20 AUGUST 1927

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The solemnity and precision of the words of the Oath

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are obvious. In swearing allegiance and announcing simultaneously in a manifesto that they had no intention of obeying, the Republicans not only perjured themselves, but made...

Although a modification of the Oath has for the time

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being been thrust out of practical politics by Mr. De Valera's failure and by the strong declarations of loyalty made on Tuesday by Mr. Johnson, the leader of the Labour Party,...

Let us look first at this matter of the Oath.

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The Anglo-Irish Treaty maybe said to depend upon the Oath, for without those words embodying the Oath, which were contrived with extraordinary care and most fertile ingenuity,...

News of the Week

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M R. COSGRAVE'S unexpected victory in the Dail on Tuesday was of much greater importance than is suggested by his narrow margin of one vote. That vote was the casting vote of...

Mr. Cosgrave, with a courage which has been matched by

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his skill, has suffered much for the - Oath. He has been unfalteringly loyal. The British Government could not have encouraged, helped and sanctioned the Free State but for...

I EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES : 13 York Street, Covent

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Garden, London, W.C. 2.—A Subscription to the SPECTATOR costs Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registered as a...

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The motion in the Dail on TueSday, which declared that

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the Government no longer retained the confidence of a majority of the members, was moved by Mr. Johnson. It had been regarded as certain that there would be a majority for the...

In the division there were 71 votes for the motion,

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and 71 against. The Speaker then gave his vote for the Government. If Mr. Jinks had voted against the Govern- ment, Mr. Cosgrave would no doubt have resigned. As it is there is...

Mr. Cosgrave said that his economic administration had not changed

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in two months, yet two months ago Mr. Johnson had been ready to form a coalition with the Government. Mr. Johnson was evidently animated by political rather than economic...

Mr. Johnson said that his chief charge against the Government

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was based on its economic policy. The Government had done little to relieve distress. As for the three measures which had been introduced since the murder of Mr. Kevin...

The Declaration of Repentance signed last year by Trotky, Zinovieff

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and their friends of the Opposition meant so little that (as the Riga correspondent of the Times says) the Opposition is now stronger than ever, Stalin, Bukharin, Rykoff and the...

* * * These things by no means exhaust the

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troubles of the Central Committee. Separatist movements are going on in the Ukraine, White Russia, the Caucasus, and even in the " Tartar Republic." The Riga correspondent of...

The members of the Soviet Central Committee are evidently hard

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put to it to know how to deal with what is now formally called the " Opposition:" The fact that there is an Opposition, and that it is of some magnitude, a remarkable sign of...

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We have discussed the Chinese situation in a leading article,

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but here we must mention the latest events which have been reported since that article was written. The Northerners, having reached Pukow, on the Yangtze, have been shelling...

The British Broadcasting Corporation has been accused of lethargy and

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indifference to Imperial interests because it is slow to inaugurate a system of Empire broadcasting. Captain Eckersley, the Chief Engineer of the Corporation, wrote an able...

* The International Olympic Committee and the Inter- national Association

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Football Federation have taken a most unfortunate decision. They have announced that amateur footballers may receive payment for broken time. This strikes at the root of...

The promised Royal Commission on London Squares was appointed last

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week. It will investigate the con- _ ditions under which the squares are held and used, and consider methods of safeguarding them permanently as open spaces. It does not follow...

The French newspapers continue to be excited by the bellicose

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speeches of German militarists. Some of the recent speeches in Germany have certainly been extremely stupid and provocative. M. Briand has sincerely been trying to cultivate a...

Bank Rate, 41 per cent., changed from 5 per cent..

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on April 21st, 1927. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 101! ; on Wednesday week 1014 ; a year acro 101A. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 861 ; on Wednesday...

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The Truth about the League

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A GRAND debate has been going on in France about the first principles of the League. The protagonists have been M. Briand and M. Henri de Jouvenel, with the horse, foot and...

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Trade Unionism

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G REAT Britain's record in trade-union history is one of which the country is proud. We do not say this referring to any present controversy, for we do not use the word history...

