15 APRIL 1938

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NEWS OF THE WEEK T HE auspicious beginning made by M.

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Daladier's new administration will evoke hardly less satisfaction on this side of the Channel than on that. Political instability in France gravely accentuates the dangers of...

China's Success Only Japan by now ignores the Chinese victory

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at Taierh- chwang ; it would be interesting to know whether any news of it has filtered through to the Japanese public. Conserva- tive reports estimate that at least one...

The Fight for Catalonia Last week General Franco captured Tremp,

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about twenty miles from the coast, and with it the great reservoir from which most of the power for Barcelona's electricity comes. But since this success his advance has been...

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Mr. Roosevelt's Reverse Mr. Roosevelt's prestige fell this week to

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the lowest point since his re-election, after his " dictatorial " Bill to reor- ganise the Federal Administration was defeated in Congress by a large majority, including to8...

The conversations at Rome are understood to be making satisfactory

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progress towards an early conclusion, and there is a likelihood that the agreements reached may be initialled this week. When their detailed terms are published it will be...

Great Britain and Mexico The British note to Mexico demanding

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immediate restitu- tion of the expropriated oil wells leaves very little room for compromise. The United States asked either for restitution or full compensation ; the British...

Germany's Plebiscite The only person in Europe who was surprised

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by the result of Sunday's plebiscite was apparently Herr Hitler himself : the German for vote is now la, and the vote of over 99 per cent. in favour of the Anschluss surpassed...

Trends in the Balkans In view of what the "

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Balkan'sation " of Europe used to imply, it is some compensation to observe the pacification of the Balkans which were once the greatest danger to Euro- pean peace. This week...

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This week bacon has succeeded fish as the main topic

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of controversy. The Minister of Agriculture is constantly being assailed in the Beaverbrook Press as a failure. Scarcely anyone so regards him at Westminster. The speech in...

A good deal of Parliamentary time has recently been occu-

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pied in considering the details of marketing legislation. Last week the report stage of the Sea Fish Industry Bill gave rise to a lively debate on the exercise by the various...

That this was no imaginary danger was shown by the

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number of speakers in all parts of the House who complained of the harsh operation of the similar provisions under the Agricultural Marketing Acts. There can be no question but...

The fifth and last of Derek Verschoyle's series of articles

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on " Ireland Today " is held over till next week, when an article on D'Annunzio, by E. M. Forster, will also appear. In the rame issue Thomas Balogh will write on Budget prosp...

Air Raids : the Real Danger Mr. Geoffrey Lloyd, who

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tested on Monday the efficacy of the A.R.P. methods of rendering a room gas-proof, appears to be completely satisfied with his experiment. That is reassuring.- Equally so is the...

Westminster and Corpach The defeat of the Caledonian Power Bill

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in the House of Commons last week raises two issues, one primarily political, the other primarily economic. This was in the main a Scottish question. The Bill , would have...

The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : On

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Monday Mr. Chamberlain, while not denying that there might have been some reinforcements " to both sides," informed the House of Commons that he had no reason to think that the...

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WAR AND THE CITIZEN

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I N his speech at Birmingham last Friday the Prime Minister struck one note on which both he and his hearers would more gladly dwell, particularly in these Easter days, than on...

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FRANCE'S FUTURE

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M 11/1 DALADIER has waited a long time before • appearing as the " strong man " who is to save France. He has had to overcome his reputation as the fusilleur of February, 1934 ;...

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A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK

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A SECTION of opinion in this country seems to be going extremely silly over what it derives apparent pleasure from terming " the Cliveden Set," I have been favoured with a...

La Jeanne d'Arc de Nos Jours " We women can

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stop further acts of aggression by Japan, Germany and Italy by refusing to buy their goods in the shops," said Miss Maisie Davison, a Chelsea housemaid. JANts.

The new American Ambassador has done an eminently sensible thing

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in announcing that he will sponsor the presen- tation at Court of no American ladies outside the families of American officials and of Americans domiciled in England. It has...

Both ant and bee must yield place to Nazi propagandists

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as emblems of indomitable diligence. Their assiduity, even in our own midst is, if not ohne Hast certainly ohne Rast. Here, for example, is a list of fixtures for the present...

At a moment when the recognition of Italian empire over

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Abyssinia is being discussed in connexion with the Perth- Ciano conversations the actual condition of the country itself is not irrelevant. Information reaching me from a source...

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THE HABITS OF THE ENGLISH

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By EVELYN WAUGH T HE publication of its first Year Book* brings to notice the rather surprising fact that the Mass Observation movement has been in existence for little over a...

