14 FEBRUARY 1920

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In the last Session the House of Lords saved the

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House of Commons from itself several times, notably in the case of the stupidly severe Aliens Bill. What we should like to see is the preservation of the present system of the...

The chief observation which we wish to make on this

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subject is that here is an open gate for the Unionists. It can hardly be supposed that if the nation wants to be led against bureaucracy and Socialism, of both of which it is...

There is now the greatest and best of all the

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opportunities we have had of freeing the country from the abuse of drink without incurring the innumerable difficulties and disadvantages of Prohibition. We certainly ought to...

Of course Mr. Lloyd George will try to form a

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new anti- Socialistic party and to lead it. But the nation will think more than twice before being sure that he would lead it in earnest. It cannot forget the circumstances in...

We are very glad to see that Liquor Control is

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given prominence in the King's Speech. We earnestly hope that the reform will follow the lines of the only experiment in Liquor Control which has proved an unqualified success ;...

To sum up these general remarks (xi the opening of

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Parlia- ment, we cannot help exclaiming : " If words were deeds. What a glorious country this would be with such a Prime Minister ! " But, alas ! the political rainbow, the most...

We can hardly suppose that Parliament will ever reach the

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proposed Bill to reform the House of Lords, but we hope that if the Bill is produced it will not attempt the folly of setting up an Upper House that would be a rival to the...

If we were to judge by language alone, and were

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able to forget for the time being that political language must be related to deeds, we could not praise too highly the speeches which the Prime Minister made on Tuesday about...

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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p ARLIAMENT was reopened on Tuesday, and the Prime Minister has surpassed his record in the House of Commons. We have written elsewhere about the state of political parties and...

* * * The Editor cannot accept responsibility for any articles or

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letters submitted to him, but when stamped and addressed envelopes are sent he will do his best to return contributions in case of rejection.

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On Wednesday in the House of Commons Mr. Brace moved

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the Labour Party amendment regretting the absence of any proposal to nationalize the coal-mines on the lines recommended by the Sankey Commission. Mr. Brace declared that the...

Lord Curzon, speaking in the debate on the Address in

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the House of Lords, dwelt on the gravity and complexity of the situation in the East. The delay in concluding peace with Turkey had cost us dear, but it was entirely due to our...

In regard to Ireland, the Prime Minister vainly invited Mr.

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Adamson to say whether he would give the Sinn Feiners .a Republic. whether he would coerce Ulster, and whether he would withdraw all troops from Ireland and let the gangs of...

Mr. Adamson, who has been re-elected Chairman of the Labour

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Party in the House, devoted his speech on the Address mainly to Russia, " profiteering," Ireland, and coaL A week's tour in Ireland had taught him, he said, that the proposed...

Mr. Lloyd George began an extremely clever speech by reminding

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the Independent Liberals that they had little reason to boast about by-election successes. Our domestic troubles were the natural outcome of a long war, and could not be removed...

We must now give a brief summary of the events

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of Tuesday and Wednesday in Parliament in their proper order. The King's Speech expressed a hope that peace would soon be concluded with Hungary and Turkey and that the Adriatic...

Such a speech as this •gave Mr. Lloyd George a

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very easy opening, which he fully used. He declared that though Mr. Brace professed to dislike bureaucracy, State control of the mines would mean bureaucracy and nothing else....

The King's Speech also promised measures dealing with the sale

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of drink, with the encouragement of agriculture so as to increase the production of essential foodstuffs at home, and with fishing. There would be a Bill regulating the Regular...

As for Russia, Mr. Lloyd George asked the House to

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face the facts. Bolshevism, whose horrors had revolted the conscience of mankind, was not democracy, but the rule of a privileged minority. Yet it could not be crushed by force...

Mr. Lunn, a Yorkshire miner, was far less temperate than

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Mr. Brace. He brazenly threatened the Government and the country. The Conference to be held in a few days, he said, might decide for a great national strike. Personally he did...