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The Chinese Turmoil R EVOLUTIONS have a way of devouring their

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children, but never so quickly as in China. The Western public has barely had time to familiarize itself with the name of a seemingly powerful Chinese general or politician when...

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Where the British Hotel is Wanting

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S OME time ago Mr. A. M. Samuel in his capacity as Minister expressed a desire to help in making England attractive to tourists. By tourists, he plainly meant Americans and...

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" Adopt, Adapt, and Improve "

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III.—HIGH WAGES AND LOW PRICES, OR ? I HAVE shown why I believe that no great expansion of British oversea trade is to be expected in the future. Salvation—economic prosperity...

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In Defence of Plagiarism

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F making many books," said a wise man, nearly thirty centuries ago, " there is no end," and no one whose life is lived in the modern deluge of best-sellers can reasonably...

Building Western Canada

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ri lHE farmers of Western Canada have lately embarked upon an enterprise which will do much not only to . brighten their economic prospects but also to improve their social...

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John and his Parrot

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M Y old friend John lived at the bottom of the villa g e, and g rew fruit and ve g etables for market in his bi g , ramblin g g arden. Perhaps knowin g he loved them all, plants...

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Correspondence

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A LETTER FROM BUDAPEST. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin, — So much has happened in or near Hungary during the last six months that it is difficult to know where to begin....

A Lament

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O LONELY house upon the regal moors S et where the heather flows in purple streams, 'Tis long since children played about your doors, And cheerful firelight flashed in...

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 number should be quoted.

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Country Life

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ELECTRICITY AND PLANTS. SOME queer and interesting byways of production from the land have been explored recrzntly by the Intelligence officers of the Ministry of Agriculture....

GARDENERS AND TAR SPRAYS.

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This year has been conspicuous for a notable advance, on the Continent as well as in England, of a rural art not mentioned by the Ministry's Intelligence—the art; or science, of...

I am disposed to prophesy a good partridge year in

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many districts. Evil though the weather has been, the rain has not been of long enough duration to drown nests, and what kills young birds is rain plus cold. More than this,...

A SHREWISH MYSTERY.

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An inquiry about an old mystery reaches me from a York- shire rector : " How is it that I find so many dead shrews on my garden paths, not worried or disfigured in any way, and,...

GROUSE AND PARTRIDGES.

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It has been noticeable in recent years that the preliminary estimates of grouse, as of partridges, on particular moors and farms have been singularly inaccurate. This year the...

OUR LOVELIEST VILLAGE ?

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We-are just returning to Australia,- but should like to set' before we go some of the most characteriStic English villages: Which. would you select ? ". Comparisons, we know,...

ARTICHOKES OR LAVENDER ?

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From time to time a violent plea is raised for the growing of some new farm-plant ; and in the past new introductions have actually and in fact revived farming over a continent....

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sta,—I crave the indulgence

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of your columns to expose what I think will be universally considered to constitute an act of despicable double dealing on the part of the Treasury against the ratepayers of...

Letters to the Editor

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THE SLUMS OF CHELSEA [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—May I comment on the article of "A Chelsea House- holder " ? I am joint owner of three cottages recently condemned...

THE NEW PRAYER BOOK

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Professor Relton's letter resembles most of the argu- ments used in favour of the New Prayer Book. It is frankly an appeal to expediency....

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THE NEW RUMANIA

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—The article on " The New Rumania " in your issue of July 30th refers to religious persecution directed against Unitarians and Jews....

GENERAL LEONARD WOOD

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —In your issue of. August 13th, p. 243, bottom of second column, you remark on General Leonard Wood : " If objections had not been raised...

DAIRY CONTROL IN NEW ZEALAND

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[To the Editor of the SPEcrAT014 Sia,—Letters such as that of Mr. Grimsdale Anderson, Which' appeared in the Spectator of May 7th, convey 'a very false idea of the scope and -...

STAG-HUNTING BY TELEPHONE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—Many of your readers must have seen with astonishment and indignation the report in the Press of the incident which occurred last week at...

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MARRIAGE REFORM LEAGUE [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] have

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read with great interest Sir George Fowler's letter in a recent issue, and as the valuable work of the Legal Aid Bureau of the Divorce Law Reform Union has on more than one...

