Page:American Historical Review vol. 6.djvu/397

 Minor Notices 387 the legislative power exercised by the tribunes by means of the plebis- cita, or only, as maintained by Monimsen, limited it by requiring the previous assent of the senate ; he holds that it was abolished. Professor P. Persson investigates an inscription discovered a few years ago at Tarentum {Afonitmenti Anfichi, VI. 411 ff. ), containing a portion of the laws of the municipium, of date between 89 and 62 B. C. Mr. I. S. Landtmanson discusses, chiefly upon the basis of the territorial codes, the closing period of slaery in Sweden, down to King Magnus Eriks- son's ordinance of Skara, 1335. Finally there is an essay by Professor Harold Hjiirne on the negotiations between Sweden and Russia from 1564 to 1572 and the efforts of Eric XIV. and Ivan IV. toward mutual alliance in view of their respective wars against Denmark and Poland and the disaffection existing within their kingdoms. In Band VI. Dr. E. Wadstein essays a new interpretation of the runic inscription on the ring of the church-door of Forsa, the oldest of Swedish legal inscrip- tions, and examines (in an article written in English) the Clermont runic casket in the British Museum (with plates), giving the first inter- pretation of the figures and inscription on the missing side-piece, which has lately come into the possession of the municipal museum at Florence. Dr. C. Hallendorff discusses the policy of King Augustus of Saxony and Poland in 1700 and 1701, more especially with reference to his plans for the joint attack of Russia, Denmark and his own subjects on Sweden. Dr. K. Ahlenius continues his studies of Olaus Magnus and his northern geography by a careful study of the geography and cartography of Scan- dinavia in the latter half of the sixteenth century, as represented by Continental and Scandinavian authorities. The papers in these volumes are written in Swedish, Latin, German, French and English. Some of those written in Swedish are accompanied with summaries in German. The Royal Historical Society has published Vol. I. of The Despatches ami Correspondence 0/ John, Second Earl 0/ Buckinghamshire, Aniluissa- dorto the Court of Catherine II. of Russia, 1 762-1 765 (Longmans, pp. 256), edited by Miss Adelaide D'Arcy Collier. The editor contributes an excellent introduction, giving an account of the diplomatic relations between England and Russia from 1739 and the conclusion of the Anglo- Russian alliance in 1742 down to the time when Lord Buckinghamshire set out on his mission. He was accredited to Peter III., Keith having become unacceptable to the new czar because of a suspicion that he was unfaithful to Frederick of Prussia. But before the new ambassador left ?:ngland, news came of the revolution which had brought to the throne the Empress Catherine II., and his instructions were composed with this in view. It was to have been expected that those instructions should have been printed in this volume, but they are not. The papers which it contains are Lord Buckinghamshire's own papers, preserved at his house of Blickling in Norfolk, and now possessed by the Marchioness of Lothian. Most of them were discovered recently, since the report of the Historical Manuscripts Commission on the earl's despatches. In part