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FROM 1914 TILL NOW : 111. RECONSTRUCTION

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By E. L. WOODWARD T O what extent had Europe secured in 1919 those conditions of permanent security for which the peoples had endured the horror of war ? The treaty of...

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A.R.P.: HOW PARIS DOES IT

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FROM A SPECIAL CORRESPONDENT UNCTUALLY at noon each Thursday an unearthly P howling rends the air of Paris for some 3o seconds, rising gradually to a deafening crescendo and...

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THE POLICE AND THE PRESS

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By A LEGAL CORRESPONDENT M OST of the London newspapers have been strangely silent about the decision given by a Divisional Court in the appeal of Lewis v. Cattle last week. On...

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THE CROSS AND THE CRISIS

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By CANON ROGER LLOYD T HE existing circumstances of Europe have made despair the supremely dangerous temptation of the demo- cratic Powers. To yield to it involves the adoption...

A HUNDRED YEARS AGO

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" THE SPECTATOR," APRIL 14TH, 1838 On Wednesday, the Committee appointed to take measures for erecting a monument to Nelson, assembled at the Thatched House Tavern ; Sir George...

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SIBYL.

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SHE watches by the echoing shore, Shells fill her lap and streams of fire Who summons from the ocean's floor The shapes of thunder and desire. • Like solitude her endless sighs...

JOKING APART

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By HELEN SIMPSON T HE other day I read an article which admirably described the interests of an exceedingly rich man. " He was bent," said the writer, " upon enjoying life on...

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Under Thirty Page

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CAN I BE A CHRISTIAN ?-V [The writer (who is feminine) is a Cambridge graduate, aged 27, at present working in an Advertising Agency] W E are living today in what we call the...

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Commonwealth and Foreign

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A DAY AT THE GENERAL'S By GRAHAM GREENE IT was four hours' drive from San Luis Potosi into the brown and stony hills. The cacti pressed up along the road like a child's stick...

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THE CINEMA

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" The Drum." At the Odeon—" A Damsel in Distress." At the Regal KIPLING has been accused of many things besides jingoism— but he can never be said to have run up the flag of...

STAGE AND SCREEN

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THE THEATRE KAREL tAPEIC is a gifted and intelligent writer. He is a journalist by profession, and he knows how to handle hot news. His novels, plays, and stories, like a...

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MUSIC

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An Old Opera and a New Ballet Tim two latest productions at Sadler's Wells are Nicholas Gatty's opera, Greysteel and Jean Frangaix's ballet, Le Ra Nu. The opera was written...

OSTERN IN OSTERREICH

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[Von einem deutschen Korrespondenten] JETzT ist es Zeit, die Ostereier im Garten zu suchen, die der brave Osterhase gelegt hat ; keiner hat ihn gesehen, aber da die Eier, blau...

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The Invincible Rabbit The campaign for the complete extinction of

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rabbits in this country seems to be increasing in intensity; and the dieticians have been called in to deny the value of the rabbit as an article of food. It is alleged to be...

In the Garden

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Queries reach me about " species tulips " to which some passing reference was made recently. Quite a large number of true species of tulip exist, most of them hailing from...

Diminishing Thrushes

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The complaint seems to be general, though it is not true, I think, of my neighbourhood, that the blackbird has multiplied at the expense of his cousin the thrush. At one time...

COUNTRY LIFE

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Fair Farms At a time when the chief malady of stock is more rampant than it has ever been, the English farms look supremely well, whether the fields are grass or plough or...

Cormorants and Fish One of the commoner sights on the

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Amazon or its great tributary the Rio Negro is the fishing performance of the cormorants. Now the rivers are full of fish of any sort or size. Some may be 400 lbs. in weight,...

Plant Poisons

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Many years ago one of the greatest of our biologists, now the sole survivor of the Ross expedition, found the Chinese poisoning fish with derris root. He did a deal of work in...

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Sut,--The sentence that Dr.

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A. J. Clark " challenged the accuracy of modern methods to test whether a man is drunk or sober by laboratory methods " in his paper read to the British Medical Association...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, —In last week's issue

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of your paper Mr. Worsnop asks what authority I have " for making the statement that many road accidents are caused by motorists who would pass the ordinary tests for...

HOW VIENNA WENT NAZI

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Stu, — Your last two articles describing the recent events in Vienna certainly add to the idea, that is unfortunately only too prevalent abroad,...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—Your correspondent, Mr. Meyrick

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Booth, who confesses to feeling " rather amused " about the danger of Germany obtaining, " somewhere or other," a little extra influence, cannot be taken seriously by anyone...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—Mr. S. G. Godman

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corrects Mr. Low's version of the German song to " Heute gehiirt uns Deutschland . . ." The official version, however, runs : " Denn heute hort uns Deutsch- land Und morgen die...

