1 SEPTEMBER 1939

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NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

T HE one hopeful feature during this tense week has been the transition from loud-speaker oratory to diplomatic Notes. Herr Hitler has been, so far as the public is con- cerned,...

The Appeals for Peace

The Spectator

If war breaks out it will not be for lack of powerful appeals for peace. The Pope, President Roosevelt, King Leopold of the Belgians, M. Daladier, the Prime Minister of Canada,...

Will Events Take Charge ?

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While the Notes that have passed between Berlin and London have quite rightly not been published, enough is known of their tenor to make it clear that Herr Hitler has his mind...

Page 2

Federal Yugoslavia

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The need for national unity has at length persuaded Prince Paul, the Senior Regent of Yugoslavia, to accept the results of the agreement reached between the Prime Minister, M....

Pacifist Italy

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The only comfort Japan has as yet received is Herr von Ribbentrop's airy declaration that the agreement with Russia must strengthen German-Japanese friendship, and Signor...

Turkey and the Peace Front

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In no country might Germany expect to obtain a greater return from the German-Soviet Pact than in Turkey : but her expectations have been disappointed. One immediate sequel to...

Japan's Anxieties

The Spectator

In Japan the Soviet-German Pact has led directly to the fall of Baron Hiranuma's Cabinet, including the Foreign Minister, M. Arita, the chief architect of the Anti- Comintern...

The Response of the Dominions

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No greater test than the present crisis could be devised for the almost undefinable ties which join Great Britain and the self-governing Dominions ; and only such a crisis...

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* * *

The Spectator

The House seemed in more resolute mood when it met again on Tuesday. Members have been deeply affected by the spirit of the people, and contact with the constituencies seemed to...

No one was quite at his best. The Prime Minister

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was rightly desirous of erring on the side of under-statement. His speech, however, did not seem quite to catch the temper of the House. Both Mr. Greenwood and Sir Archibald...

D.O.R.A. : First Instalment

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On Monday the first series of regulations were issued under the Emergency Powers Act, which was passed last week. They cover the most varied spheres of national life, and confer...

Hungary and Rumania Both Hungary and Rumania have recently given

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evidence of their strong desire to maintain an attitude of neutrality in a European conflict, as the best means of preserving their independence ; in both countries that desire...

Nationalism and Christianity

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The Presidential Address at the Modern Churchmen's annual conference usually provides food for thought, and the paper by Sir Cyril Norwood, President of St. John's College,...

The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary correspondent writes : —When

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Mem- bers reassembled on the 24th those who had predicted that a crisis would occur before the end of the month, and that Par- liament would have to be summoned, were naturally...

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HITLER'S CHOICE

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" HE lamps are going out all over Europe," in the 1 historic phrase used by Sir Edward Grey on that day in August 1914 when Germany presented her ulti- matum to Belgium. By the...

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SCIENCE, FARMING AND FOOD

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I •1 a few words Sir Thomas Middleton put before the British Association this week the paradox of British farming. " During the decade 1831-40 the land of Great Britain...

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A straw—but one of many. An Englishman, whose fortune it

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is to be large and blonde, and whose misfortune it is to look in consequence Teutonic, has just returned from a motoring trip in Italy. Wherever he was known to be British he...

Under their new rationing system the Germans are to be

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allowed, among other things, t oz. of soap per week. Not being entirely clear what that means in terms of familiar soap measurements I have had an ordinary tablet of toilet soap...

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK

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N OTHING better exemplifies the contrast between this country's attitude today and a year ago than a compari- son between two speeches by the Prime Minister. Last week, on...

There can be nowhere, I imagine, to touch the hall

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of a London club for profusion of verdicts on the situation— unless it be the lobby of the House of Commons. Here is a selection from ten minutes' harvest: " War is absolutely...

Turkey's firm declaration of adherence to her engage- ments with

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Britain and France has been one of the more important and reassuring events of the past week. But from all I hear the British Treasury deserves sharp con- demnation for the...

The present emergency, particularly the evacuation arrangements, has emphasised the

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inconveniences arising from the fact that L.C.C. elementary schools, admirably equipped in all other respects, lack one necessity of life—the telephone. The reason can hardly be...

Mr. J. A. Spender is likely to stir up the

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pundits by his remark (in the Sunday Times) that " the history of diplomacy is in large part a record of double-dealing, as indeed the word `diplomacy' implies." Surely it is...

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PEACE FRONT STRATEGY

The Spectator

By MAJOR B. T. REYNOLDS B RITAIN is a World-Power. That is why the defence problem with which British soldiers, sailors and airmen h a ve to deal is far more complicated than...

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THE FRENCH AND GERMAN SOLDIER

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By H. ROSINSKI I N more than a thousand years of struggle French and German soldiers have crossed swords and come to appre- ciate each other on countless bloody battlefields,...

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A.R.P. IN PARIS

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By LEN ORTZEN D ARTS, like London, is defended against air-attack in I - two ways: by the A.R.P. and by evacuation. But the difference between the two capitals is considerable,...