SCHOOLBOY SPELLING [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I haVe

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been interested in the contributions dealing with spelling. Apart from the amount of precious time and labor utterly wasted in endeavouring to acquire correct spelling, and the...

SAVING CHILDREN'S HEARTS [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Having

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read with deep interest the splendid article on " Saving Children's Hearts which appeared in your issue of June 25th, by " Crusader," I should much like to thank him for the...

AMERICAN FESTIVALS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Unless someone else has already pointed out the error in the answer to the second question in your American 6 ` Quiz," please let me say...

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SPITTELER THE SWISS SAGE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —It is needless to say that I very much appreciate Mr. Church's admirably written notes on Spitteler. Surely this article will do much...

SHAKESPEAREAN DEFINITIONS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] S;11,—In the review of my book, The Seven Ages of Venice, which appeared in the Spectator of July 30th, your Reviewer indicates that the...

PAPWORTH

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,--I write to say how grateful we arc to you for " Crusader's " article about Papworth. Independent testimony of this kind is of the...

DRAGONS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,- -That we have not said farewell to the romance of the dragon is evident from a recent news paragraph. The lady in charge of the sick...

A NEW HUDSON MEMORIAL .

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Adjoining the Brent Valley Golf Links, in the Borough of Ealing, is an estate of seven acres, the greater part of the grounds of which...

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THE FEAT OF A RED SQUIRREL

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra,—For several summers I rented a cottage on the shore of Lake Rosseau in Canada. My dining-table was set on the verandah and I had many...

Poetry

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Font-Georges (From the French of Theodore de Banville.) DEAR fields, filled now with quiet, Where Childhood once ran riot, Where the days, in days of old, Were all of gold !...

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The photographs of Swiss scenery which illustrate Rambles in High

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Savoy (Longman, 21s.) are truly beautiful. Even without the letterpress it would be worth its not very small price. Many of them were taken by M. Emile Gos, who has already...

The subscribers to the Wren Society, which exists to publish

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the documents and drawings that may throw light on the career of the great English architect, are to be con- gratulated on their fourth volume (Hampton Court Palace, 1689-1702)....

" We sailed over perfumed waters plumbago coloured, that pale

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cool blue of the sea when no breath stirs "—and so on. There is a good deal of this rather opulent style of writing in Islands of Queen Wilhelmina, by Mrs. Violet Clifton...

This Week's Books

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Ix a witty and .provocative introduction to a book of Cartoons (Cayme Press, 15s.) equally entitled to both adjec- tives, Mr. Richard Sickert most improperly (and deliberately)...

Sir William Arbuthnot Lane's health secrets have been open for

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some time past. As he tells us in his preface to Secrets of Good Health (Heinemann, 3s. 6d.), millions of people have read in the columns of the Daily Mail and elsewhere his...

In securing Mr. Martin to edit their new edition of

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Crashaw (ti ls.) the Clarendon Press were happy. Mr. Martin has already made himself a reputation for his excellent work on the .Silurist, and, as Mr. Sencourt reminded us in...

For the visitor who desires to make a fairly long

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stay in Paris, Mr. Sisley Huddleston's In and About Paris (Methuen, 15s.) should prove invaluable. He knows " the capital of Europe " very intimately; and offers us a delightful...

General Knowledge Competition THE prize of one guinea which the

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Editor offers weekly for the best thirteen General Knowledge Questions (with answers) is awarded to Mr. W. H. A. Cowell for the following :- Old Testament Questions 1. Whose...

Page 19

Some Books on Blake

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By Mona Wilson. (Nonesuch The Centenary Edition of Blake's Poetry and Prose. Edited by Geoffrey Keynes. (Nonesuch Press. 12s. 6d. net.) A LITTLE boy of eight, gazing at a tree...

An Introduction to the Study of Blake. By Max Plowman.

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(Dent. 4s. Od.) MR. MAX PLOWMAN has the greatest admiration for all Blake's works. He thinks highly of An Island in the Moon, and pronounces Jerusalem to be the best of his...