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M. Millerand, speaking on foreign policy in the French Cliambet

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on Friday week, said that the decision of the Allies to open trade with the Russian Co-operative Societies did not mean that thej would enter into relations with the Bolsheviks....

The January trade returns testified to a genuine revival of

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commerce and industry, despite the pessimists. Our imports were valued at £183,500,000, our exports at £105,750,000, and our re-exports at £25,500,000. The adverse balance was...

The plebiscite in Northern Slesvig, under the terms of the

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Peace Treaty, was held on Tuesday. The native inhabitants decided, by a vote of three to one, that they wished to resume their Danish nationality of which they were forcibly...

Mr. Lloyd George ended with burning words in which he

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asserted that Labour was "challenging the whole fabric of British government." But the Government were determined never to surrender to " a privileged minority." The majority...

Spitsbergen can no longer be called " No Man's Land."

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The Powers interested in the matter signed a Treaty in Paris on Monday, by which Norway is recognized as the sovereign of the Arctic archipelago. The subjects of all nations are...

The German Government apologized to the Allies for Baron von

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Lersner's theatrical refusal to transmit to Berlin the list of war criminals whom Germany is required by the Peace Treaty to deliver up for trial. The Allies sent the list...

The Council of the League of Nations held its second

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meeting this week, assembling at St. James's Palace on Wednesday. Spain, the first neutral to join the League, was represented among the eight Councillors, who, as Mr. Balfour...

Mr. Chamberlain's considered reply to the memorial proposing an International

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Economic Conference was published on Thurs• day. On behalf of the Government, he agreed to send repre• sentatives to such a Conference if it were summoned by the League of...

The party leaders at Washington are still trying to arrange

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s compromise in regard to the Covenant, which blocks the pad of the Peace Treaty in the Senate. Senator Hitchcock, the Democratic leader, announced last Saturday that the...

Speaking at Paisley on Friday week, Mr. Asquith criticized the

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Peace Treaties. Germany, he said, was saddled with impossible liabilities. At the most, she could pay two thousand millions sterling. He would write off any hypothetical pay-...

Bank rate.6 Der cent.,changed from 5 Der cent. Nov. 6.

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1919

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE POSITION OF THE PARTIES. MHE impression we receive from the debate on the 1. Address is that if only Mr. Lloyd George had clear principles to match his astonishing skill in...

TO OUR READERS.

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We have decided that after the last Saturday in February- i.e., on Saturday, March 6th—the price of the SPECTATOR must be increased to 9(1. We had hoped till quite recently to...

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THE PROBLEM OF THE WAR CRIMINALS. T HE policy by which

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the Allies have attempted to bring the war criminals to trial has by common consent got us into a sorry mess, and it is not to be wondered at that many people who in the...

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PIS1 DE TERRE IN THE PAST.

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" PISE (a. F. piste, subst. use of pa. pple. of piser, to beat, pound (earth) : L. pisare, pinedre, to beat, pound, stamp. Stiff clay or earth kneaded, or mixed with gravel,...

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THE DREAD OF A PROFIT.—I.

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HEN a hundred years hence the philosophic his- torian looks back on " The Period of Reconstruc- tion " he will, we are convinced, declare that of all the forms of temporary...

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THE COACH-AND-FOUR.

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I S there safety in the coach-and-four which meets trouble ? Some temperaments fly to it for shelter. They fear surprise more than any other evil. They can only face the future...

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THE PALESTINE CROCODILE.

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T HE question of the existence of crocodiles in Palestine has always interested zoologists. Many have been sceptical, especially as to their existence in modern times. During...

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THE ARREST OF SINN FEINERS.

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."] Sri,—All those who truly love Ireland must have read with pain and indignation Lord Monteagle's letter in the Times of February 5th. Lord...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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[Letters of the length of one of our leading paragraphs are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.] MR. ASQUITH'S IRISH POLICY....

IRELAND AND PAPAL CLAIMS.

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."] Sin,—The Irish Roman Catholic Hierarchy, assembled at May- nooth, spoke of " the acknowledged right of civilized nations to choose their own...

