10 SEPTEMBER 1937

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NEWS OF THE WEEK

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T HE Conference of Mediterranean Powers convened by Great Britain and France to concert measures to suppress submarine piracy in Mediterranean waters meets without the...

What those measures can be has no doubt been fully

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considered by the British and French Governments. The fact that both Mr. Eden and M. Delbos are being accom- panied to Nyon by the chiefs of their Naval General Staffs is...

* * * * Trade Unionists and Spain It is

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difficult to divine, from the resolution on the subject adopted on Tuesday, precisely what the Trades Union Congress would do about the Spanish situation if it could have its...

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Military Situation in China The military situation in China has

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changed surprisingly little in the past week. The Chinese resistance at Shanghai has been unexpectedly effective, but it is not yet clear whether the Japanese have been engaged...

Refugee Conditions at Hong-Kong That iso British women who had

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been evacuated from Shanghai to Hong-Kong should have returned to the city whence they came, preferring to face the shells and air-bombs of a war-theatre rather than the cholera...

Anti-Air Raid Practice For a week (September 2oth-26th) Berlin is

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to undergo a complete " black-out " from dusk to dawn. No street lights will be allowed, and all indoors light must be completely obscured. London experienced something like...

General Franco's Plans News of the Spanish war has been

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varied this week by reports of a naval engagement between Nationalist and Repub- lican vessels off the north coast of Africa, but nothing definite is known of the result. Naval...

Economic Dislocation in France M. Bonnet, the French Finance Minister,

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who is the pivotal man in the Chautemps Cabinet, is putting up a brave fight to stabilise, not merely the Budget, but the economic conditions of his country. If M. Blum, while...

M. van Zeeland's Position Before this week's debates in the

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Belgian Parliament M. van Zeeland is said to' have intimated that, whatever their outcome, he should resign his position as Prime Minister. Let us hope• that the subsequent...

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Dictators and People Any evidence of the existence of a

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vocal public opinion in a dictatorship country is so rare that there may be a danger of attaching exaggerated importance to it. A rather striking telegram from Tokyo in...

Industrial Assurance and the State The Economic Section of the

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British Association was well justified in devoting an hour or two of its time on Tuesday to the subject of industrial insurance, and in particular the waste the system...

* * * * Social Reform and the Churches Mr.

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Claud Mullins, the Magistrate at South-Western Police Court, arraigned the Churches before the Modern Churchmen's Union at Cambridge last week as the principal obstacles to...

Science and the Land The British Association's discussion on "Planning

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the land of Britain," in which no fewer than six sections (geology, zoology botany, geography, economics, and agriculture) took part, was a remarkable example of creating...

Elderly Generals It is generally agreed that the strain of

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military commands will be much greater during the next war than it was in the last, owing to the much greater pace of movement in mechan- ised war, and also the constant...

The Road to the East Though the P. and 0.

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does not go in for giant speed-ships —and cannot, because they could not navigate the Suez Canal—its record for a hundred years forms, nevertheless, a great chapter in the great...

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THE TURMOIL IN EUROPE

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T HE international maelstrom becomes more -turbid still. Japan, resolved to pursue her aggression in China till she has beaten that country to her knees, has had additional...

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LABOUR'S HEAD AND TAIL

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T HE Trades Union Congress has met this week ; the Labour Party Conference meets next month. The decisions reached at the two go far to determine Socialist policy for the year...

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Free — and good — advice. Go to Daly's Theatre and see The First

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Legion before it is too late. JANTs.

Someone has shown me a proof of a later page

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of this issue containing a publisher's advertisement consisting of one poem from a book of verse just published. It happens to be a poem I like (actually, I believe, it first...

Some interesting letters have been elicited by a paragraph in

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this column last week quoting a reference in a daily paper to a sausage breakfast arranged by a London vicar, "as an experiment to encourage the parishioners to attend the early...

I am not a teetotaller, believing (though with frequent mis-

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givings, when I see what alcohol can do to some of my own friends) that temperance is on the whole to be preferred to abstinence. But I feel considerable sympathy with the...

With German newspapers subject to rigorous censorship, foreign newspapers read

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by only a handful of the population and the import of foreign books reduced to almost nothing through exchange restrictions, what possibility is there of Germans seeing the...

How long is a piece of string, and why ?

