16 DECEMBER 1922

Page 1

They were met, and rightly met, by the Government's only

The Spectator

weapon—the closure. As the House had been compelled, nevertheless, to sit up all Tuesday night, it was hoped on Wednesday that things would be quieter, but this hope was...

Indeed, we may say, without the slightest risk of effec-

The Spectator

tive contradiction, that he is more anxious. While in humanity and pity for suffering he is not outdone by the Labour Members, he has far stronger political and Party reasons...

The new Irish Governor-General, Mr. Healy, standing by the side

The Spectator

of the Speaker, at a special meeting of the Dail, which included Senators and Deputies, held in Leinster House on Tuesday, read a message received from the King welcoming the...

We are sure that the Labour Party has done itself

The Spectator

noth- ing but harm by its policy of obstruction and its deliberate attempt to bring the House of Commons into disrepute. These tactics will not be easily forgotten, and will be...

NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

I . Parliament during the week the Labour Party, or at any rate a portion of it, has been conspicuous. We have dealt elsewhere with what seems to us the unfair treatment of a...

The Average Certified Net Sales of the SPECTATOR were in

The Spectator

November 18,763 per issue.

An IDEAL CHRISTMAS PRESENT.

The Spectator

There is no better Christmas present than a year's sub- scription to the "Spectator." The " Spectator " will be sent post free from its offices, 13 York Street, Covent Garden,...

Page 2

On Thursday, December 7th, Mr. Sean Hales and Mr. O'Malley,

The Spectator

the Deputy Speaker, were attacked when driving to the Free State Parliament. Mr. Hales was - shot dead and Mr. O'Malley WU& wounded. No arrests seem to have -been made. On the...

In spite of the excitations of Tehitcherin Ismet Pasha has

The Spectator

continued to discuss the problem of the Straits at Lausanne temperately. On Friday, December 8th, he gave his opinion of the Allied proposals. He pointed out that Turkey ought...

The Governor-General then read the speech from the throne, in

The Spectator

which throughout the King referred to "my Ministers." The only incident of note through the afternoon was the absence of the Labour Party from all proceedings up to the time of...

Before we leave the subject of Ireland we must mention

The Spectator

a strange telegram purporting to have come from the Pope and reproduced in the Morning Post of Monday. We can express no opinion as to whether the message is genuine and will...

On Monday in both Houses it was proved how rash

The Spectator

it is to complain without being sure. Lord Birkenhead, Mr. Chamberlain and Mr. Lloyd George had all to- admit that after all they had received the correspondence. Lord...

In the House of Lords on Thursday, December 7th, Lord

The Spectator

Birkenhead read a letter sent by Lord Curzon in answer to one from the late Gounaris. M. Gounaris- whose letter was reproduced in: the Sunday Express a fortnight ago and was...

Last Sunday night the Republicans began a campaign of arson

The Spectator

in Dublin. Since then several houses belonging to leaders and supporters of the Free State have been fired. In one case the incendiaries were warned that children were asleep at...

Lord - Curzon expressed his satisfaction at Ismet's attitude and at

The Spectator

the acceptanee by the Turks of the prin- ciples of neutral zones, free passage for merchant ships in peace and war, and an International Commission for the regulation of...

Page 3

The trade returns for November, which were pub- lished on

The Spectator

Wednesday, are on the whole satisfactory. There has been a distinct increase in the value of foreign- and colonial merchandise. The total reached 75i millions sterling, compared...

We are glad to record that Colonel Leslie Wilson, the

The Spectator

Unionist Whip, was on Wednesday returned for Ports- mouth by a majority of 5,867 over his Independent oppo- nent. The poll was a light one, as was inevitable under the...

The more we hear of the unfortunate negotiations with Greece

The Spectator

the more tragic and blundering they seem. M. Gounaris was executed for the part he took in a vain enterprise, yet now we learn that he knew the truth and told it. Mr. Lloyd...

The Bishop of Durham contributed an able and timely letter

The Spectator

to Thursday's Times on Divorce Reform. He says most wisely that what we should look for in Christ's sayings on Divorce is the intention. Before we can show the "simple loyalty"...

No doubt it would be unwise to exaggerate or over-

The Spectator

emphasize the importance of these figures. Trade is a frail flower and may fade and wither ahnost as quickly as it blooms. In other words, we - must never forget that almost all...

On Monday the trial of Bywaters and Mrs. Thompson for

The Spectator

the murder of Mrs. Thompson's husband, which had attracted an extraordinary amount of public atten- tion, came to an end. Both prisoners were sentenced to death. Bywaters, a...