STATE PURCHASE OF THE LIQUOR TRADE.

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR-"l Sm.,—You will have noticed with what unanimity clergy and ministers of Carlisle have put on record their hope that the work of the Liquor...

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MANDATORY AND MANDATED?

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."] Sia,—Dr. Stanton's appeal to " literary experts " on this subject makes it rather difficult for an ordinary individual with no such...

MINERS AND THE STATE.

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sie.—In an article by Mr. Frank Hodges. Secretary of the Miners' Federation, in the Labour Press, he states that the nationalization of...

STATE EXPORTS OF COAL

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(To THE Enrroa Or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sus,—There is one point in connexion with nationalization which does not appear to have received the attention its im- portance merits. It...

[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."]

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Snt—The original meaning of " mandator " is so ugly and ill-omened in Latin that we may well shrink from ringing changes on made-up modern derivatives from it, though it is...

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PELMANISM FOR THE BLIND.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] Sta,—I ask your help in making known among your very wide circle of readers something which will, I hope, prove'of great benefit to a large...

THE FEDERATION OF LONDON WORKING BOYS' CLUBS. [To THE EDITOR

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OF THE " SPECTATOR."/ SIR,—With the conclusion of hostilities it is intended to increase the number of Boys' Clubs in London, in the hope that every boy, on leaving school, may...

EXCESS PROFITS TAX.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."7 Sia,—Your correspondent Mr. B. 31. Drake seems to have overlooked one great difficulty of a tax on profits over and above a certain...

A " CAVENDISH ASSOCIATION " FOR WOMEN

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LTO THE EDITOR 07 THE " SPECTATOR. "1 Sta,—Some few weeks ago there appeared in the Spectator a very interesting article on the Cavendish Association, its aims and scope....

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AUTHOR FOUND.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."3 SIR, — Writing from " the sweet shady side of Pall Mall," it were ungrateful to forget the author of that delightful line, and I am glad to...

PRICKLY PEAR.

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."1 SIR, — In your issue of January 31st there appeared an article antler the heading " A Vegetable Terror," front which I got the impression...

POETRY.

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THE ETERNAL FIRE. HAVE pity now for Spring, For tossing buds and lusty shoots of green, That gather glory in a windy day, And then are swept away Out of men's eyes, each...

NOTICE.—When " Correspondence" or Articles are signed with the writer's

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name or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are 'narked" Communicated," the Editor must not necessarily be held to be in agreement with the views therein expressed or with the...

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THE THEATRE.

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THE PHOENIX'S SECOND PRODUCTION. "I solemnly declare that you have seen no such acting, no, not in any degree, since." So wrote a contributor to the Gentleman's Magazine...

A R T • THE MODERN SOCIETY OF PORTRAIT PAINTERS. AT

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the Forliibition of the Modern Society of Portrait Painters a few good pictures are sandwiched between canvases which illustrate two opposite poles of badness. On one side are...

BOOKS.

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PARLIAMENTS OF THE EMPIRE.* THERE are six national Parliaments in the Empire, with nine Provincial Legislatures in Canada and six State Parliaments in Australia. They all have...

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HENRY FOX.*

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THE middle years of the eighteenth century, from the fall of Walpole to the accession of George III., form one of the most perplexing periods in our political history. Our...

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" TONGUES NOT MADE TO SPEAK BUT SING."

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ME first thought of the reader who opens Mr. Massingham's anthology will be one of amazement that over four hundred such admirable poems should have been produced within a...

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CHARLES WESLEY.* TILE clergy of the Church of England are

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just now dis- tressingly poor.. Many of them find it hard to get food, let alone education, for their children. Poverty in the Church is, however, no new thing. There have been...

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FICTION.

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• .1' at, LAST OF THE GRENVILLES.* 'WE owe " Bennet Copplestone " an apology for our delay in noticing the latest of the excellent books from his pen in which he acts as...

