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 etc. The history of the Catholic missions will prove to be of fascinating interest for all who appreciate the zeal and courage shown by those soldiers of the Cross who have carried the gospel into heathen lands. The romantic aspect of history is fully displayed in the accounts of early navigators and explorers during the brilliant period of maritime discovery which followed Columbus's gift of a new world to Spain.

The economic and commercial aspects of Philippine history were fully appreciated and discussed by many of the early writers, both secular and ecclesiastical; and special attention has been given to these subjects in the selection of documents for the present work. The man of commerce who plans to embark in new ventures in the Philippines needs to know the conditions and possibilities of such enterprises, and the the natural resources of those islands, and what has already been accomplished toward their development; accordingly he will profit much by the study of the material afforded by this series.

All these considerations must render this compilation of Philippina highly welcome to librarians, who already are often seriously embarrassed in trying to meet the demand, in both reference and public libraries, for information relative to our new Malaysian possessions—a demand which is increasing rapidly, and must continue to increase. As above mentioned, no work has yet been published which affords a tithe of the material here information supplied, or can compare with it in variety and breadth; it will contain the cream of Philippine literature. This series will therefore