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FRANCE'S SACRIFICE

The Spectator

By D. R. GILLIE A T the present moment the French Government sinks into insignificance against the background of the nation. This is a tribute to the nation, not a criticism of...

Page 11

AIR-POWER IN THE MEDITERRANEAN

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By NIGEL TANGYE Y OU read in the newspapers, every now and then, letters from indignant dti7Pns protesting against the policy of the Air Ministry in selling first-line aircraft...

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BY 'BUS ACROSS AMERICA

The Spectator

By F. J. SUTHERLAND F ORMERLY I used to think of the all-night journey from London to Glasgow, or Paris to Marseilles, as a consider- able undertaking. But I have revised my...

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MAGISTRATES AND THEIR COURTS

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By A CHAIRMAN OF QUARTER SESSIONS S OME fifteen months ago the Home Secretary appointed a Departmental Committee to inquire into and report on the conditions of service of...

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CZECH SONG - BOOK

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T T'S been a queer restless summer. I have to go every .1. day to the office just as I've done for the last twelve years. Liba and little Jan have to eat whether Herr Hitler or...

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PEOPLE AND THINGS

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By HAROLD NICOLSON H UMAN beings, when tuning themselves to resist great ordeals with placid resolution, become unduly sensitive to minor irritations ; the concentration of all...

Not that I am among those who seek to diminish

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the importance, at this tremendous juncture, of the Russo- German pact. The nightmare which has for so many years haunted the sleep of our own Foreign Office officials has at...

As I write these words the twilight of peace still

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lingers in the west. On Saturday night it was feared that a German aggression on Poland was a matter of hours only. Nothing happened. Anxiety was renewed on Sunday night when...

How fatal, even to his own plans and purposes, must

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be such violent inconsistency! Herr Hitler may well have been sincere in stating that he did not desire war with France or Great Britain but wished only to deal with his Polish...

Although I believe that this may be the effect of

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Herr Hitler's revolutionary policy, I do not believe that it was the intention. He hoped, by this sudden change in the balance of power, either to induce France and Great...

It is this difference of conception which, to my mind,

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is fundamental to the present conflict. It is true that we are fighting to maintain our own position as a Great Power, our own possessions, and eventually our own independence....

I have tried to analyse the causes of my disproportionate

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anger. It is not due, I think, to mortification at the defeat administered to our own diplomacy. Still less, I trust, is it due to any personal prejudice against Herr von...

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STAGE AND SCREEN

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THE CINEMA " Professor Mamlock." At the Academy.---.. Dodge City." At Warner's.—" Five Came Back." At the New Gallery. Professor Mamlock is a Soviet film which attacks the...

DANZIG PRIVAT

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[Von einem deutschen Korrespondenten] Ix diesen Tagen der Qual mag es vielleicht ein wenig entspannend sein, einen kurzen Erholungsausflug in Geschichte und Geographic zu...

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COUNTRY LIFE

The Spectator

A GOOD number of English places are acquiring names in very unorthodox ways. They are christened and labelled by private persons, without reference to any public authority. The...

A Restocked Sanctuary

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The greatest of all the English sanctuaries is, I hear, re- covering rather more quickly than was expected from the inroad of the sea. This flooding disaster that did so much...

A Forbidden Beadh

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A more than nominal objection may be raised against another notice in the same neighbourhood. It announces that " this field and the beach are private property." Such exclu-...

More Paths

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A paean on the habit of walking, or, as he agreeably calls it, of foot-faring, reaches me from Hampshire, accompanied with a plea for more footpaths. My correspondent, who has...

A Question of Wagtils What happens to the wagtails that

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are apt to desert our lawns and gardens in autumn? One observer who has kept records notes that they usually disappear for about a month. In his garden a brood of four was...

'Ware Wire

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Such conversion of the beach into private property is not the only barrier to the charm of that part of Sussex which suffers very much as Hampshire suffers. On one side of the...

In the Garden

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A good many gardeners perhaps would grow a great many more plants from seed if they realised how quick the results may be. Even such a shrub as a gorse will flower the first...

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THE WAR-GUILT CLAUSE

The Spectator

SIR, —May I venture to disagree with the passage of your otherwise admirable leader in your issue of August I tth dealing with the " War-guilt clause " of the Versailles Treaty...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a pseudonym, and the latter must...

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HINDU DANCE SIR, Mr. Dyneley Hussey's review of the Hindu

The Spectator

dancers, led by Ram Gopal, appearing at the Aldwych, confirms my own impression of " Hindu dance " as it obtains in India at present. There is in it an unmistakable emphasis on...

UNEMPLOYABLE AND UNEMPLOYED SIR, —In reply to Mr. Millman, may I

The Spectator

also be permitted to quite two cases typical of many others? 1. An orphanage in Lancaster which, until recently, used to house, feed, clothe and educate a considerable number...

