11 JANUARY 1946

Page 1

Anti-Semitism in Poland

The Spectator

General Morgan, the Chief of U.N.R.R.A. operations in Europe, must be-shocked by the effects of his recent speech on the refugee question in Germany ; fortunately he has not yet...

NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

M R. BYRNES and the American delegates to the United Nations Assembly have this week given a remarkable example of the un- certainties and vagaries of American policy. In Moscow...

The Future of U.N.R.R.A.

The Spectator

The problem of the Polish-Jewish refugees is, however, only one factor in the even larger problem of refugees and displaced persons in general ; the difficulty of finding a...

Page 2

What Germany Can Pay

The Spectator

In the Potsdam Agreement the four Powers set themselves a problem in arithmetic in which many of the quantities are unknown and at present perhaps unknowable. They have to reach...

Danger on the Roads

The Spectator

The increase of accidents already recorded with the return of peace traffic to the roads is a warning that the situation will become extremely serious when a larger number of...

Nuremberg Progress

The Spectator

The patient but effective accumulation of evidence against the Nuremberg prisoners continues. The original charges by Sir Hartley Shawcross covered the ground comprehensively,...

Fruits of Moscow

The Spectator

The Three-Power Commission, consisting of Sir Archibald Clark-Kerr, Mr. Harriman and M. Vyshinsky„ which is now in Rumania, has encountered some difficulties in carrying out the...

The New Austria

The Spectator

The recognition of the Austrian Government under Dr. Renner by Britain, the United States, Russia and France marks Allied agree- ment in regard to one at least of the countries...

The Flow of Labour

The Spectator

One interesting sign of the transition from wax to peace is the resumption of monthly statements of actual employment in industry issued by the Ministry of Labour. Pre-war...

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THE WORLD ASSEMBLY

The Spectator

B Y the time these words are in print, the Assembly of the United Nations, representing fifty states, will have held its first meet- ing. It is necessary to emphasise the...

Page 4

There are few sections of the population who deserve more

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sym- pathy than the indigent aged. The young, at the worst, have physical vigour, and better days to look forward to. The old are only waiting patiently for the end. Let them at...

The resignation of Mr. Ellis Smith from the Parliamentary Secre-

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taryship of the Board of Trade will not shake the Government to its foundations. Indeed, though Mr. Ellis Smith, a worthy trade union official, is personally popular, it is...

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK

The Spectator

W ITH U.N.O. formally in being, and the League of Nations pre- paring to hand over to its successor its personality and appur- tenances, the question of the future of the League...

The vacancy in the representation of the English Universities in

The Spectator

Parliament caused by the death of their senior member, Miss Eleanor Rathbone, will, I should imagine, bring several candidates into the field. If there is any feeling that a...

Report of the Chief of Staff of the United States

The Spectator

Army,7uly, I, 1943, to 7une 30, 1945, to the Secretary of War, now reprinted by His Majesty's Stationery . Office, price 2s. 6d. Admirably written and illustrated, it covers the...

Page 5

LEGACY OF JAPAN

The Spectator

By The Rev. A. J. BENNITT T HE title of this article might well be the title of a solid treatise I to be written ten years hence. At this stage it is only possible to take...

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GERMANY'S FOOD

The Spectator

By H. D. WALSTON T HERE have been many contradictory reports of the food situation in Germany. This is not surprising because conditions vary between zone and zone and between...

Page 7

THE TORY .MACHINE

The Spectator

By HUGH MOLSON, M.P. T HE defeat of the Conservative Party at the General Election of 1945 necessarily raises the problem of restating Conservative philosophy in terms suitable...

Page 8

DECEMBER IN HIROSHIMA

The Spectator

By MARTIN HALLIWELL C IRCLING low over Hiroshima in the wan sun of the Japanese winter, like vultures late for the feast, war correspondents click their cameras through the...

Page 9

THE TIME FACTOR

The Spectator

By GORDON GANTRIE "T IME," said the man in the blue muffler, "is a very important thing." And having made this profound remark, he favoured me with a steady glare. "Oh, yes,"...