On the whole, this is the tradition of British commerce.

The Spectator

Our rule has been to be prudently adventurous. We have not been like the man who took the talent and hid it in a napkin ; but, on the other hand, we have not been hysterical in...

Bank Rate, 8 per cent., changed from 8i per cent.

The Spectator

July 18, 1922; 5 per cent. War Loan was on Thursday, 99k; Thursday week, 991; a year ago, 90/.

Page 4

THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD.

The Spectator

By EVELYN WRENCH. T HE "Dry" Dry " versus "Wet" campaign has formed the subject of much discussion in the United States and in New Zealand during the past week. President...

Page 5

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

The Spectator

MR. ASQUITH AND MR. JOHNSTON. N OTHING could have been more unsatisfactory than the way in which an overwhelming majority of the House of Commons, the party leaders, and the...

THE "SPECTATOR'S" CIRCULATION.

The Spectator

21 Ironmonger Lane, E.C. 2. 1st December, 1922. We certify that the average net weekly sale of the SPECTATOR, after deducting all unsold or free copies whatsoever, for the 4...

Page 6

REPRISALS.

The Spectator

W E record with much regret, and indeed with some- thing like consternation, that the Irish Free State Government have adopted—temporarily we must hope—a policy of reprisals....

Page 7

THE LONDON CONFERENCE.

The Spectator

Y ET another Conference on Reparations has broken down. It broke down, however, in a manner which was different from the endings of many previous Conferences. After those...

Page 9

S HORTLY before Strongbow's invasion, seven cen- turies or so ago,

The Spectator

Ireland was described by one of her native chroniclers as "a shaking bog" between rival chieftains battling for power. During the recent debate in the Dail on the Army Estimates...

Page 10

STOWE AS A PUBLIC SCHOOL.

The Spectator

A S we noted last Saturday, Mr. J. F. Roxburgh, master of the sixth form at Lancing and well known as a very successful house-master, has been chosen as head-master by the...

Page 11

P RESENTS for women are comparatively easy to choose. Particularly so

The Spectator

since the War, when with many people it has become the custom to give pieces of apparel or minor house furniture. Why, too, should it not be possible sometimes to give a man...

Page 12

THE BRITISH EMPIRE EXHIBITION. yet most of us probably connect

The Spectator

the British Empire 11. Exhibition with a postmark and the future. It seems singularly dim and far away. Most of us have not begun to think even of our work for the summer of...

Page 13

CORRESPONDENCE.

The Spectator

THE REJECTION OF THE CAPITAL LEVY IN SWITZERLAND. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—On Sunday last, December 3rd, the Swiss people declared their will. The " Initiative "...

Page 14

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

The Spectator

THE MIDDLEMAN, TFIE FARMER AND THE PUBLIC [To the Editor of the SpEc-rsfroa.] Sra,—I have an inside knowledge from practical experience of farming and of the distribution of...

Page 15

ANGLO-AMERICAN FRIENDSHIP.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Snt,—Mr. Victor S. Yarros, of the Chicago Daily News, struck a true journalistic note in the letter which you published in your issue of...

F‘ AMERICA THE BACKSLIDER." [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

The Spectator

SIR,—Mr. John Jay Chapman's communication, appearing in the Spectator of October 28th under the heading "America the Backslider," contained these arresting words :— "In...

THE AGRICULTURAL POSITION. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sza,—In

The Spectator

your interesting article on agriculture a short time ago you quoted the old adage, "To break a pasture makes a man, to make a pasture breaks a man," as though it were true...

Page 16

THE ATTITUDE OF FRANCE.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In the article published in the Spectator for the week ending Saturday, December 2nd, under the title "Why Should France Forfeit the...

THE PLIGHT OF GERMANY.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Suc,—Those who have followed the collapse of the mark must realize to some extent its disastrous effect upon those Germans who are dependent...

TAXATION.

The Spectator

(To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Your excellent article on " The Government's Essential Task," and the letter of Mr. Herbert Gibbs, clearly prove the necessity for a...

THE FUTURE OF OUR ROADS.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—It is agreed that the roads offer the best solution of the unemployment question. It is also well known, as pointed out in your article...

Page 17

THE ELUSIVE SHAKESPEARE.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SrEcTAToa.1 Sin,—In reply to Lord Sydenham. If Dickens had shown sympathy with Uriah Heep or Pecksniff I should have said his mentality, as revealed and...

