A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK
IN June, 1945, Sir Malcolm Robertson resigned the chairmanship of the British Council. By now, April, 1946, the Foreign Office has got so far as to say it will soon be in a position to announce the name of his successor. It seems an adequate period of gestation. About the identity of the successor there is no information. The most promising name I have heard mentioned is that of Sir Ronald Adam, but Sir Ronald has been made chairman of a linoleum trade working party, and though that is only temporary work it may last long enough to rule him out for the British Council post. The work of the Council ought to be of particular importance in the post-war reconstruction period, when minds in all countries are being adjusted to new outlooks, for it succeeds in most centres—the degree of success depends naturally on the personal element—in representing to foreign populations the British way of life better than most other agencies, perhaps better than any other. The best proof of the value of the Council's work is the eagerness displayed for the British books and periodicals provided in the Council institutes in various capitals— and not indeed in capitals only. To make them accessible is a valuable piece of work in itself.
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