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I ask for informa- tion, not being able myself to supply the answer. The ques- tion, I am assured, by one who had to cope with it, has just been put in an examination for...

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK

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TT seems a pity that the Inter-Parliamentary Union has never somehow found its feet in this country. The Union has just been holding its 33rd annual conference in Paris, though...

It was no doubt perfectly all right for the Evening

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Standard on Monday to proclaim in a four-column heading : LACK OF ABILITY HIDDEN BY MOUSTACHE but surely hardly tactful to print underneath it a photograph of the President of...

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MALTA: A CRITICAL CENTRE

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By MICHAEL LANGLEY A BOMB bursting over the Mediterranean is as immediate and disturbing in its effects as a stone dropped into an ornamental pond. That being so, those factors...

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AMERICA'S LABOUR SPIES

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By LEO HLTBERMAN N OT the least of the achievements of Mr. Roosevelt's New Deal is the roving spotlight it has turned on the shadier aspects of American business practice....

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ASPECTS OF GERMAN RACIAL POLICY

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By N. P. MACDONALD A NATURAL consequence of the anti-semitic policy of the National Socialists is the antipathy felt in the Third Reich for the coloured peoples. This aspect of...

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THE NEW TERM

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By T. F. COADE (Headmaster of Bryanston) W HAT, if anything, should parents say to their sons on the eve of the new term, especially on the eve of the first term at a public...

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SOVIET DRAMA

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By BASIL WRIGHT M OSCOW is bright with the outward and visible signs of prosperity—shop windows crammed with food- stuffs, clothing, books, and fancy goods, streets crowded...

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IN DEFENCE OF WELSH NATIONALISM

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By GORONWY REES P ERHAPS I should explain that I am not a member of the Welsh Nationalist Party, and have no claim, except that of being a Welshman, to speak or to write for...

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THE KITCHENETTE AGE

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By H. PEARL ADAM I N the supplement to the 1933 edition of Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary appears the word " kitchenette " ; bright signal, of course, that into the...

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MARGINAL COMMENTS

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By E. L. WOODWARD I) ANTE, who crowded almost too much incident into the earlier parts of the Divine Comedy, was reduced to a good deal of descriptive allegory when he came to...

'THE SPECTATOR' HOLIDAY SERVICE

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To readers on holiday, who normally receive THE SPECTATOR through a newsagent, we shall be glad to forward a copy of the paper each week to any part of the world, post free, at...

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Commonwealth and Foreign

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SWASTIKA AND SIGMA IN BRAZIL By WILBUR BURTON Rio de Janeiro. THE two dominant features of Brazil today are German penetration on one hand and the increasingly strong bid for...

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STAGE AND SCREEN

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THE THEATRE "Richard II." By William Shakespeare. At the Queen's IT was a brave decision of Mr. Gielgud's to start his season with Richard II. It is a play that is dangerously...

THE CINEMA

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New Educational Films. At the British Association " EDUCATION is rapidly becoming more natural, more biological. Most young children are ready to learn a great deal more than...

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MUSIC

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A New Light on Ottavio THE stoutish gentleman in the black suit, having at some length requested the lady with the mannlla to go and console his treasure, turns his profile to...

FALSONS DE BONS COMPTES

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[D'un correspondant parisien] AVEC louable persistance M. Georges Bonnet cherche a retablir l'equilibre des finances publiques, ce qui, par ricochet, aiderait singulierement les...

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Subsistence Production The reopening of the mines is not meditated

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nor will the old activity be resumed at any foreseen date ; but here and there the surface begins to blossom as the rose and the worst attribute of depression to be absorbed. A...

COUNTRY LIFE

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The Valleys They are called "the Valleys," as if there were no others in the world ; and indeed there are few like them. They are cut in limestone, a material that has no fellow...

Quick Growth

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It is always a marvel how the late-hatched broods of swallows grow strong enough for the migratory flight, which may be as long as five thousand miles. This year the latest...

Learning Quality One cardinal advantage of" subsistence production" is that

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the co-operators get food, and indeed clothes, that are quite first class in quality. The farm and the factory produce the best. The bread is better than most baker's bread and...

A Hilltop Farm An adventure such as this is blessed

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in more ways than one. The sum of national production is increased. It is a treat to visit one of the farms, especially an upper farm, if the mere spectacle is in question. From...

