16 NOVEMBER 1945

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Mr. Attlee in Congress Mr. Attlee must have felt the

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mantle of his predecessor heavy upon him when he faced Congress this week ; and his audience must have wondered how his speech would compare with the monumental eloquence of Mr....

R. BEVIN AND THE JEWS

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HE of the Foreign Secretary's admirable statement alestine on Tuesday is that it concerned itself with Jews, not with Zionists ; the second is that it concerned itself with...

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Unreleased Officers

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There is almost daily evidence of the uneasiness, not to say indignation, of the House of Commons over the retention of officers on active service after the "other ranks" in...

Marshal Tito's Elections

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Sunday's elections in Yugoslavia have given Marshal Tito's National Front an overwhelming victory. Any other result would have been surprising. The Opposition was not allowed to...

Expectation in Egypt

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In the speech with which he opened the Egyptian Parliament on Monday, King Farouk made pointed, if discreet, reference to the " contact " established with Great Britain—to speak...

General de Gaulle and the Parties

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After party manoeuvrings which necessitated a postponement of his expected election last week, General de Gaulle has been chosen as head of the new French Government by the...

A Charter for Nurses

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The Government will probably never intrOduce any proposals that command a wider measure of support than those contained in its White Paper, issued last week, on the nursing...

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THE BOMB AND THE CHARTER VOR the last week Mr.

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Truman and Mr. Attlee have been I discussing a problem which, in the opinion of many, may decide whether mankind is to survive or perish. Even the most sympathetic observer must...

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Now a word on the B.B.C. in another light. The

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services it renders to the public deserve recognition. Not long _ago one of its dietetic authorities denounced with proper severity the tendency to use liquid paraffin, which is...

Lord Baldwin, many people will be glad to hear, is

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beginning to pick up some of his old interests after a prolonged hibernation, cover- ing practically the whole of the war, in Worcestershire. His vow "not to speak to the man at...

In the lecture he gave at Oxford a few days

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ago on "Some Political Consequences of the Atom Bomb" Professor E. L. Woodward opened up fields of thought into which I would gladly pursue him if space were available. As it is...

The United Nations Conference on Education in London is very

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largely the outcome of the diligence and conviction of Mr. R. A. Butler during the years when he was Minister of Education. To the Conference countries like France and the...

Members of Parliament always like to get in a hit

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at the Press or the B.B.C. when they can, but I cannot think the charge of the premature announcement of Brigadier Mallaby's death has much substance. The news was cabled home...

A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK

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I DOUBT whether the last word has been said about the seat of the United Nations Organisation. It is true that the Executive Com- mittee of the Preparatory Committee of the...

Quot homines . . . .

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"Clement Attlet's speech to the Congress of the United States will rank among the great pronouncements of our time."—The Daily Herald. "A nice little speech by a nice little...

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SPAIN AND ITS FUTURE

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By GERALD BRENAN Iv HE picture that British and American observers bring back from I Spain is a very sad one. Spain today is a totalitarian State, controlled entirely by a...

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THE DIRECT GRANT SCHOOL

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By R. B. GRAHAM * (Headmaster of Bradford Grammar School) T N education, as in all else, our world manages its affairs in larger I and larger packets. Better or worse? There...

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CITY SPRAWLS

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By A. W. GOMME W HEN on the jacket of the L.C.C.'s book on the plan for London a picture of London's sprawl was presented, the authors showed that they were aware of the...

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NUREMBERG IS SUES

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By NORMAN BENTWICH T HE Belsen trial is at last reaching its end, and justice will at last be done. The general verdict that is passed on its protracted hearing is. that, while...

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NEXT TO GODLINESS

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By PHILIP CARR 1) 0 the English wash What a question! Preposterous! In- sulting! All our tradition, at least of our middle and upper classes, is suffused with the glow of...

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YOUTH AND THE CHURCHES

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By THEODORE BARKER 0 NE of the most noteworthy symptoms of the last few years has been the growing interest in religion among young people, and the failure of the churches to...

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* *

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It should be apparent to Transport Command that their passengers, in that they arc travelling on duty rather than for pleasure, are reasonable beings. We knew that at this...