Page 20

Doers and Dreamers

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In Roman Scotland. By Jessie Mothersole. Illustrated by the Author. (Lane. 10s. 6d.) The Road Round Ireland. By Padraic Colum. Illustrated. (Macmillan. 17s.) The Enchanted Road....

The Sensitive Plant

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HERE is a book which is beyond the art and science of a critic. It is a heart-searing document, written in heightened moments by a rare creature inspired by genius and disease...

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An Expert Yachtsman

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Mn. MAcIvEn, an amateur who holds a yachtmaster's "ticket" and has always taken command of his own vessels, has deliberately or accidentally rung the changes on his choice of...

An Old Etonian

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Fewness of My Days. By Lord Braye. (Sands. 18s.) THE same emotion has .prompted Lord Brayc to write of himself, he tells us, as prompts a schoolboy to carve his name upon the...

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Fiction

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Mixed Biscuits -Green Mansions. By W. H. Hudson ; The Polyglots. By William Gerhardi ; The Sea and the Jungle. By H. M. Tomlinson ; The Roadmender. By Michael Fairless ; The...

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NO OTHER TIGER. By A. E. W. Mason. (Hodder and

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Stoughton. 7s. 6d.)—Mr. Mason is here at his best. While working out very deftly an extremely intricate and clever plot, he gives us excellent characterization and a remarkably...

THE HOTEL. By Elizabeth Bowen. (Constable. 7s. 6d.)— " I

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have often thought it would be interesting," says one of Miss Bowen's women, " if the front of any house, but of an hotel especially, could be swung open on a hinge like the...

HEARTSEASE COUNTRY.—By Upton Gray. (Hodder and Stoughton. 78.6d. net.)—That portion

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of the story which deals with David Heriot and his successful efforts to become a notable raiser of pedigree cattle is well worth the attention of any reader who cares for the...

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Current Literature

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' THE PORT OF LONDON YESTERDAY AND TO-DAY. 'By D. J. Owen. With a Foreword by Lord Ritchie of DundLe. '(Port of London Authority. 7s. 6d.)-Mr. Owen, who is the general manager...

THE SMOKING FURNACE AND THE BURNING LAMP : Talks on

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Toe H. Edited by the Rev. P. B. Clayton. (Longmans. 2s. 6d.)-The second title of this little collection of sermons explains their common aim. They are " Talks on Toc H" and...

HISTORICAL TRIALS. By the late Sir John Macdonell. Edited by

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R. W. Lee. (Clarendon Press. 10s.)-Lord Shaw of Dunfermline, in a graceful and judicious preface, pays tribute to the high qualities of the late Sir John Macdonell, as a lawyer...

REPARATION COMMISSION, VOL. XIV., OFFICIAL DOCUMENTS, and XVIA. (H.M.'s Stationery

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Office. 7s. 6d. and 3s. net.)-The last bound volume of documents issued by the Reparation Commission contains the English text of the Dawes Reports, the Protocols and decisions...

THE BUCCANEERS : A BRIEF HISTORY. By Professor A. H.

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Cooper-Prichard. (Palmer. 7s. 6d.)-If there is anything novel about this fresh version of the thrice- told story of the buccaneers, it is -that the history of those ferocious...

FRANZ JOSEPH AS REVEALED BY HIS LETTERS. Edited by Otto

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Ernst. Translated by Agnes Blake. (Methuen. 15s.)-Judging by the letters here selected from among the State archives in Vienna, the late Emperor of Austria must have been a most...

THE PLACE-NAMES OF WORCESTERSHIRE. By A. Mawer and F. M.

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Stenton, in collaboration with F. T. S. Houghton. (Cambridge University Press. 20s.)-Since the late Professor Skeat showed, in his epoch-making monograph on Cambridgeshire...

A Library List

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MISCELLANEOUS :-Topsy Turvy. By Vernon Bartlett. (Con- stable. 10s.) The Tibetan Book of the Dead. By W. Y. Evans-Wentz. (Oxford University Press. 16s.) -Official Motoring Map...

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Motoring Notes The All-Weather Road Map

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Wren the kind of summer we are experiencing this year, any motoring accessory that could claim to be All-weather ' must make an instant appeal to motorists. This term effec-...

