I. HE conclusion to be drawn from the Prime Minister's succinct and sober statement in the House of Commons on Tuesday is that the present phase of the war has not yet reached...

The Italian invasion of Egypt from Sollum along the Mediterranean coastal route is doubtless planned to synchronise with the projected invasion of Britain. The advancing army at...

The week that has passed has been one of air warfare such as the world has never before experienced. It has been marked on the ierman side by ruthless indiscriminate bombing of...

The visit of Senor Sutler, the Spanish Minister of the Interior and General Franco's brother-in-law, to Berlin is an event that may have political consequences of some...

The passage of the Conscription Bill in the Senate by 47 votes to 25 and in the House by 232 votes to 124, marks the triumph of a policy which the President has long been...

The protest addressed by the Soviet Union to Germa ny against the holding of a Danubian conference in which it was not represented appears to have been a strong one. It is...

In Rumania General Antonescu has constructed a Cabinet in which he himself holds the positions of Leader of the State, Prime Minister, and Minister of Defence, whilst M. Horia...

The A.R.P. Co-ordinating Committee has once again been pressing on Sir John Anderson the policy of building deep steel and concrete bomb-proof shelters which long ago were advo-...

The American Presidential campaign has now formally opened, and the Republican candidate, Mr. Wendell Wilikie, finds himself in some difficulty at the outset. As an honest man...

if the structure of government and social services is to equal the magnificent spirit of the Londoners and the country. A new challenge faces the institutions and social...

on the condition of London and that the discussion served a most useful purpose in conveying to Ministers helpful and constructive criticism. Total war demands heroic and far-...

these sombre and yet glorious days it is imperative that the Executive be fully informed of the views of Members, so that Members can exercise an informed influence in the con-...

of reason- able grievance will be considered, that measures adequate to every new phase of the war will be undertaken, there still remains the High Court of Parliament....

London's great natural highway, the Thames, so much neglected during the last century as an artery for London passenger traffic, is coming into its own again in these days of...

not far ahead, and troops on service all over Britain in numbers exceeding any- thing before • known in this country, it is gratifying to hear of measures which are being taken...

The problem of finding sufficient and comfortable enough shelters for the people in bombed areas is not the only problem arising out of the Nazis' indiscriminate attacks upon...

Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes: It was quite obvious that the House of Commons would not be in a mood to discuss physical training in view of the serious air bombard-...

Spectator in many cases last week. The paper appeared Punctually at the usual hour ; over subsequent delays in trans- portation and distribution the publisher has no controL

T HE battle for the destruction of the soul as well as the substance of the capital of the Empire continues. The situation in the past week has shown no decisive change. Goering...

London, particu- larly where there have been bad bombings, persons have been taking round from door to door a petition urging that peace negotiations should be opened, to stop...

French cruisers and other vessels which passed through the Straits of Gibraltar a few days ago and are said to have arrived at Dakar, the strategically important port in French...

a liberal view of their duties- in the matter of the repair of raid- struck houses, and to cut forms and formalities to a minimum. I hope the Petroleum Department will do the...

from German bombers by a considered warning of some form of reprisals raises a triple question, psychological, strategic and ethical. Crude reprisal there certainly will not be,...

removing and destroying the vast time-bomb that threatened St. Paul's Cathedral has rightly been seized on by the public imagination as the most spectacular example of cool and...

S OME single authority, it is clear, with a man of proved and exceptional competence at the head of it, ought to take in hand the problem of London under fire. Admirably—indeed...

old and vexed question. But that you can change feline nature— or at least that Hitler can—I have proved in the past week. A cat that had been independent and stand-offish to...

By STRATEG ICUS P IECE by piece the various parts of the German plan are falling into shape, and if it is not possible at present to see the whole design, it seems equally...

By SNiEBJCIRN JONSSON Reykjavik I CELAND exports the bulk of what she produces, and im- ports most of what she consumes. Thus the size of her trade is out of all proportion to...

By PETER MACKAY SOREN T HE facts about French food resources are important. Quite 1 apart from political considerations they might—and indeed do—prove that the French people...

By SYDNEY MELBOURNE T HE average Australian possesses a critical and enquiring mind, and some average Australians have had many surprises since their arrival in England. Here...

By B. MONTAGU SCOTT H E is no longer young. He served with gallantry in the last War. You saw him last, perhaps, playing a small but important part in a Shakespearean...