The Night-jar's Device

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Some observer the other day expressed a certain astonish-. ment at sight of a cock night-jar attending to the young while the hen was brooding a second clutch. The number of...

What is a Game Dog?

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Are sportsmen too conservative over the question of the breed of dogs that they use for game ? Something like consternation was aroused in one group lately by the appear- ance...

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UNIVERSITIES AND UNEMPLOYMENT

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—During the holidays I have read with much interest the correspondence about Unemployment amongst University graduates, as well as letters...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. The most suitabb length is that of one of our "News of the Week" paragraphs. Signed...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—May I be allowed a word in reply to the courteous rejoinders of your two correspondents of last week on the subject of " Ourselves and Italy " ? I have seen them with all...

OURSELVES AND ITALY [To the Editor of THE . SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr.

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J. B. Jones seems to have rather strange ideas of the part played by Italy in the Great War. Before entering the War, Italy carefully tested the direction of the wind and with...

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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Si,—The jaunty sarcasm of Colonel Butler's opening sentences is somewhat bewildering. Certainly opinion on present-day affairs is hopelessly complicated, but even so I was a...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—I have been reading Mr. Jones' "Welsh Nationalism" of September 3rd. In it he refers to the Welsh wanting Wales for themselves. Do not the English want England for...

WELSH NATIONALISM

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Dr. J. D. Jones' article demonstrates an ignorance of the facts which casts a large shadow of doubt on his qualifications for writing on...

THE STRUGGLE IN SPAIN

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—NO one can read unmoved the earnest letter of Colonel P. R. Butler. Will you allow me to say that I am not of those who have waved aside...

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THE FUTURE OF CLEAN MILK

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR, —Under the new Regulations by which Tuberculin-Tested milk comes under the aegis of the Milk Marketing Board, a Committee is to determine...

THE WISDOM OF BEING FEMALE

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Armed with the knowledge that several thousand more boys than girls are born in Britain every year I have been trying for some...

J'ACCUSE

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Memories of Mr. A. P. Herbert's famous "Word War" prompt me to protest violently against the horrible word " Decasualisation," which I...

A CHURCH BREAKFAST

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—With reference to the last paragraph of "A Spectator's Notebook" in last week's issue of The Spectator, the actual facts are as follows :...

BRUNANBURH

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In his "Marginal Comments "(September 3rd), Mr. E. L. Woodward remarks that "the English people have forgotten everything about" the...

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ROMAN CATHOLIC AND CATHOLIC [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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Sta,—After an absence of some weeks in a country where such questions are forbidden or settled by an order from Party Headquarters it is something of a joy to find your readers...

VAN GOGH IN PARIS [To - the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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Sut,—The controversial method of presentation of the Paris van Gogh exhibition, which seems to have provoked more discussion than the paintings, is less of an innovation than is...

A DESERVING CASE [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—I wonder if any of the readers of your paper can help in a most deserving case in which I am interested locally : a boy, one of a working class family of six children, won...

- RUSSIA AND CHINA [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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Sta,—While fully sympathising with the point of view which prompted the remark on page 366 of your issue of September 3rd that "the conclusion of the pact makes it more certain...

MR. WELLS AND EDUCATION [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.]

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SIR, —Mr. H. G. Wells's address on Education was supposed to be a disquisition by a scientific man to the Educational section of the British Association for the Advancement of...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your contributor "Janus," in

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his comment on an item in the News Chronicle which reported the provision by an incumbent of sausage breakfasts after his early service, rightly deplores such popularising of...

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BOOKS OF THE DAY

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PAGE Men and Things (Wilson Harris) .. .. 427 Methodism and Radicalism (A. P. Wadsworth) 428 Collective Insecurity (C. Delisle Burns) .. .. 428 The Omnicompetent State (The...

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AGAINST SANCTIONS

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Sum admirable work has been done by Mrs. Swanwick in the cause of peace that her new book will be welcomed by all who have that cause at heart She has always maintained that "...

METHODISM AND RADICALISM

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Methodism and the Working Class Movements of England, 1800-1850. By Robert F. Wearmouth. (Epworth Press. 8s. 6d.) THE late Professor Halevy found in the Methodist Revival the...