MARGINAL COMMENT

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By HAROLD NICOLSON D ASSENGERS by R.A.F. Transport Command are provided in advance with an illustrated booklet couched in endearing terms. This slim little volume is designed...

What is the explanation of this lack of solicitude, this

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withdrawal of even average human benevolence? Is it that the whole organisation is incompetent? That is a defect which we are not accustomed to associate with the R.A.F. Is it...

My pain and indignation were in a sense vicarious ;

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I was not myself exposed to any intolerable delay. But there were others there who had been held up for weeks and to whom no explanation had been accorded. Are there no...

Against the pilots and the air crews I have no

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complaint to make whatever. In fact, one can detect in their eyes a gleam of kindly, though restrained, compassion for the wretched victims who clamber into their machines. It...

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THE CINEMA

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"Blood and Sand." At the Dominion and New Victoria. " God is My Co-Pilot." At the Astoria.—" Palestine Problem." At the Empire.—" Proud City." At the Academy. IN their earliest...

THE MAGNOLIA TREE

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I air down a magnolia tree I cut away my life That far-off life that bloomed for me, Some traveller's captured ecstasy From Persia or from Ind, A turban by the Thames, Bright...

MUSIC

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The Paris Conservatoire Orchestra WHILE the London Philharmonic Orchestra is on a tour to Paris, Brussels and Antwerp under Sir Thomas Beecham's direction, the Orchestre de la...

MANY people in Belgium, Denmark. Finland, France, Holland, Norway and

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

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Sna,—The Shorter Oxford Dictionary defines a nation as "A distinct

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race or people, characterised by common descent, language or history, usually organised as a separate political state and occupying a definite territory" and "a family, kindred...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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FOREIGN OFFICE AND TRADE Sat,—Having recently completed a six months' tour of South American countries, with a view to developing this engineering group's export trade, and...

IS JEWRY A NATION?

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SIR,—To maintain that the Jews are a nation, Mr. Israel Cohen asserts that besides religion "they have also in common their racial descent, their ancestral language, their...

THE NATIONAL HOME

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Sta,—Your leading article on Palestine states: "There was never any intention in anyone's mind except the Zionists (and Zionism as known today dates back less than sixty years)...

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THE MANURE ARGUMENT

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SIR, —In his article on this subject Mr. Walston stresses in rather ex- travagant terms the views of extreme exponents on both sides, but makes no attempt seriously to assess...

THE NATION'S HEALTH

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Si,—In the face of so much lying propaganda as to the improved state of the health of the nation on the inadequate war-time rations of the past three or four years, a Wimpole...

THE RELEASE OF STUDENTS

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Sn1,—Students at present serving in the Forces would welcome a Govern- ment statement regarding plans for future releases. Both they and the university and college authorities...

LABOUR AND INDIA

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SIR, —Sir William Barton's article on Labour and India in your issue of November 2nd appears to reveal an astonishing ignorance of the provisions of the Government of India Act,...

THE AMENITY FRONT

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Snt,—As a member of the Committee of one of the leading Amenity Societies I have some knowledge of the problems and difficulties with which these Societies are faced in dealing...

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Sut,—I am unable to understand why you should consider it

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disquieting that Mr. Churchill is decisively against sharing the secrets of the atctn bomb with Russia. Never in history has a nation shared the secrets of its armaments with...

THE ATOMIC BOMB

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Snt,—America's monopoly of atomic military power will be ephemeral. In a few years she will not dare use it for fear her enemy could retaliate. Possession of the best atomic...

EAST EUROPE

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SIR, —Our "interference" in East Europe is, we are being told, the prime cause of Russia's "suspicion," and so of the poor prospect for World Order. If so, we may have to face...

FRANCE AND BRITTANY

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Snt,—I have read with interest the letter of Professor M. Burgess in your issue of November 2nd, and before replying I have made further inquiries into the matter of the...

INLAND REVENUE OFFICIALS

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x,—In your editorial on October 26th you say:— " . . it is worth remembering that by removing no fewer than two million people from the roll of income-tax payers altogether the...

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COUNTRY LIFE

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SOME notes taken (in North Britain) about the House Martins well illus- trate the effect of weather ,on the population of birds. The Martins did not arrive till May 6th, and...