DISCRIMINATION IN NORTHERN IRELAND

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—For one who professes not to be " an active politician," your correspondent, S. C. R., in your issue of April 1st, gives a remarkably good...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—I spent the period

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March 3rd-16th at sea on a German cargo-boat, and with the two other passengers shared the senior officers' mess and had the freedom of the ship, including the bridge. The...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]

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Sia,—As one who has to stand aside from active political work but who hears a good deal of political discussion I would like to thank you for your article entitled " Justice for...

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" CAN I BE A CHRISTIAN ? "

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—The discussion in your columns is bound to be incon- clusive without some definite and accepted idea in the minds of your readers of what...

THE PROTECTORATES

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—Mr. Bagnall in the very first paragraph of his article on the Protectorates seems to me to reveal that he has caught the spirit of so many...

THE SOVIETS AND PEACE

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Sta,—Reviewing Ourselves and Germany in your issue of April 8th, Mr. Wilson Harris says : " The one Cominunist State in Europe has for seventeen...

THE SERVANT SHORTAGE

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—Through a series of misfortunes I find myself having to take any job. I therefore decided to try domestic work— in view of the alleged...

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THE ENGLISH BIBLE [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, — The

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four hundredth anniversary of Coverdale's Great Bible falls this year. I have been waiting and hoping to hear that to mark the event a reprint of the Great Bible would be...

DR. RHINE'S EXPERIMENTS [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Soal—no

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doubt owing to the faulty expression of my view—has not done justice to my remark about not having detected laxity in Dr. Rhine's actual technique. I did state my feeling that...

" THE SPECTATOR " TRAVELS [To the Editor of THE

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SPECTATOR] SIR,—My Spectator goes week by week to a correspondent at Montreal Lake, Saskatchewan. His last letter ends thus : " Some of the Spectators after we are finished with...

RENT RESTRICTIONS [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, — Referring to

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the Reports of the Committee appointed to consider the above, and the Bill now before Parliament, it will be very unfair and a grave injustice if, through the scarcity of houses...

MORE AMERICAN NEWS [To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, —May

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I congratulate you on your plea for a greater proportion of American news in the British Press ? The article in your issue of March 18th undoubtedly expresses the feelings of...

DIRECT subscribers who are changing their addresses are asked to

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notify THE SPECTATOR office BEFORE MIDDAY on MONDAY OF EACH WEEK. The previous address to which the paper has been sent and receipt reference number should be quoted.

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BOOKS OF THE DAY

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Febo De Se (Evelyn Waugh).. Russia from the Inside (R. H. Bruce Lockhart) .. Milton Designed to be Read (John Hayward) The Folklore of Capitalism (Honor Croome) .. Which Way...

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RUSSIA FROM THE INSIDE

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To the " spate " of books on Russia there is no end. I have long abandoned the struggle to keep pace with this torrent. I find it increasingly difficult to take seriously the...

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THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES

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The Folkloire of Capitalism. By Thurman C. Arnold. (Yale University Press : Oxford University Press. 14s. 6d.) " BY the folklore of capitalism," says Professor Arnold, " I mean...

MILTON DESIGNED TO BE READ

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Milton. Complete Poetry and Selected Prose. Edited by E. H. Visiak. (Nonesuch Press. ios. 6d.) THE addition of a " compendious " Milton to the " Nonesuch Library " will be...

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WHICH WAY TO PEACE ?

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Theory and Practice in International Relations. By Salvador de Madariaga. (Oxford University Press. 6s.) IT is agreed that war and the preparations for future war are the great...

NEO-CLASSICISM

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The Illustrations of William Blake for Thornton's Virgil. (Nonesuch Press. 15s.) THE history of the Classical Revival in England at the end of the eighteenth century is still...

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THE 'REAL INDIA

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My India. By Lillian L. Ashby. (Michael Joseph. Iss.) Mits. LILLIAN ASHBY was not only born and bred in India, but also—a striking record—was the first of her family, in four...

SHAKESPEARE'S LAST PLAYS

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Sha`cespeare's Last Plays. By E. M. W. Tillyard. (Chatto. 3s. 6d.) INTERPRETATIVE criticism of Shakespeare has in recent years been increasingly directed to the last plays,...