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THE OMNICOMPETENT STATE

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Religion and the Totalitarian State. By Sir Charles Grant Robertson. (Epworth Press. 2s. Ed.) THE dictatorships that have become so prominent a feature of European life arouse...

NEW JERUSALEM via MOSCOW

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The Changing Scene. By Arthur Calder-Marshall. (Chapman and Hall. los. 6d.) MR. CALDER-MARSHALL'S docile title and the quiet bad taste of the wrapper, an ugly pink shading...

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JEWELS IN THE MOON

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Chinese Fairy Tales and Folk Tales. Collected and translated by Wolfram Eberhard. Translated from the German by Desmond Parsons. (Kegan Paul. los. 6d.) THE publishers have put...

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EPHEMERIDES

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A Century Between. By Robert Henrey. (Heinemann. iss.) ON April 29th, 1839, Hannah the pretty and determined daughter of Nathan Mayer Rothschild, founder of the English branch...

NO NEWS

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Forbidden Journey. By Ella K. Maillart. Translated by Thomas McGreevy. (Heinemann. 12s. 6d ) MANY readers of News from Tartary found themselves intrigued to desperation by the...

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KNAPTON WEATHERCOCK S O high it strutted in the sun, A

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man could see it plain, From five miles off; a golden . bird Upon a glittering vane. No common fowl ; you'd swcar it was An eagle come to roost, That once had clapped heraldic...

ROBERT BROWNING Tins is a very thorough and comprehensive manual.

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Mr. De Vane is like "every scribe" in the Gospel ; he has a large storehouse, and brings out of it, in great profusion, things new and old. Beginning with a short but sufficient...

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FICTION

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By E. B. C. JONES MR. SWINNERTON'S title is misleading ; his new long novel is not concerned with agriculture, Harvest being the name of its chief character. As is so common...

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WISE INVESTMENT

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IF the trend of stock market prices remains, like the face of Katisha, plain and unattractive, Throgmorton Street can at least boast an undertone which, like Katisha's left...

Venturers' Corner

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With Japan out of the buying side of the market it was perhaps too much to expect wool prices at the latest Sydney sales to hold all the extensive ground gained in the past...

THE FIRMNESS OF GILT - EDGED

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There is an old saying on the Stock Exchange : In critical times, watch gilt-edged. The theory is that the approach af any really serious shock to confidence is invariably...

GROCERY GROUP PROSPECTS

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My correspondence steadily bears witness to the state of nervous unsettlement now prevalent among holders of shares in the provisions group of companies. Recent reports have...

INDUSTRIAL DEBENTURE YIELDS While speculative demand on the Stock Exchange

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is practically non-existent, a modest inquiry for fixed-interest securities from investors seeking income with safety of capital is helping to keep the machinery of the markets...

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Motoring

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SENSIBLE CARS THE two cars I have for review this week have, apart from their special qualities, commendable or the reverse, one principal point of interest, academic rather...

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FINANCIAL NOTES

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A NEW MINING COMPANY. ONE of the brighter spots of the Stock Markets during the past week was that for gold-mining shares, and an interesting event in the market has been the...

THE SHIPPING OUTLOOK.

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At a moment when investors are on the look-out for any securities .promising an increase in capital values, Shipping shares have commanded attention by reason of the rise in...

FINANCE

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INFLUENCES RESTRAINING INVESTMENT AMONG the many enquirers who profess to be seeking an investment I wonder how many could be put down as seeking, not a permanent safe income...

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P. AND 0. CENTENARY.

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The foregoing reference to Lord Craigmyle prompts a recollection of the fact that this week the Peninsular and Oriental Steam Navigation Company is celebrating its centenary,...

UNION BANK OF AUSTRALIA.

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Yet another institution which last week celebrated its centenary is the Union Bank of Australia, and here again there is a very general recognition in the City of the great...

"THE SPECTATOR" CROSSWORD No. 259 BY ZENO

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[A prize of a Book Token for one guinea will be given to the sender of the first correct solution of this week's crossword puzzle to be opened. Envelopes should be marked"...

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD NO. 258

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Lai • ' II LIOIN CLUJ/THESE El AI TI I N OHIO U S EIR PI RI El VI AI RI I ICI AI T EIM SI DI RI E M A TI Slut T R A YI I I E DIG HI I I RIC N DINI S APT El N AI B LIE...