DACTYLIC VERSE 1N ENGLISH.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sta,—In reply to Mr. Strachey's challenge, Mr. Edmund Gosse might have quoted, as an example of English verse in "pure dactylics," Heber's...

AN APPEAL FOR THE DEVASTATED REGIONS OF FRANCE.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sift,—I am working for the Devastated Regions of France, and have sent out 5,000 things already. I am collecting again, and if you would put a...

CLOTHING FOR NEAR EASTERN REFUGEES. [To the Editor of the

The Spectator

SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In answer to the appeal in your columns for clothing for the Near Eastern refugees a generous response was made. Owing to shortness of time it was found...

SCHLIEMANN AND TROY.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. C. M. Haines does a real service to scholarship in reminding the present generation of the amazing story of the life of Heinrich...

THE REFERENDUM.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sta,—Has Switzerland the big industrial areas of England, where Communism may be comprehensible; if not defensible, and are you not rather...

THE BRITISII POSTAL AGENCIES IN CHINA. [To the Editor of

The Spectator

the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The announcement that our Government is carrying into effect the proposal to discontinue its postal agencies throughout China has been received with great...

Page 18

W. H. HUDSON MEMORIAL.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] a meeting of friends and admirers of W. H. Hudson, held at Messrs. Dent's on November 28th, it was agreed that a fitting memorial in stone...

MISS SIT WELL'S POEM.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I was rather surprised in your issue of November 18th to see in an otherwise delightful poem by Edith Sitwell the rhyme " pawn " with...

POETRY.

The Spectator

BADCOMBE FAIR-NIGHT. THE new moon was two nights away, The sun two hours was down, And all the starless heavens were grey Above the fire-lit town. The fair-folk mustered at...

. . COATS AND BUGS.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Rc the letter from " Scrutator " on the above subject, which appeared in 'your issue of August 26th, the Kikuyu here are firmly convinced...

A DUBLIN GARDEN IN WINTER.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—The list of flowers at present in bloom given by Rev. 0. Palmes in last week's Spectator is so interesting I am impelled to respond by...

MISS EMMA CONS.

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—It is my intention to compile a short memoir of my aunt, Miss Emma Cons, and I shall be most grateful if you will allow me to appeal to...

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

The Spectator

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

The usual "Recreations of London" will be found on page

The Spectator

931.

Page 19

BOOKS.

The Spectator

LADY PALMERSTON AND HER TIMES.* LADY AIRLIE did admirably in her In Whig Society, but she has done even better in her new book, Lady Palmerston and Her Times. Here she gives us,...

Page 20

FROM THE GREEK.*

The Spectator

THE gulf is impassable ; we cannot come to them. Save :through their own language we cannot hear the voice of the Greek poets or pass on their message. We are ourselves bred up...

Page 21

THE AMBASSADOR OF THE BIRDS AND BEASTS.* WE will not

The Spectator

say that this volume, which W. II. Hudson did not live to see through the press, is its author's best book ; but we are almost certain that it is his most characteristic one....

Page 22

THE HISTORICAL MONUMENTS OF ESSEX.* THE third volume of the

The Spectator

Essex series in the illustrated Inventory which is being published by the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments is, if possible, better than its prede- cessors. We note the...

Page 23

RUSSIA AFTER FOUR YEARS OF REVOLUTION.* MR. MASLOFF has suffered

The Spectator

grievously from the Revolution, but his tone is not marred by that rhetoric of uncontrolled indignation which invalidates the accounts of many of his compatriots, whose...

POETS AND POETRY.

The Spectator

GEORGIAN POETRY.f MR..MAnsu may disclaim as much as he likes, but Georgian Poetry has become an institution, a most typically national institution furthermore. We might, indeed,...

ANTICIPATIONS.*

The Spectator

Tim compilation of this splendid volume was a labour of love to which the late Dr. Mottelay devoted more than thirty years. The first rough sketch of it appeared serially in...

Page 24

FICTION.

The Spectator

GEORGIE FROM MAIN STREET.* • Babbitt, Dy Sinclair Lewis, London ; Jonatban Cape. [is. 6d.1 NOTHING, apparently, can keep Mr. Hugh Walpole from writing introductions. So much has...

Page 25

THE GOLDEN ACE AGAIN.* MISS BROSTER has again issued from

The Spectator

her workshop to present the public with a novel. She has worked simply and quietly with a few carefully-chosen historical materials which have been well seasoned in the sweet...

