). It seems possible that further investigation of the events
of the administration of Teodoro de Croix may result in the light-
ening of the burden of condemnation which Dr. Chapman has
placed upon him. The reviewer personally would prefer to see
the citations to documentary sources given in full in the foot-
notes, instead of being concealed in the catalogue scheme that has
been adopted.
In spite of certain minor defects in style and organization, too
much praise cannot be given to Dr. Chapman's book. It sets a
new standard for historical writing in the field of Spanish col-
onization within the United States, and should do much to cor-
rect the narrow perspective characteristic of previous State his-
tories in this field. W. E. DUNN.
Collections of the Archive and History Department of the Texas
State Library. Executive Series. Governors' Messages,
Coke to Ross (Inclusive), 1874-1891. Edited by and for
the Archive and History Department of the Texas State
Library, 1916. 8vo, pp. viii, 820.
Ordinarily one expects to find in the Introduction a statement
of the scope and plan of the book, something concerning the
sources from which the materials contained in the book were
drawn, the arrangement of the materials decided upon, and what
special problems, if any, the editor encountered in his work,
knowledge of which may be of importance to those who use the

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