14 DECEMBER 1929

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The Insurance Bill Our Parliamentary correspondent has mentioned the forced

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withdrawal of the clause in the Unemployment Insurance Bill dealing with those " genuinely seeking work," and we need only briefly summarize here the new clause which has been...

News of the Week

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Unemployment T HE unemployment figures published on Wednesday were bad again, and we fear that they will become considerably worse before they are better. There were 17,442 more...

On Tuesday the Parliamentary Labour Party issued a curious statement

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to the effect that the Consultative Committee to whom Labour members submit their amendments for approval do not, by certifying an amendment, imply that they wish it to be...

Such an estimate is so disappointing as to be almost

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terrifying. We come back with deepened conviction to the conclusion that the Rationalization of industry, directed to the elimination of waste and the consequent reduction of...

EDTTORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES : 99 Gower Street, London, W.C.

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1.—A Subscription to the SPECTATOR costs Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registered as a Newspaper. The Postage on this...

The Religious Persecutions in Russia With the strong help of

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the Morning Post an Emergency Committee, under Prebendary Gough, has been formed to protest against the present religious persecutions in Russia. A meeting has been arranged for...

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The French Army. and Navy Estimates Mr. Lloyd George's scathing

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remarks on disarmament last week (cf. " The Week in Parliament ") were made, of course, with one eye on France. From the debate in the French Chamber on the Army estimates,...

Mr. Henderson and the Soviet On Monday Mr. Henderson informed

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the House of Commons that he regarded the approval of that . House as a sufficient fulfilment of his undertaking that the renewal of diplomatic relations with the Soviet Govern-...

State Sokol in Yugoslavia The Yugoslav Dictatorship has " officialized

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" the sokols. The sokols are gymnastic and cultural societies, rather like an extension of the Scout movement, which sprang up among the Slav minorities in the Dual Monarchy....

Dr. Schacht's Memorandum On Thursday, November 5th, Dr. Schacht, the

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President of the Reichsbank, issued a memorandum criticizing both the German and foreign Governments for permitting changes in the Young Plan as it was agreed upon by the...

We - have lately heard a great deal about the naval

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needs of France, and the Report now under consideration by the Naval Committee of the Senate seems to us nothing more than the French mathematical genius run riot. Tables have...

Mr. Kellogg never doubted that American membership of the Court

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was an essential part of the machinery which must be attached to his Peace Pact, and President Hoover has, of course, taken the same view. At last a compromise was framed which...

The Spanish Dictator General Primo de Rivera has again disappointed

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the prophets. It was supposed that the dissatisfaction mani- fested in the acquittal of Senor Sanchez Guerra would either burst into a flame of revolt against the Dictator or...

America and the World Court On Monday at Geneva the

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United States representative signed the Statutes of the Permanent Court of Inter- national Justice. Ratification has yet to be obtained from that incalculable body, the American...

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Sir Charles Monro and Mr. C. I. Thornton We mourn

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this week a great soldier and a great cricketer. General Sir Charles Monro was an extremely efficient, very modest, very hard-fighting soldier. As Commander of the First Army...

The Picture Ship The ship, ' Leonardo da Vinci,' bearing

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the priceless Italian pictures which are to be exhibited in London, arrived safely in the Thames on Wednesday. The tremendous gales caused some anxiety. The tug which escorted...

Ex-Enemy Property Among Dr. Schacht's complaints, however, is one that

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concerns Great Britain in particular. Mr. Snowden's recent refusal to return the surplus of ex-enemy property remaining after the claims of British nationals had been satisfied...

The Government's defence for a measure falling so short of

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what public opinion demands, and the industry needs, is based on the urgency of the matter. They admit that their purpose now is simply to keep the peace Without obstructing the...

The University Rugby Match At Twickenham, on Tuesday, Oxford won

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the Univer- sity Rugby Match by a goal and a dropped goal (nine points) to nothing. Thus Oxford broke a series of failures which has extended to rowing, cricket and ath- letics,...

The Coal Bill The Government's Coal Bill was communicated to

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the House on Wednesday. Writing before an examination of the Bill, we can only confirm the general opinion that it is a makeshift arrangement. The object of the marketing...

Bank Rate, 5} per cent., changed from 6 per cent.

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on November 21st, 1929. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 994 ; on Wednesday week, 99 Ii ; a year ago, 102*; Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 85} ; on Wednesday...

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The Agrarian Crisis in Russia T HE expulsion from Russia of

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Herr Paul Scheffer, the accomplished correspondent of the Berliner Tage- blatt, has made possible a vivid illumination of Russian affairs of which we should probably have been...

