Principality and Power of Europe by Adrian Hilton
Published by Dorchester House Publications. Paperback, 191 pages, price £6.95.
Available from the Free Presbyterian Bookroom, 133 Woodlands Road, Glasgow, G3 6LE, at the special price of £5.00
MANY, perhaps the majority of people in the United Kingdom, are confused regarding the details of our relation to the European Union. Many years ago, Sir Arthur Bryant, a secular historian of international reputation produced trenchant arguments against Britain joining the Common Market and most of his fears are being realised. The book under review, which was published in 1997, gives a historical survey of events leading up to the present situation. In Chapter 3 on Sovereignty the author convincingly argues that “Britain is no longer an independent sovereign state, by virtue of her membership of the European Union”, and points out that “no vote of MPs in the House of Commons, however overwhelming, can affect, change or block decisions taken by EU bodies.” The Rev. Dr. David Samuel in making a general comment on the book says, “The British people have been misled about the religious and political dimensions of the federal superstate now being created. This book unmasks its real character and makes imperative the need for our withdrawal.”
Hilton takes issue with Sir Fred Catherwood, the President of the Evangelical Alliance and a former member of the European Parliament, who in his book “Pro-Europe” does not accept that the question of sovereignty comes into the equation!
Hilton writes from a Christian point of view and quotes liberally from Scripture. By far the majority of his quotations are from the Authorised Version.
So much information about the Maastricht Treaty, Monetary Union, the Propaganda issue, etc., is packed into this small volume that, in a short review, one feels it is sufficient to recommend the book to all who are concerned about the future of our country in relation to Europe, and in relation to Rome.
Hilton lectures in Communication Psychology and is studying Theology. He is also a theatre Director. While readers of this magazine, including the present reviewer, deplore, we believe, any association with the theatre, we feel obliged to commend the book as one of the most informative of the books we have read on the dangers which confront the British Constitution – not least the Bill of Rights and the 1701 Act of Settlement – because of our membership of the European Union.
Dr D. R. MacSween