10 FEBRUARY 1939, Page 14

I have had an opportunity recently of reading a file

of the propaganda journal which Napoleon issued after the Treaty of Amiens. It was called the Argus and was pub- lished regularly in Paris, and in the English language, between 1802 and 1809. It was the Napoleonic counter- part of the broadcast programme from Zeesen. There is a similar attempt to render the paper attractive by the insertion of social and fashion news. There is the same endeavour to ridicule British statesmen and to represent the condition of England as one of almost revolutionary chaos. There is the same tendency to quote the indiscretions of obscure people while omitting the sober statements of the prominent. The British Press is jeered at for " its much- vaunted freedom" and assailed for "its didactic attitude." There are constant references to impending risings in Ireland and India and much by-play regarding the atrocities committed by Lord Nelson in the Kingdom of Naples.