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Trade Realities

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T ORD PASSFIELD contributes a preface to the _ latest publication of the Empire Marketing Board, The Growing Dependence of British Industry upon Empire Markets, in which he...

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The Dust-Carts of Britain

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W HEN Noah gave the Ark its spring cleaning, he no - doubt made use of methods somewhat similar to those employed in most of the towns of Great Britain in the removing of...

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The Week in Parliament

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O N Wednesday of last week a private members' debate on disarmament gave Mr. Lloyd George the oppor- tunity of adding yet another first-rate speech to the series which he has...

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In Defence of the Faith

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IV.—Christianity and the Beyond [Dr. Edwyn Bevan is lecturer on Hellenistic history at King's College, London, and an authority on early Christian history and thought.] A...

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P RUDEN'S FUTURI :—But how exactly would you get rid of

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the worst type of public house which is preventing a higher general standard being reached ? LORD D'ABERNON :-I think that some kind of monopoly is essential, and I think that...

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Well-Jumpers of Old Delhi

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TN 1922 there still lived some two dozen of the heredi- tary tary well-jumpers of the Mogul Court, and although they must nearly all be gone now, it is right that some small...

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L'Osteria Volante

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F EW English writers have had a greater success with the Italian public than Chesterton. On every railway bookstall, at every library even in the smaller towns, his works are...

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Correspondence

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A LETTER FROM MELBOURNE. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Australia has once again emerged from a General Election, the second within twelve months. The nominal issue...

A Hundred Years Ago

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THE " SPECTATOR," DECEMBER 12th, 1829. PENANCE. To-morrow the ancient punishment of doing penance will be revived in the new Church of St. George, Camberwell, in obedience to...

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STRAWBERRIES FOR CHRISTMAS.

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Strawberries for Christmas are promised by growers in the lower Rio Grande Valley, Texas. They are planting now and believe that a fine, ripe crop will be ready in time to go...

DROUGHT AND BEAVERS.

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Abnormal drought threatens the towns of Seattle and Tacoma with the failure of their electric light and power supply. And thereby hangs a tale interesting to advocates of wild...

AN ORGY OF LAW-MAKING.

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With five thousand Bills already introduced and four or five times that number anticipated before the session ends, Con- gress is again running true to form in its zeal for...

American Notes of the Week

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THE ECONOMIC COUNCIL. How far American business has travelled from the old- fashioned doctrines of laissez faire is illustrated almost daily, as one industry after another...

A HINDU TEMPLE IN NEW YORK.

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New York is to have a Hindu temple, the first, it is said, to be erected in the New World. The temple is to be part of the India Centre which the India Society is building on...

EXPANSION OF THE STATE DEPARTMENT.

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An increase of some two and a-half million dollars in the State Department appropriation reflects President Hoover's determination to strengthen and expand the American Foreign...

TILE BUSINESS BOOK OF THE MONTH.

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The latest book of the month club is one formed for the benefit of business men. The editor of a financial paper, an investment counsel, and authorities on finance and economics...

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The League of Nations

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The Fate of the Battleship WHILE the discussions that have preceded next month's naval conference have turned mainly on cruisers, the most important decision to be taken may...

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WHAT WOULD ARNOLD SAY ?

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My old Oxford tutor, lamenting both the desecration and the want of interest in it, said to me the other day that the only recourse was to stay at home and read Matthew Arnold....

A SHIRE SURVEY.

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The authors of this survey meditate, I believe, and more than meditate, one on somewhat similar lines of the whole of Oxfordshire. We cannot have too many such topographies....

PRESERVING WOOD.

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During last week, not without the encouragement of the Forestry Commission, a wood-preserving association was formed. We all know that timber starvation is threatened and most...

The vanished village was on the Wiltshire Downs. This flourishing

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community is in Exmoor Forest, so called because it was entirely treeless. The " King's allotment " of 10,000 acres was sold in 1819 to Mr. Knight of Worcestershire who bought...

Country Life

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HOPE FOR THE THAMES. A book of quite a new sort has just been published by a happily complemental triumvirate.• One is Lord Mayo, who, besides his other artistic qualities, has...

A MODEL OF RECLAMATION.

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Local historians of England are almost always welcome. We have to thank an Oxford fellow for a bit of real research into English history ; and his book, which appears almost...

THE HEART OF ENGLAND.

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One passage from Mr. Buchan's Introduction I cannot forbear to quote :- " For the whole space of our history the valley has been the heart of English life. Cotswold may cease...

