Democracy is about how a government comes to power: constitutionalism is about the limitations a government accepts in the exercise of that power once it has gained it. With its...

A question of loyalty AUBERON WAUGH Something rather horrible happened in the House of Commons last week. The House was debating Biafra again and, as might be expected, the...

The truth about the judges C. M. WOODHOUSE My acquaintance with the clash between the Greek judiciary and the military government, which led to the recent dismissal by the...

Come back, LBJ JOHN GRAHAM Washington—`Wanted: strong man, pre- ferably Texan, to round up a herd of un- ruly individuals collectively known as the Senate of the United...

Our Manhattan GEOFFREY WAGNER New York—There is a story told. of the celebrated Hungarian marxist critic, Georg Lukacs. For years, it seemed, he had held to a fairly rigid...

Angry border KULDIP NAYAR New Delhi—The Hindus have no Pope. If they had one, he would have tried to bring about a rapprochement between Nepal and India, two religiously...

Timetable for Europe MARC ULLMANN Paris—It is almost as if Kosygin had taken over directly from Stalin. In his well-pressed navy blue suit M Pompidou appeared be- fore his...

No final solution QUINTIN HOGG, MP Before we start talking about race relations, we need to take a deep breath and reflect silently on two important facts. The triumphs of...

CHRISTOPHER HOLLIS Sixth formers claim the right to have their fun, Demand their say in how the school is run; The senior boys' assent must be required On bow the masters shall...

J. W. M. THOMPSON Although the BBC's plans for sound radio have been pretty hotly criticised, one argu- ment which it seems to have won is over the abandonment of the old...

I switch off STUART HOOD Paradoxically one of the most cheering pieces of intelligence I have picked up rec- ently is that there are indications of a fall in television...

Reflections on a missing link SELWYN LLOYD My great-grandfather was a Wesleyan Methodist Minister, who began his ministry as a probationer in 1826 at Caernarvon. My...

From the 'Spectator'. 17 July 1869—The Prince of Wales, on Tuesday, laid the first stone of a new orphanage at Watford, Hertfordshire, whither the Clapton Orphanage, now sixty...

Sunday sag BILL GRUNDY The past week or so has not been entirely devoid of important news. There have been two reports on broadcasting, a subject which is of interest to...

Tooth truth LESLIE ADRIAN 'Who ever knew Truth put to the worse, in a free and open encounter?' asked John Milton in the Areopagirica. '1, for one,' re- plied Richard...

Exegi monumentum DENIS BROGAN I am delighted that I can turn away from the drab trivialities or worse of our national (and international) life, from Biafra, from the...

PAT BARR British diplomats of the nineteenth century were a tough, self-confident, vigorous breed. Nevertheless, much of the verve and colour that marked their careers has...

CHARLES STUART Charles James Fox, A Man for the People Loren Reid (Longmans 65s) It is a sad reflection on the study of English political history of the late eighteenth cen-...

MICHAEL BORRIE Gothic Europe Sacheverell Sitwell (Weiden- feld and Nicolson 70s) This book is not really art history or archi- tectural history or any other sort of history....

Fearful times MAURICE CAPITANCHIK A Gamble with Death Zaharia Stancu (Peter Owen 40s) Tumult Johannes Allen (Hogarth Press 21s) The Cat's Pajamas and Witch's Milk Peter De...

DAVID KNOWLES Frederick Barbarossa Peter Munz (Eyre and Spottiswoode 90s) Although before long Wellington, NZ, may be, as Concorde flies, almost as near to London as was...

GEORGE EWART EVANS Reuben's Corner Spike Mays (Eyre and Spottiswood 30s) This is the odyssey of a small country boy from Kuldysack, his first home, to Reuben's Corner where he...

DAVID WILLIAMS The Empress Brown: The Story of a Royal Friendship Tom Cullen (Bodley Head 35s) It was a long widowhood. Albert the Good, the adored if not exactly adorable,...

GEORGE HUTCHINSON The Right to Know Francis Williams (Long- mans 50s) G — For God Altnighty David Farrer (Weidenfeld and Nicolson 30s) Lord Francis-Williams has weighty, almost...

