A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
F F anything could bring home to Herr Hitler and his advisers the effect on British public opinion of his persecution of the Jews it would be the kind of speech made by the Marquess of Londonderry at the Overseas League on Tuesday. Lord Londonderry's close personal relations with both Herr Hitler and Herr von Ribbentrop are well known, and when he declares publicly, in relation to Germany's colonial claims, that "at this time we cannot in any circum- stances hand over any populations which look to us for protection and guidance to the tender mercies of a country which seems disposed either to exterminate a section of its population or to allow them to live in conditions of such a barbarous character as to call for the condemnation of every right-minded man or woman throughout the civilised world," —when he talks like that it means a great deal. It means the more in view of the rapidity and completeness of the speaker's change of attitude. A new and cheap edition of his well-known book, Ourselves and Germany, bears on its cover the statement, "Lord Londonderry thinks we should adopt a policy of friendship with Hitler and a better under- standing of Germany's aims," and in a new preface, dated as recently as October, he speaks confidently of" the fulfilment of my hopes" and "the international barometer being, as it is, at 'Set Fair ' " after Munich. By his frank recognition of facts he has both done himself considerable credit and rendered a considerable public service.
* * * * Happy thoughts in public life are none too common, and Lord Baldwin's invitation to seven Labour Members of Parliament to dinner last week to meet the King was so peculiarly happy that though, strictly speaking, it is a private rather than a public occasion, it rails for at least a word of passing comment. Nothing could be better than the oppor- tunity given to the Labour leaders to meet King George for a few hours of informal intimacy, unless it was the opportunity given to King George to meet the Labour leaders—or unless again it is the fact that the host and sponsor of the Labour leaders was the chief Conservative Elder Statesman of the day. Is there any other country where this could happen ?
* * * * The German and Italian newspapers have, of course, ruined themselves as newspapers since they became propa- gandist organs, and practically no one, according to my information, takes seriously any statement he reads in them. Quite apart from that, the ordinary standards of journalistic technique seem to have degenerated conspicuously. I see, for example, that Signor Mussolini's super-henchman, Signor Gayda, dropped on to his long-suffering readers on Monday a modest 3,500 words on the subject of Jibuti ; that is equal to nearer three pages than two of The Spectator. Readers of the Giornale d'Italia clearly suffer from a passion either for Jibuti or for Signor Gayda. Or is the passion spent and the Jibuti-broadside left unread ?
* * * * Mr. Pirow is now on his way back to South Africa. I hope when he gets there he will repeat with emphasis what he said in Europe about providing refugees with something better than sympathy. For South Africa could manifestly do a great deal for refugees if it chose. It is distinctly the most prosperous of British Dominions at the present time, and a good deal of that prosperity is due to Jews. If Australia can agree to receive 15,000 refugees, something substantial can be expected of South Africa likewise. Yet the immigration laws of the Union have an almost prohibitive effect, and even substantial South African citizens, I am assured, who are ready to give work to a Jewish refugee and undertake to be completely responsible for his or her maintenance, are told there is only the remotest chance of securing a permit of entry. Mr. Pirow no doubt could, and perhaps will, do much to alter that.
* * * * When he took leave of the King on Tuesday M. Jan Masaryk brought formally to an end his long, happy and successful tenure of the post of Czechoslovak Minister in London. A man with such a father as President Masaryk must be known inevitably as his father's son first and foremost, but Jan Masaryk, proud as he naturally is to be that, has made his own place and his own career with marked success in the social and political life of London. Largely no doubt because his mother was American he is in some ways the most English of all foreign diplomats in London, and since life in his own country could never be congenial under existing conditions—he bore himself with marked dignity and courage during the crisis—nothing could be more natural than that he should decide to make London his home.
* * * * I am always a little perplexed by these eminent people who so generously assist the deserving vendors of cigars and cigarettes, liquors of various brands and potencies, face- creams and other mysterious unguents, by consenting to appear in display advertisements (with or without portrait) as appreciative consumers of the commodity in question. I say " generously " because so far as I am acquainted with these persons of distinction and/or title I cannot imagine them lending their patronage for mercenary reasons—in spite of stories I have heard. But it goes a little far. Here, for example, is Major-General Ian Hay, now Public Relations Officer of the War Office, coming out in the advertisements as a sponsor of Havana cigars (which he lights no doubt with A Safety Match). What influence—I ask simply for information— has a major-general in such matters ? Does his advocacy set colonels, majors, captains and subalterns smoking Havanas forthwith as a moral and military duty ? Anyhow, might not the Public Relations Officer of a British Government Depart- ment say "Smoke British" instead of " Smoke Cuban " ?
* * * * Those Penguins As I expected, a good many ready recipients of old Penguins have come to hand. Their letters, which I have not room to quote, make it clear that in the hands of any of them the volumes would be put to good use. All I can do is to give the list in alphabetical order. This may seem to give the first name an advantage, but there has, after all, to be a first name in any list.
The Librarian, British Red Cross, 48 Queen's Gardens, London, W. 2.
Miss Kelly, St. Margaret's House, Bethnal Green, London, E. 2. The Rev. Austin Lee, Sr. John's Vicarage, Murray Grove, Hoxton, N. r.
The Rev. John Norton, 5 Portland Road, Frome, Somerset. Ernest H. Taylor, Esq., Joseph Lingford and Son, Ltd., Bishop Auckland, co. Durham.
jANUS.
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