This book or survey is the latest of a succession

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of efforts to save—as Lord Astor well says—" for posterity some of the scenery, peace and amenities of an accessible, historic and beautiful part of England." A Thames valley...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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Sia,—Dr. Norwood and Mr. Lionel James have started a ball which deserves to roll far. May I give it a shove with some disconnected comments, captious and otherwise ? Would the...

" UNEMPLOYMENT AND TARIFFS IN INDIA" [To the Editor of

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the SPECTATOR.] SM,—Apropos of your remarks at the foot of my letter in the Spectator of . December 7th, France sends her cotton goods into her colonies free of any duty ; if...

Letters to the Editor

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TO MAKE ENGLAND ONE NATION [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—Mr. Lionel James, in your issue of December 7th, deals with the barrier to mutual understanding between the...

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EAST AFRICA: A WOMAN'S POINT OF VIEW [To the Editor

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of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. Kunzru's letter in your issue of November 30th is laudable from the Indian point of view, but somewhat misleading to those at home who have never...

THE ROADS BEAUTIFYING ASSOCIATION [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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see in your issue of November 23rd that Mr. Clough Williams-Ellis mentions the Roads Beautifying Association by name, and I therefore hope that you will allow me to make some...

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" R.S.P.C.A. MEMBERS ASSOCIATION " [To the Editor of the

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SPECTATOR.] SIR,—At a drawing-room meeting on December 4th of the recently formed " R.S.P.C.A. Members Association," called to discuss questions of policy, I moved the...

THE COAL DEADLOCK [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I

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have read with interest your reference to the coal position in your issue of the Spectator of November 30th, 1929, under the heading of " The Coal Deadlock," as follows :— " Not...

MR. GALSWORTHY'S STOCKTAKING [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I

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much appreciated Mr. Galsworthy's article on " Animal Welfare " in your Christmas Number. I have always taken the greatest possible interest in this subject, and have preached...

THE NATIONAL TRUST [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—A

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freehold estate in South-East London is being cut up and the freehold ground rents sold to the leaseholders, and I am concerned in a number of the purchases. Included in the...

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PALESTINE AND THE MANDATE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I have been struck by the entire absence of responsibility in certain quarters, both in the Press and on the platform, in dealing with the...

THE 0. P. I. C. H.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—NO man is called upon to expound an Act of Parliament publicly without first taking the trouble to read it. But amongst bishops and...

"HELL FIRE "

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your very able reviewer of Dr. Dearmer's Legend of Hell rightly asks whether along the lines of Dr. Dearmer's reasoning Heaven is not as...

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POINTS FROM LETTERS

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CHRISTMAS FARE. The R.S.P.C.A. has drawn our attention to the necessity for care in the methods of slaughtering employed on the animals to be eaten this Christmas. Readers can...

The White Cat

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THE fire whispered to the old white cat : " I shall grow fat. Out in the night I'll jump, and there Swallow up the air. I shall take trees and mountain-tops for tinder Till...

MR. HUXLEY AND MACHINERY

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —The article on Machinery, Psychology, and Politics in your Christmas Number must be very depressing to those who, like myself, have...

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The Graphic Diamond Jubilee Number is something excep- tional in

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contemporary journalism, for it records in picture form the history of the last sixty years—Stanley meeting Livingstone, Mafeking night in Trafalgar Square, Suffragettes chained...

The late Dr. J. H. Wylie, who died in 1914,

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is well remem- bered by historical students for his astonishingly detailed account of the reign of Henry IV and of the first two years of the reign of Henry V, including a very...

Some Books of the Week

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A PARADOX to-day is a platitude to-morrow. Nevertheless, anyone who will wade through English Proverbs and Proverbial Phrases, by G. L. Apperson (Dent, 31s. 6d.) will be...

Who were the Khmers ? In the eleventh century they

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had .5uilt for themselves in Cambodia a great city. Angkor Thom, with its temple, or Vat, where the gods and goddesses of the Hindus still peer through the jungle that now...

Mr. A. F. Fremantle's England in the Nineteenth Century, 1801-1805

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(Allen and Unwin, 16s.), is evidently intended to be the first of several—perhaps many—volumes covering the century. It thus begins with two substantial chapters describing the...

The Competition

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WE recently asked a contributor to write an article containing suggestions for a Better World, and we received the following reply :—" A short recipe would be murder half the...

It is interesting to compare Professor Saito's study of Keats'

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View of Poetry (Cobden-Sanderson. Os.) with the writings of English critics. Professor Saito is a Japanese, but his knowledge of English literature is extensive and profound....