MODERN SCIENCE AND MATERIALISM.t Tax larger portion of Mr. Elliot's

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book is occupied with an able, if somewhat dogmatic, summary of the conclusions of • The Manners of My Time. By C. L. H. Dempster. London : Grant Richards. [10a ed. net. t Modem...

THE MANNERS OF MY TIRE.*

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Miss DEMPSTER'S reminiscences deal with small things rather than with great things, and when they deal with great people it is in a small way. Yet for all this no sneers about...

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READABLE NOVELS. —The Strange Case of Mr. Jocelyn Thew. By

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E. Phillips Oppenheim. (Hodder and Stoughton. 7s. net.)— Mr. Phillips Oppenheim's mysteries are not quite so interesting as usual, and the end of the story is anything but...

Arrows of Desire. By J. S. Mackenzie. (Allen and Unwin.

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10s. 6d. net.)—The title, borrowed from Blake, and suggesting a romantic novel, is as misleading as Ruskin's " On the Construction of Sheepfolds." Professor Mackenzie's book...

The Romance of the Battle Line in France. By J.

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E. C. Bodley. (Constable. 7s. 8d. net.)—Mr. Bodley recalls in two attractive essays the historical associations, distant or recent, of the country through which the battle-front...

Mr. Francis Grierson's Abraham Lincoln (John Lane, 5s. net) is

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a short monograph intended to show the spiritual side of Lincoln's political and private career. The writer puts forward some curious statements. For example :- " Philosophical...

. The Remaking of a Mind. By Henry de Man.

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(Allen and Unwin. 7s. 6d. net.)—Lieutenant de Man before the war was a leader of the Belgian Socialist Party. In that capacity he accompanied the two German Socialists who went...

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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Illetice in this CO11412181 does not necessarily preclude subsequent rovics.1 The League of Nations. By Sir Frederick Pollock. (Stevens. 10s.)—This is a valuable commentary on...

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A Kut Prisoner. By H. C. W. Bishop. (Lane. Gs.

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6d. net.) —Mr. Bishop, a subaltern in the Indian Army, was taken prisoner at Kut and sent to'Kastamuni, in Anatolia. Thence, with three comrades, he made his escape, only to be...

We have received two examples of what may be called

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indirect Bolshevik propaganda from Messrs. George Allen and Unwin (2s. 6d. net each )—Bolshevism at Work, by W. T. Goode, who, it seems, is Principal of Graystoke Place Training...

The Testing of a Nation. By the Archbishop of Canterbury.

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(Macmillan. 6s. net.)—The Archbishop has reprinted in this volume nineteen sermons and addresses delivered on special occasions during the war. The first was given in the Abbey...

Ille Ego : Virgil and Professor Richmond. By J. S.

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Phillimore. (Oxford University Press. Is. 6d. net.)—Every schoolboy knows, as Macaulay would say, that the Aeneid begins with the words " Arma virumque cano." But did it always...

The Volunteer Force and the V olunteer T raining Corps

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during the Great War. (P. S. King. Is. 6d. net.)—The Central Association of Volunteer Regiments has done well to publish a summary account of its good work during the war. Many...

Digger Dialects. By W. 1-1. Downing. (Melbourne : Lothian Co.)—This

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little book will delight all who care for new words. It is a collection of Australian soldiers' slang, made while the war is still fresh in the memory of the author and his...

The Life and Death of King John. Edited by Horace

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Howard Furness, Junior. (Lippincott. 25s. net.)—Dr. Furness, con- tinuing his father's work, has added King John to the famous Variorum edition of Shakespeare. It is an...

The Paravane Adventure. By L. Cope Cornford. (Hodder and Stoughton.

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7s. 6d. net.)—Mr. Cope Cornford describes in this interesting book Captain Dennis Burney's invention for attacking submarines or for deflecting mines from a ship's track and...

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The Anglo-French Review for February (2s. 6d. net) contains a

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highly interesting atticle by Lord Charnwood on his Life of Lincoln, the success of which in America, he confesses, astonished him. M. Clemenceau's " Advice to a Young Girl who...