26 NOVEMBER 1983, Page 21

Sir: I am a longtime admirer of the Spectator and

a cover-to-cover reader. I do not expect to agree with everything that appears in it, indeed I hold that in a civilised society a difference of opinion adds to the spice of life.

Where I do object in a civilised paper such as yours is to find a boorish commentary, made worse by black bile and Juvenile petulance. I refer of course to Auberon Waugh's all too frequent outbursts — the latest being on the Tablet (12 November). In place of Waugh's opinion, I prefer to take that of another Spectator writer, a certain Graham Greene, who only three weeks ago wrote: • 'The Tablet, which has taken the lessons of Vatican II to heart, is to my mind the best informed and most liberal Catholic paper in existence. A Catholic paper which believes in free speech is something of a rarity.'

Like all intellectual papers, the Tablet has running losses which are made up by friends and admirers. In our case, our readers are well on the way to creating a Trust Endowment Fund which will secure our future. Whilst we don't expect a con- tribution from Mr Waugh, we would be most grateful to receive a donation or a covenant of ten pounds for this endowment from any of your readers who can afford it.

Patrick Dolan Director, The Tablet,

Agogs, Much Hadham, Herts