The Forbidden Zone, by Mary Borden (Heinemann, Bs.), is a

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collection of stories, sketches, poems and fragments written during four years of hospital work with the French army. They are impressionistic in the extreme, and therefore more...

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A Single-handed Cruise Round the World

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Tilosc , who are spiritually captive to the sea sometimes escape from its caprices and persecutions, but they as often return to it of their own free will. It has bewitched...

The Historical Element

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A Short History of the Christer Church. By C. P. S. Clarke, M.A. (Longrnarts. 10s. 6d.) St. Gregory the Great. By Mgr. Pierre Batiffol. Translated by J. L. Stoddard. (Burns,...

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Good Food v. The Knife and Bottle Cult

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The Prevention of Diseases Peculiar to Civilization. By Sir W. Arbuthnot Lane. (Faber and Faber. 5s.) THE Spartan simplicity of Danish diet during the last year of the War,...

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The " Sons of the Eagle THERE are certain faults

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common to nearly all except the very few first-rate books on the Balkans. Superficiality is one of them ; a patronizing tone is another. Both of these are present in a high...

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A National Problem

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THE author is one who views with alarm, and he has written this volume to stimulate the complacent public to action-concerning, one of the most serious national problems of the...

A Literary Elder Brother

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APART from two- admirable little exercises in oratory, the one delivered at the opening of Keats House, Hampstead, and the other at a dinner of the Edinburgh Sir Walter Scott...

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The Faith of a Statesman

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In the Evening of My Thought. By Georges Clemenceau. Translated by Charles Misser Thompson and John Heard, Junr. 2 vols. (Constable. 30s.) THE title of the late M. Clemenceau's...

Some Books on Sport

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Forty Fine Ladies. By Patrick Chalmers. Illustrated in colour by Cecil Aldin. (Eyre & Spottiswoode. 25s.) Somewhere In England. By E. G. Roberts, with eight colour plates by...

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" Know Thyself "

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WHEN a scientist, even a scientist with an international reputation, throws off his gown, he is often a human and entertaining companion. In fact the best scientists are always...

Idealism

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THE idea that the War was fatal to idealism in those who were actively engaged and made of them cynics and pessimists is one which is often canvassed. It is not borne out by the...

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Fiction

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Going to Seed (Allen and Unwin. 10s. 6d.) Watkins. (Elkin Mathews and The Lacquer Lady. By F. 7s. t3d.) Background. By Noel Forrest. THE atmosphere of the two more important...

THE LAUGHING QUEEN. By E. Barrington. (Harrap. 7s. 6d.)—As the

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author says, in prefacing her new romance of Cleopatra : " There are few studies more ironical than hers, few in which history more definitely throws aside her almost invariable...

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Mr. Kenneth Hare has compiled an anthology of literature dealing

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with archery. The Archers' Chronicle and Greenwood Companion (Williams and Norgate, 15s.1 is charmingly got up, with exceptionally good type. The illustrations, parti- cularly...

Another sample of fine book production is a blank verse

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closet drama by John Presland (Noel Douglas, limited edition, 12s. 6d.). It is a work for a few, those intimate eremites of poetry, who have the necessary quietness of mind to...

It would be difficult to find a more suitable story

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for Mr. E. MacKnight Kauffer to illustrate than The Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, a new edition of which Messrs. Etchells and Macdonald have published this...

We have recommended frequently to our readers the best children's

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magazine which in our opinion is published in the English language, John Martin's Book, The Children's Maga- zine, published monthly at 10 Ferry Street, Concord, N.H., U.S.A....

A large and very varied experience of angling has gone

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to the making of Major G. L. Ashley Dodd's A Fisherman's Log (Constable. 10s.), but the pleasure of reading is somewhat marred by the book's pontifical tone, and by the too...

Christmas Books

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IT is impossible to have too many editions of the Tales from Hans Andersen, but it is quite possible to have too many illustrated editions of this book. For illustrating Hans...

The day is past, we suggest, when rebellious youth in

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its revolt against Victorian sentimentalism. would - likewise jettison such ,homely‘pargo_ as was. proyided by our greater eighteenth or nineteenth century writers. We welcome...

Christmas cannot be gloomy if Mr. George Belcher's Taken From

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Life (Alston Rivers, 10s. 6d.) is included in the party. Everyone who knows George Belcher will know what to expect over the legend. " I'm going to see the new Rector ignited."...