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A- FIGHTING PARSON

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Stations, Gentlemen ! The Autobiography of James Gatliff. ( Faber and Faber. 8s. 6d.) Stations, Gentlemen ! The Autobiography of James Gatliff. ( Faber and Faber. 8s. 6d.) Tins...

NAVAL PROBLEMS FOR EVERYMAN

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SINCE we live in- an age of rearmament, questions of strategy have an interest for most of us, whether it be morbid or not. Sea fighting, in Lord Fisher's view, is pure common...

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FICTION

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By FORREST REID Count Belisarius. By Robert Graves. (Cassell. Ss. 6d.) Count Belisarius is an historical novel of the sixth century, when the Emperor Justinian reigned. It is a...

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TRADE UNIONISM By John A. Mahon

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In this addition to the New People's Library series (Gollanez, is. 6d.) Mr. John A. Mahon puts forward what is substantially the left-wing point of view on Trade Unionism in...

ALARMS AND EXCURSIONS By Lieut.-Gen. Sir Tom Bridges

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Sir Tom Bridges' light-hearted and amusing reminiscences of a soldier (Longmans, 12s. 6d.) are full of interest. He was commissioned as a gunner in 1892 and retired in 1922 to...

THE HERODS OF JUDAEA By A. H. M. Jones

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Now that Whiston's Josephus is no longer to be found in every small library, as it was half a century ago, Mr. Jones's learned and well-written account of the historical setting...

THE BATHS OF BATH IN THE 16th AND EARLY 17th

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CENTURIES By P. Rowland James While much has been written about eighteenth-century Bath, Mr. James's little book (Arrowsmith, is.) deals only with the century following the...

THE BIRTHPLACE AND GENESIS OF LIFE ASSURANCE By J. G.

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Anderson - - It is well known, as Professor Clapham Observes in his standard economic history, that modern life assurance was begun by the directors of the Equitable at the...

CURRENT LITERATURE

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FOREIGN BALANCES By Paul Einzig Foreign balances, it is said—and Dr. Einzig on the whole agrees—are like teeth ; a nuisance while they are coming, a nuisance while they are...

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CABLE COMBINE'S NEW DEAL

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The market, I am afraid, has not taken kindly to the Cable and Wireless combine's new deal with the Govern- ment. On a long view I am convinced that the company will probably...

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

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Is this recovery, or just another of those short-lived rallies which periodically interrupt, without reversing, a downward trend of markets ? Frankly, although it is still a...

GOOD PREFERENCE YIELDS While I do not blame the cautious

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investors who have decided to await the unfolding of the Budget on April 26th before purchasing in the fixed-interest group, I am doubtful whether there will be much to be...

A POSSIBLE GAIN There is good reason for thinking that

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up to the present high cable rates have prevented the potential demand for the combine's services from developing. There are the precedents of the Post Office and the...

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COMPANY MEETING SCHWEPPES, LIMITED

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STEADY INCREASE OF BUSINESS Tan forty-first annual general meeting of Schweppes, Limited, was held on Thursday, April 7th, at the head office of the company, Marble Arch House,...

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Venturers' Corner

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The capital reorganisation scheme of S. Instone and Co., the coal merchants and shipowners, is a good example of the practical compromise which is so often necessary to get a...

FINANCIAL NOTES TRAMP SHIPPING POOL

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WHILE there is little sign that the shipping freight market has yet begun to recover from the slump which set in last autumn, shipowners are preparing to ride out the present...

UNION CASTLE RESULTS

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Meanwhile the results of shipping companies still reflect the high freight rates of last year. The accounts of the Union Castle Mail Steamship Company for 1937 are the first...

SCHWEPPES

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In general the industrial companies whose profits derive from the spending money of the public are still showing very attractive figures. Schweppes, the manufacturers of table...

UNITED GLASS BOTTLES As with soft drinks, so with bottles

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: Sir Max Bonn told the shareholders of United Glass Bottle Manufacturers that they started 1938 with a record volume of orders on hand, though he agreed that this might in part...

Goon INSURANCE RESULTS

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The results of insurance companiei recently reviewed here have shown both that life assurance has by no means reached its saturation point, and that the insurance companies have...

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SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD NO. 289

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SOLUTION NEXT WEEK The winner of Crossword No. 289 is Miss Freda Collins, 74, Dacres Road, Forest Hill, S.E.23.

" THE SPECTATOR " CROSSWORD No. 290

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BY ZENO ACROSS 2 and 12. Kind of language to use for peace in the Far East ? 7. " 0, it offends me to the soul to hear a . . . periwig- pated fellow tear a passion to...