Page 26

FISHING BOATS AND BARGES. By C. A. Wilkinson and Walter

The Spectator

Wood. (John Lane. 12s. 6d. net.) Mr. C. A. Wilkinson is happy hi his twenty woodcuts of various English• fishing boats and barges contained in this handsome volume. Everyone who...

It is unnecessary for us to do more than hang

The Spectator

a small wreath on such a monument of hagiological scholarship as these two volumes . represent. They are an invaluable supplement to Mr. Plummer's Latin Lives, Vitae San ctorum...

MAN. By Adelaide Eden Phillpotts. (Constable. Os. net.) —A long

The Spectator

fable about Man, Maid, and Dog, with an obtrusive moral—spiritual growth comes through unselfishness.

The author of that informing work, The Present State of

The Spectator

English Furniture, devotes his new book to walnut and lacquer exclusively, the period covered being roughly from the Res- toration to 1745. The plates are excellent, as are also...

OTHER NOVELS.

The Spectator

THE ILLUSION. By Raymond Escholier. (Putnam. 7s. 6d. net.)—Although Dansons La Trompeuse is essentially one of those books which must be read in the original if its whole beauty...

SOCIETY SENSATIONS. By Charles Kingston. (S. Paul. 12s. 6d.)

The Spectator

Mr. Kingston retells sixteen of the causes celebres that have intrigued Society during these last hundred years. Most of them are divorce suits, such as the Colin-Campbell, the...

THE FIVE JARS. By M. R. James. (Arnold. Os. net.)—

The Spectator

The Provost of Eton, who has written some of our best and most haunting ghost stories, is seen here in a lighter atmosphere. In The Five Jars he gives us a delightful fantasy of...

THE REAL ROBERT BURNS. By J. L. Hughes. (Chambers. 6s.)

The Spectator

The author begins with a chapter on the nature and value of biography. He writes : "Only the good in the lives of great men should be recorded in biographies. To relate the evil...

FROM SAWDUST TO WINDSOR CASTLE. By Whimsical Walker. (Stanley Paul

The Spectator

and Co. 12s. 6d. net.) Mr. Walker had a rigorous apprenticeship to the art of clowning. He was born in 1851 at the 'March of Intellect' public-house at Hull. He ran away from...

THE SHREWSBURY CHRONICLE, 1772-1922.

The Spectator

We congratulate that good old country paper, the Shrewsbury Chronicle, on completing its hundred and fiftieth year. It is a few weeks younger than the Morning Post, having first...

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK..

The Spectator

( Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent review.) BAROTSELAND. By D. W. Stirke. (John Bale, Sons, and Danielsson. 21s. net.) The Barotse are an African...

Page 27

THE NITROGEN INDUSTRY. By J. R. Partington and L. H.

The Spectator

Parker. (Constable. 21s. net.) Great Britain is now "the only power in the world which has not within the gates of her territory the necessary means for the synthetic production...

CHRISTMAS CARDS AND CALENDARS.

The Spectator

The Medici Society have sent a selection of their beautifully printed Christmas cards and calendars. Many bear repro- ductions in colour of well-known old masters. Calendars...

The vigorous Society of Somerset Folk in London has pro-

The Spectator

duced an uncommonly attractive annual, containing stories in dialect, verses and folk-lore, with illustrations, as well as an account of Somerset local government, agriculture...

The Director of the Cambridge Botanic Garden has written a

The Spectator

brief guide which is not only botanically impeccable but illuminated by interesting sidelights. A Scotsman who prides himself on referring to porridge as " them " will be...

ELEMENTARY GEOLOGY. By A. P. Coleman and W. A. Parks.

The Spectator

(Dent. 15s. net.) The authors of this well-written and clearly-arranged text- book are Professors respectively of Geology and Palaeontology in the University of Toronto. They...

FINANCE-PUBLIC & PRIVATE.

The Spectator

By ARTHUR W. KIDDY. TRADE AND THE EXCHANGES. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Another Conference has come and gone, and it cannot be said that financial conditions have...

A WANDERER'S LOG. By C. E. Bechhofer. (Mills and Boon.

The Spectator

8s. 6d. net.) Mr. Bechhofer has the best of all literary equipments for a traveller, the power of vivid description in plain language. This account of his wander-years is a most...

Colonel Sandell has written an excellent account of the War

The Spectator

service of the Territorial Battalion which he commanded for its first two years in France. He has wisely refrained from encumbering his pages with any account of military...

Page 29

FINANCIAL NOTES.

The Spectator

Judging from the reports issued of the Royal Bank of Scotland and also of the Commercial Bank of Scotland, neither banking profits nor balance-sheets have suffered by the...