Despite the perseverance of his twenty volumes, the writing of

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James Branch Cabell remains unaltered, and is an acquired taste. So also are the pen drawings of Frank C. Pape. If one likes either (and there is some reason to suppose they...

We do not feel that Mr. John Masefield's charming poem,

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South and East, is in any way enhanced by Miss Jitcynth Parsons' illustrations, which do not in our opinion convey the atmo- sphere of the poem. It is not possible to illustrate...

Mr. H. G. Wells, we are told, wrote The Adventures

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of Tommy (Harrap, 5s.) when he was ill and feeling bored, illustrating the story himself with paints " found in the children's room " ; he then dedicated the diversion to his...

There is ample choice for all tastes in the Christmas

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numbers of Nash's Pall Mall Magazine and Good Housekeeping, pub- lished by the National Magazine Company (Is. 6d. each). When we are given a list of contributors (as in the case...

Readers of the Spectator are already acquainted with the writing

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of Miss Eleanor Sinclair Rhode, and they will, we feel, welcome her Garden Lovers' Days and Star Lovers' Dolls. These two books, published at 3s. 6d. each, by the Medici...

No better title could possibly have been found for Mr.

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William Nicholson's collection of drawings (Faber and Faber, 2s. 6d.) than The Book of Blokes. Their " blokishness " is evident in every line. The drawings are extraordinarily...

In Game Birds (Eyre and Spottiswoode, £3 3s.) Mr. Hugh

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Pollard points out that in spite of our increased population (and we might add, agricultural distress) more gun and game licences are taken out than ever before, pheasants are...

Another book on a similar subject, is Gamonia, the Art

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of Preserving Game, by Lawrence Rawstorne, which was first privately printed in 1837 and distributed to the author's friends. We have received a new edition, sumptuously bound...

Mrs. Stanley Rogers' book (published by Harrap. 7s. 64.), which

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. was reviewed in last week's Spectator, was misnamed Sea-Love. It should have been Sea-Lore. In our advertise- ment pages the author of The Parables of Our Lord (Religious...

We are a little disappointed with Valenti Angelo's illus- trations

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of A Sentimental Journey Through France and Daly (Bodley Head, 25s.), although their style is in keeping with the period. But Laurence Sterne is a difficult author to...

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Travel

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Round South Africa [We publish on this page articles and They are written by correspondents who of the Travel articles published in our notes which may help our readers in...

General Knowledge Questions

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OUR weekly prize of one guinea for the best thirteen Questions submitted is awarded this week to Miss Margaret Elliot, Alesworth, Bishop's Stortford, Herts, for the following...

Travel Pamphlets Reviewed

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[From time to time we notice publications sent to us by travel agencies and shipping companies, which we think may be of interest to readers. -En. Spectator.] THE Cunard Line...

A Library List

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REFERENCE BOOKS :-The Churchmen's Year Book, 1930. (Mowbray. 3s. 6d.)-The R.I.B.A. Kalendar, 1929- 1930. (The Royal Institute of British Architects. 3s. ficl.) Whitaker's...

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Finance—Public & Private

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A Rise in Sterling I SUPPOSE that neither the man in the street ,nor even the ordinary investor will be particularly thrilled by the statement that the sterling exchange has...

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A GOOD BREWERY REPORT.

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The latest report of Benskins Watford Brewery is a good one, and out of the profits of 1145,933, a sum of £20,000 is (Continued on page viii.1 added to the reserve with a...

SUGAR AND THE CONSUMER.

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At the recent meeting of Tate and Lyle, Sir Ernest William Tate had an excellent report to place before the shareholders. Moreover, his address, which was an exceptionally...

Financial Notes

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AN UNCERTAIN TENDENCY. THE Stock Exchange is to be closed from Christmas Eve until the followin g Monday mornin g , thus g ivin g a clear five days' holiday for members. It is...

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PROFITS FROM PAPER.

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The Annual report of Bowater's Paper Mills shows good progress for the past year. During the year an increase was made in the company's capital, and the results now disclosed...

FALL IN INVERESK SHARES.

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It would seem to be high time that some public statement was made by the directors of the Inveresk Paper Co., Ltd. for the great fall in the price of the shares is alarming to...

UNILEVER LIMITED.

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This is to be the name of the company hitherto known as Margarine Union, now amalgamated with the Lever interests, while what has hitherto been known as Margarine Unie will be...

BIG METAL COMBINE.

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Not the least interesting among modern fusions and com- bines is the forniation of the Amalgamated Metal Corporation Limited, which is to acquire all or part of the Share or...