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A WARNING TO MEXICO "

The Spectator

SIR, —In the paragraph headed " A Warning to Mexico " in the " News of the Week " column of The Spectator of August ath, you express the opinion that the Mexican Government, in...

SCOTTISH UNIVERSITY PRINCIPALS

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SIR,—May I be allowed to correct an error in Mr. Alan Dent's letter of last week, under the above heading? My husband, Sir Donald MacAlister, was not "well over eighty " when...

AUTARKY " AND INSURANCE

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Sta,—Absence abroad has delayed my reply to Mr. Clarence Hatry's letter commenting on my review of his Light Out of Darkness. I agree that the point on which we differ is of...

THE B.M.A. AND MIDWIVES

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SIR,—Your correspondent, Mr. Tudor Edmunds, before rush- ing into print should first of all acquaint himself of the facts. In his letter in your issue of August 4th, which,...

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Books of the Day

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EVIDENCE FOR GHOSIS, Dame Edith Lyttelton 33 0 LITERARY LIVES, Evelyn Waugh ... 33 1 HISTORY OF EAST LONDON, Pamela Hans ford 7ohnson 332 TWENTY YEARS ON, T. K. Derry ... . ....

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Literary Lives

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Rain Upon Godshill. By J. B. Priestley. (Heinemann. 8s. 6d.) Heaven Lies About Us. By Howard Spring. (Constable. Ss.) One Way of Living. By James Bridie. (Constable. 8s. 6d.)...

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Twenty Years On

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Sketch of a School. By Cheironax. (Heinemann. 5s.) GIVEN L250,000, and zo years to spend it in, required to found " a novel organisation with all the merits of the modern...

Treasure in the East

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History of East London. By Sir Hubert Llewellyn Smith. (Macmillan. I2S. 6d.) Mr grandfather bought his house in 1888. When I was born into it, it was one of a descending row...

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Swift the Churchman Jonathan Swift, Dean and Pastor. By Robert

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Wyse Jackson , LL.D. (S.P.C.K. 6s.) THE imprint and sub-title of the Rev. Robert Jackson's short study of Swift suggest that it was written with a special public in view and,...

Politics and Economics in Russia

The Spectator

Towards an Understanding of the U.S.S.R. By M. Florinsky. (Macmillan. sos. 6d.) ONE of the virtues of this exposition of the political and economic structure of the Soviet...

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The Boys' Own Claverhouse

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John Graham of Claverhouse. By Alistair and Henrietta Tayler. (Duckworth. 12s. 6d.) THE pleasures of the long view and the detached judgement have no attraction for Miss Tayler...

A Forgotten Philosopher

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THIS is the first English translation of a book originally pub- fished in German in 1880. Its author is, of course, one of the really great names in the history of jurisprudence...

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FICTION

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By KATE O'BRIEN Hudson Rejoins the Herd. By Claude Houghton. (Collins. 7s. 6d.) The Elephant Is White. By Caryl Braluns and S. J. Simon. (Michael Joseph. 7s. 6d.) IF, by the...

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The Home Market

The Spectator

By Major G. Harrison and F. C. Mitchell This admirable " book of facts about people " (Allen and Unwin, I2S. 6d.) was first evolved for the guidance of adver- tisers, but...

By E. Erskine Loch As the title indicates, Fever, Famine

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and Gold (Heinemann, Us. 6d.) belongs to that class of travel books in which the most is made of the more sensational aspects of the expedition. Actually neither fever nor...

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FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

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As I write the crisis nears its climax. It may possibly be resolved before these lines are printed. Whatever the outcome, the City may be proud that it has provided no...

STERLING, GOLD, AND GOLD SHARES

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One justification for the Bank Rate rise is, of course, that the authorities could scarcely have avoided taking such an orthodox step before withdrawing the peg from sterling in...

* * * *

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MONEY RATE PROBLEMS I do not share this view. The answer is surely that the maintenance of a 2 per cent. bank rate and of other short- term money rates at something like to r...

* * * *

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COMMODITIES AND THE CRISIS The transition of Great Britain's commercial markets from a peace-time economy to a full war economy is at the moment of writing by no means...

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RICHARD THOMAS RESULTS

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There is no denying that Richard Thomas, the big South Wales steel and tinplate company, have gone through a thoroughly unsatisfactory trading period. Profits of the whole group...

DEBENHAMS' PROFITS

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Shareholders in Debenhams, Ltd., will welcome not only the excellent profit disclosed for the year to July 31st but also the concise way in which the preliminary statement is...

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SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 25

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The winner of Crossword No. Colt Hill, Odiham, Hants. 25 is Mr. E. Bunter Stanwell, EXT EK

"THE SPECTATOR" CROSSWORD SECOND SERIES-No. 26 [A prize of a

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Book Token for one guinea will be given to the sender of the first correct solution of this week's crossword puzzle to be opened. Envelopes should be marked "Crossword Puzzle,"...