Marry people in Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Holland, Norway and

The Spectator

Sweden are anxious to know more about what is happening in world affairs, and particularly the British view on the subject. Unfortunately, the blocking of currency in most of...

Page 10

MARGINAL COMMENT

The Spectator

By HAROLD NICOLSON T HERE are two sympathetic qualities which, even when one has passed the middle stage of life, serve to keep the heart young and the arteries elastic. The...

Page 11

ROADSIDE GRAVE NEAR S'HERTOGENBOSCH

The Spectator

IN the West the sun is newly, gloriously dying, As it has died so many tens of times since my own death. Once I was newly dead, and mourned, I was still vivid in their...

PLAGA MUNDI

The Spectator

O PLAGA MUNDI—in all the world There is one beach where time is found: The black shale crumbles and time falls out And lies exposed to sun and sea The dinosaur from ancient eyes...

THE CINEMA

The Spectator

"Anchors Aweigh." At the Empire. CONSIDERING the number of personal dislikes of mine that they managed to get into Anchors Aweigh I found the film very pleasant. I would be...

MUSIC

The Spectator

Britten and Finzi. BENJAMIN BRITTEN'S tributes to Purcell, his second String Quartet in C major and the cycle of Donne's Holy Sonnets were repeated at the Wigmore Hall last...

Page 12

YOUTH AND THE CHURCHES

The Spectator

SIR,—May I be permitted to add illustration to the current argument, as one who, in the words of a recent letter, has the faith but cannot accept the form? I believe I am...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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THE PREVENTION OF WAR SIR,—The discoveries relating to the release of atomic energy and their application in the manufacture and use of the atomic bomb have brought home to...

ETHIOPIANS AND THE B.L.A.

The Spectator

SIR,—In his article on Ethiopia which you published recently, Mr. Law- rence Athill makes a number of sweeping statements on the relations which are supposed to have existed...

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CONVERSATIONS IN GERMANY

The Spectator

Sta,—In the issue of your paper dated December 28th, 1 945, there appeared a highly interesting article by the pearl of St. Paul's, reporting on his visit to Western Germany, in...

AIR TRANSPORT AND THE R.A.F.

The Spectator

Sia,—Your correspondent, Arnold Priestly-Bennett, charges me with a callous disregard for the finer feelings of Mr. Harold Nicolson. I would yield to none of your readers in my...

Snt,—May I venture to make a few comments on some

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of the letters which have appeared recently in The Spectator under the above heading? i. The fact that a question can be asked does not necessarily mean that it can be answered....

Page 14

AMERICA AND THE LOAN s111,--i have been privileged to read,

The Spectator

though somewhat belatedly, your leader of December 14th on "America and the Loan." While in sym- pathy with what you write, I gather that you are uncertain as to the attitude of...

JOB HUNTING

The Spectator

SIR,—When I was in the Army overseas, I .remember reading a rather lively correspondence in your columns on the subject of "What the soldier thinks." I think the occasion may...

THE RELEASE OF STUDENTS

The Spectator

Sitt,—I was interested to read "R. L. H. (R.A.F.)'s" letter about Univer- sity courses for demobilised Service men in The Spectator of Novem- ber 23rd. There is considerable...

Page 15

IDEAS OF ECONOMY '

The Spectator

Sta,—We are asked to economise to the best of our ability, so it seems strange and quite inexplicable why the Government or the Q.A.I.M.N.S. should decide at the end of the war...

IS THIS ART CRICKET?

The Spectator

Sta,—If I could persuade Mr. Harold Nicolson to accompany me to Lords to give cricket a last chance, I might be able to explain to him some of the finer points of the game, both...

LAWS AND THE PEOPLE

The Spectator

SIR,—I have recently returned from abroad, and have noticed the great incursions which the Ministries of the Crown have made into our national life, although, perhaps, these...

DEAD TOULON

The Spectator

SIR,—In my experience, tolerance has been the greatest quality that the war has developed in the English. It was, therefore, with great surprise that I read "British Officer's"...