MARTIN SEYMOUR-SMITH The French New Novel: Claude Simon, Michel Butor, Alain Robbe-Grillet John Sturrock (our 42s) 'Nouveau roman' was a term invented by (mainly hostile)...

BRYAN ROBERTSON The pop art show at the Hayward Gallery, ably selected by John Russell and Suzy Gablick for the Arts Council, is for me a lead balloon—or at least kapok-filled,...

Ups and downs CLEMENT CRISP I imagine that everyone has by now heard that the Bolshoi got off to a bad start at the opening of their Covent Garden season; just how bad is only...

PENELOPE HOUSTON Le Gal Savoir (rcA, Nash House) Memories of Underdevelopment (Paris- Pullman, 'X') One hopes that the Cultural Revolut'on hasn't done for Jean-Luc Godard....

Good conduct HILARY SPURLING Conduct Unbecoming (Queens) Hamlet (Open Space, Tottenham Court Road) The Merchant of Venice (Regent's Park) The Country Wife (Chichester) Barry...

NICHOLAS DAVENPORT Having described the British Letter of Intent to the IMF as a lot of baloney (5 July) I was naturally delighted to find the Financial Secretary of the...

Gilt-edged now JOHN BULL Market reactions to the June trade figures were not enthusiastic, partly because dealers had been fed with some over-optimistic forecasts of the...

Sir: The ideas of Mr Dyson (`The yahoo effect,' 5 July) seem somewhat confused. He explicitly states that those students appearing on the Man Alive programme with Mr Hogg were...

Sir: As one who is learning Welsh and who has no more than a limited knowledge of the language I feel nonetheless qualified to clarify some points of Sir Graham Sutton's letter...

Sir: I am grateful to Mr Young and Mr Mackridge (Letters, 5 July) for their cour- teous comments on my article, though I am not sure that in the circumstances I enjoy being...

Sir: How rare it is and comforting to read a cool and rational appraisal of the abor- tion situation without a scream or a shrill word in it. I refer of course to your corres-...

From the Rev J. Stanton Jeans, Richard Keeble, C. M. Woodhouse, Norman St John-Sievas, MP, Stephen Wiggs, Mrs S. N. Nanpona, the Rev J. S. MacArthur, John Biggs-Davison, MP,...

Sir: I saw a ghost passing when I came across Anthony Burgess's mention (21 June) of the 'Count of Montalk, the uncrowned King of Poland', who fre- quented the Dean Street pubs...

Sir: Martin Seymour-Smith (12 July) ought not to have used that wholly discreditable quotation from the Times on 'public poetry', as a club with which to beat the current...

Sir: Mr Basil Davidson (Letters, 5 July), resents Mr Brian Crozier's accusation in his review of The Liberation of Goitre (21 June) that he derives 'relish' from 'the thought...

Sir: Three cheers to Simon Raven for high- lighting the dangers of an explosive pop- ulation (21 June). The only long term remedy is compulsory sterilisation after three...

Sir: It is possible, as Mr Bryan Robertson says (28 June), that Francis Bacon was in- fluenced by James Pryde, but if Mr Robertson has ever seen pictures by Pryde of nocturnal...

Sir: The apostrope in `Their's not to reason why' (Spectator's notebook, 12 July) is not a misprint but an archaism. Cf. `Their's is the kingdom of heaven' in St Matthew, v. 3...

Sir: I have patiently attempted to deci- pher the hysterical and incoherent letter from the 'Czechoslovak' studene Pavel Tomalik (Letters, 28 June). As I see it, he makes the...

Lo He comes JOHN WELLS Did God come from Outer Space? If, as many journalists and progressive thinkers believe, the answer is 'yes', where did He go to next? Will He be Coming...

No. 562: Farewell to Auntie A subversive Bac employee has suggested that suitable theme music to accompany the proposed departure of throe orchestras from the Corporation's...

Across 1 Honour was the first love of the poetic colonel (8) 5 Vine-spoiler? (6) 9 Sport in the round? (4-4) 10 Seedy, but visible, improvements (6) 12 Sunrise delineated by...

PHILIDOR H. Kluver and Dr K. Fabel (Fairy Chess Review, 1947). Losing Chess (see article for rules); White to play and 'win'; solution next week. Solution to no. 447...