A Squirrels' Duel

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Signs that our native red squirrel is multiplying (as indicated in last week's notes) should be correlated with its past history. Just fifty years ago the species suffered from...

DEFERMENT OF OFFICERS' RELEASE Stit,—In all recent discussions on the

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deferment of officers' release one point has been insufficiently stressed. Many officers, particularly ;11 C.M.F., have now been overseas for more than three years, and yet...

FIFTY YEARS OF X-RAYS

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SIR,—This would seem to be a fitting occasion to hold in memory those many pioneers who sacrified their lives in the cause of X-rays through X-ray burns. My father was one of...

In My Garden

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Much the best Michaelmas Daisies that I have seen have been grown by a singularly ruthless expert. It is hardly too much to say that the more the clumps are broken up the better...

An After - Christmas Apple

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Several enthusiasts for the too rare D'Arcy Spice apple responded to a recent appeal ; and two agree that it is the very best of all the after- Christmas apples. There seems to...

A SLIP OF THE MEMORY Sta.—Mr. A. G. Gardiner tells

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me that the picture of " two typewriters clicking as one" was in my review of Mrs. Cole's Life of Beatrice Webb, falsely attributed to him. I hasten to apologise for an error...

Postage on this issue: Inland, lid.; Overseas, ad.

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A White Witness The excellent International Committee for Bird Preservation

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has re- started its activities. One of its organisers writes: "I am walking on air to be back to natural history again and there are many others like me. From the letters I get...

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BOOKS OF THE DAY

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The Collapse of Civilisation The Origin of Our Time. By Dr. Karl Polanyi. (Gollancz. 10s. 6d.) THE task that Dr. Polanyi sets himself in this important work is to explain the...

An American Prophet

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Democracy Reborn. By Henry A. Wallace. Edited with an Introduction and Notes by Russell Lord. (Hammond and Hammond. 15s.) IN 1934, Mr. Wallace, in a speech before the Federal...

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Among the Matabele

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The Matabele Journals of Robert Moffat. Vol. I. 1829-1854. Edited by J. P. R. Wallis. (Chatto and Windus. 30s.) IN the roll of African missionary heroes the name standing...

New Ways in War

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By Air to Battle : the Official Account of the British Airborne Division. (H.M. Stationery Office, Is.) THE use of the atomic bomb against Japan was followed by a great deal of...

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A Wine-Dark World

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Prospero's Cell. By Laurence Durrell. (Faber and Faber. 10s. 6d.) PERHAPS the secret of the magic which pervades the whole Greek landscape is a labyrinthine blending of sea and...

Early English Art

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SINCE the days of William Morris, one of whose multifarious • activities was the discovery and study of early English manuscripts, there has been publication at intervals of...

Multiple Portraits

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Edwin and Eleanor. By C. E. Vulliamy. (Michael Joseph. 12s. 6d.) No; Polderoy Puffin and Philligo fans must confess to disappoint- ment. Comfortably reassured by reintroduction...

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Fiction

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Come Wind, Come Weather. By Constance Felicity Goddard. (Cape. 7s. 6d.) Six of Them. By Alfred Neumann. Translated by Anatol Murad. (Hutchinson. 10s. 6d.) PEOPLE who like books...

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SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 347

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1fl h ek.Nfl T. 1 1- 1 Pr:O'S U 0 R A A 9! - 1 AL N M.A■R K E C S c I M . f NT , E '1711 -1 A I !4•4 AS.T IE S!T 0 R el L s, - rle SOLUTION ON NOVEMBER 30th The winner of...

"THE SPECTATOR" GROSSWORD No. 349

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ACROSS 1. Symbols of bliss or bondage, accord- ing to the point of view. (7, 5.) 9. Where they have a COMM00 stock offal? (9.) o. She's blue. (5.) i. Joseph was the son of...

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• Shorter Notices

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West country Stories. By A. L. Rowse. (Macmillan. 8s. 6d.) AcTuALLY only one - third of these reprinted pieces, seven out of twenty-one, are stories ; the remainder are essays...

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

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Ish GUSTO', THERE are so many cross-currents in the stock markets that one cannot really be surprised that prices—taken as a whole—are moving in crab-like fashion. Gilt-edged,...