Page 16

COUNTRY LIFE - Mumi the best thing, as it seems

The Spectator

to me, written about women's work during the war, deals with the .part of their work about which least has been said- Incidentally it is dotted "throughout with good natural...

In My Garden - In discussing some of the rather

The Spectator

rarer vegetables I suggested Golden Bantam (which has a delicious flavour) as the best variety of sweet corn, which is not the easiest of plants to grow in colder, dis- tricts....

Poisoned Fish • The poisoning of the Lea, of which

The Spectator

Londoners drink, seemed. to me especially undesirable because I live almost on its bank ; but news from many parts of Britain suggests that other greater rivers are in yet worse...

BUCHAN'S SPELLS

The Spectator

Sm,—With reference to the statement made by Sir W. Beach Thomas that Buchan's cold spell from December 3rd had been particularly cold and frosty in England, but that he had no...

THE CREATOR OF MUNCHAUSEN

The Spectator

SIR,—I am at present collecting materials for a study of Rudolf Erich Raspe (1737-1794), the Anglo-Hanoverian savant and scientist, and creator of Baron Munchausen's Adventures....

VILLAGE SCHOOLS

The Spectator

Sta,—Why not improve the existing schools in such a way that teachers of the intelligent " human " type can feel a pride in working with neigh- bours, even though in small...

Loss of Precious 13irds The North Country is losing its

The Spectator

most precious birds as well as its most precious fish. Blackcock, treated with very short shrift by Forestry Commissioners, are now extremely rare and growing rarer year by...

" JANUS " AND THE ACT OF 1351

The Spectator

SIR,—" Janus" deserves praise for bringing to the notice of readers in the South the letter to the Manchester Guardian in which John Amery's mother pleads for the lives of those...

Page 18

Peacemaking

The Spectator

European Balance. By Peter Matthews. (Chatto and Windus. 8s. 6d.) CERTAIN consistent judgements about why the last peace failed and why the recent war came are necessary before...

BOOKS OF THE DAY

The Spectator

N 9 9 or " 114 9 t The Oxford Dictionary of English Christian Names. Compiled by E. G. Withycombe. (Oxford University Press. 7s. 6d.) THE first satisfactory book on English...

Page 20

Freedom from Fear

The Spectator

The Problem of Security. By Lieutenent-General Sir Giffard MarteL (Michael Joseph. 10s. 6d.) IT is unfortunate that we have in this country nothing comparable to the biennial...

The Coastal War

The Spectator

The Battle of the Narrow Seas. By Lieutenant-Commander Peter Scott, M.B.E., D.S.C., R.N.V.R. (Country Life. 15s.) THE achievement of Coastal Forces judged by material standards...

Page 22

Fiction

The Spectator

10s. 6d.) ONE difference between criticism and reviewing is that in the latter the measure of excellence tends to be set by the best book of the batch under review: Certainly...

Cooking Without Tears

The Spectator

THE approach of Christmas was greeted by the appearance of two new and excellent cookery books ; they are doubly welcome, since either would make a most acceptable present ;...

Page 24

Shorter Notices. .

The Spectator

IN 5941 Lord Birdwood published a fascinating autobiography, Khaki and Gown. It told the story of a man who can well be described as a happy warrior, from his schooldays at...

Page 25

"THE SPECTATOR" CROSSWORD No. 357

The Spectator

LA Book Token for one guinea will be awarded to the sender of the first correct. solution of this week's crossword to be opened after noon on Tuesday week yanuaty 22nd....

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 355 pi.,ulmolc stist-r rt. aii2g.

The Spectator

O i V G VI GU 0! , V I IL 71 E EiLio:GO . ViEiWC E E E S R E g R Ala al all - Ii 1t4:A:r:8. I ° R - A'S .i I 0 T o o A A g M c o I I F€U.R C A S . CIA !S . AI It Al L TIP...

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FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

The Spectator

By CUSTOS THERE was nothing in the btnking situation last year to suggest that the earnings of the "Big Five" would differ materially from those of 1944, and the figures now...