In their scholarly new catalogue Messrs. Ingpen and

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Stonehill will startle some readers by quoting Tennyson first editions at five shillings apiece, while Mr. F. W. Bain's Oriental fantasies, on large paper, are priced at fifteen...

Messrs. Sotheby's sale of July 27th was notable for the

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Byron, R. L. Stevenson and Kipling items. Byron's letter to his friend, Charles Gordon, describing the Eton and Harrow match of 1805, was, very appropriately, bought by some Old...

The need for accuracy in spark control has greatly increased

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during the past few years, since the introduction of the high-speed engine. To meet this requirement the British Thomson-Houston Company, of Coventry, are marketing an...

Answers to Old Testament Questions 1. (a) Job, (b) David.-2.

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The offering of First Fruits (Dent. xxvi.).-3. Abimelech.-4. (a) Saul, (h) Enoch.-5. (a) The ascent of Elijah, (b) the death of Elisha (2 Kings ii. and siti.).--- 6: (a) Isaiah,...

Notes for Collectors

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THE sales of the past season were remarkably successful, and the interest was maintained up to the very end of July. Prices were higher than ever, not only because money has...

Tabloid Tours

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THROUGH THE NEW FOREST. The New Forest, which covers an area of nearly 70,00G acres, is the happy hunting-ground of the botanist, artist and entomologist. It possesses good...

The market in modern first editions' is a - special study

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in which collectors are seldom proficient. They know far more about the prices of Elizabethan or Restoration books than they do about the Neo-Georgians. They will be interested,...

For many of us old drinking glasses have a wonderful

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fascination. The Loan Court at South Kensington has recently contained a fine collection of English and Irish glass which illustrated its variety and charm. The fragile products...

Few motorists arc aware that to reverse a car for

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more . than a few yards is not allowed by law. The law is quite . definite ; one is only allowed to drive a car backwards for a sufficient distance to enable one to turn round.

Page 28

THREE MAIN • POINTS.

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Apart from the mass of most - interesting detail in the book there are three Main . points. developed by Mr, Ivy Lee which seem to . ine of profound interest. The first of these...

THE FINAL CONCLUSION.

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With regard to the final point, namely, the problem which Russia presents to the civilized world, I cannot do better, perhaps, than quote the closing sentences in Mr. Ivy Lee's...

Finance—Public and Private

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Soviet Russia—A World Enigma I MAKE no apology for dealing this week with a book which has been sent to me concerning Soviet Russia, because the problem presented by that...

VIEWS OF AN AMERICAN.

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The book in question has been written by Mr. Ivy Lee, of New York. It is entitled A World Enigma, and it deals with the great problem of Soviet Russia. It consists of a record...

Financial Notes

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HOLIDAY MARKETS. Ii , I were to employ the current language of the Stock Exchange, I should have to say there was practically " nothing doing " in any market, and that...

OBJECTS OF VISIT.

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In this introduction Mr. Lee explains that, besides making 'personal observations of conditions in Russia, he wanted, in particular, to discover how the Bolshevik propaganda was...

RUSSIAN MENTALITY.

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The mentality of Russia, even including Ministers themselves, is extraordinarily interesting and is, .perhaPs, only to be coMprehended if we remember that we are dealing with a...

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PROBLEM IN FRENCII BONDS.

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A very constant reader of the Spectator presents me with the following problem, desiring that I should express my views with regard to the course to be adopted. My correspondent...

RAILWAYS versus ROADS.

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I have written so much in these columns of late concerning what I venture to regard as shortcomings in railroad organiza- tion that I feel I must not do more than draw attention...

Insurance

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THE MOST SUITABLE POLICY THERE is no one life policy that is the most suitable for all purposes, but if we are to obtain the most advan- tageous results from life assurance, the...

To How OR TO SELL.

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I am sure that my correspondent is right in thinking that he is not alone in his misfortunes, and I must imagine also from his letter that he possibly failed to do as some were...

A GOOD RECOVERY.

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The latest half-yearly report of Ry lands and Sons, Limited, is a most satisfactory one. A year ago the reverse was the case owing to the industrial troubles, but the latest...