A White Migration The group of biologists who have been pioneers into that odd corner of science, the migration of insects, took some suggestive observations during the immense...

from a small plot! For innumerable years I have taken a particular interest in intensive cultivation, and still regard Prince Kropotkin's Fields, Factories and Workshops as one...

We were watching the grim wonder of the searchlights, the wicked sparking of shells and an occasional flare, when a pure white pigeon appeared from nowhere and perched within...

"I Was an Adventuress." At the Odeon-"Yesterday's Over Your Shoulder." At all Cinemas. IT seemed at first as though the aerial blitzkrieg would close cinemas both in London and...

ordering " The Spectator " regularly, since newsagents can no longer be supplied on sale-or-return terms.

A chance allusion to the curlew's note and to Tennyson's " dreary gleams" has brought an interesting note on that popular passage, recording Tennyson's own views on his phrase....

Sul,—As a State subject I hope I may be given space to make a few :omments on Mr. R. G. Shahani's article. I see very little real know- ledge in the article and thus presume...

[In view of the paper shortage it is essential that letters on these pages should be brief. We are anxious not to reduce the number of letters, but unless they are shorter they...

Snt,—Has not Canon Davies in your September 6th issue fallen into the common error of identifying the Congress with " India "? Ad- mittedly it is the largest and most...

the plain question, If the Congress party demands the immediate and absolute independence of India, why do we not readily grant it? The reply is: (r) The Congress party are a...

Sta,—You make the comment that the latest unemployment figures are puzzling, not to say disquieting. Disquieting, yes, but purIling, hardly, in view of the Limitation of...

Sm,—Is it not time that The Spectator placed an embargo on cheap sneers at the policy of Munich? See Professor Brogan's article in your issue of September 6th. In the light of...

SIR,—I feel sure that the great majority of those connected with youth organisations will be as doubtful as your Parliamentary Correspondent about the prospect of success of Mr....

Sta,—Mr. Crookshank's letter would have been more effective had it been more reasonable and less querulous. No doubt our overseas broadcasts could be improved, but to impart...

Stst,—There is one aspect of the purchase-tax that appears to hart es:aped public notice. Its intention is to reduce consumption of non- essentials, and its incidence has been...

SIR,—The letter from a correspondent in your issue dated Septem- ber 6th on the inefficacy . of Overseas broadcasts applies equally to " Home " programmes, and appears to...

Sm,—In one of his admirable and invaluable radio talks to the United States, Mr. J. B. Priestley sponsored the cause of English writers and urged people here to buy and read...

Sta,—Before this war commenced, like most people, I had a desire to do my " bit," so I joined the Territorials, and having a very good knowledge of building construction,...

Sm,—Herewith some suggestions for the consideration of the Authorities on the subject of awards and decorations, which I believe would meet the definite and urgent wishes of the...

Sta,—An article entiled " The Higher Bumbledom " in The Spectator of September 13th encourages me to ask for space for the ventilation of a personal experience. Of British birth...

SIR,—The tone of Lt.-Col. Lorimer's letter with its sneer at the " average Englishman " is not very happy, and his strictures on the remarks of " Janus " on the above subject...

Lessons of the Finnish War IN this strikingly illustrated book Mr. Langdon-Davies gives the impressions he formed of the Russo-Finnish campaign and of the Finnish people after...

The Democratic ideal in France and England. By David Thomson. (Cambridge University Press. 3s. 6d.) THE new series " Current Problems," edited by Dr. Ernest Barke r, is a most...

Nordic Twilight. By E. M. Forster. (Macmillan. 3d.) MR. FORSTER'S writings are of a rarity that gives them peculiar value. That alone differentiates his monograph from the...

Jacaranda. By Kathleen Bellamy. (Methuen. 8s.) I THINK that the first of this week's three novels is badly named. Its hero, Little Son, afterwards called Manoel de Deus, is an...

THE third volume of Dr. Redford's book—prepared to com- memorate the centenary of Manchester's incorporation as a borough in 1838—completes a considerable achievement of...

and with regard to its bearing on our present problems . . . the literary tradition in Scots," Mr. Speirs' rather stiffly written collection of studies falls far short of Edwin...

the silo sketches collected here are designed to show the value of " Mo Rearmament." Miss du Maurier is rightly described on the cp%, as the author of Rebecca. Actually this...

TWENTY-SEVEN years elapsed 'between the second and third editions of Grove's Dictionary of Music and Musicians. Now after a space of half that time Dr. Cones has brought his...

Davies. (Duckworth. 8s. 6d.) IT was the fate of Jorgen Jorgensen to flourish when the Romantic revival was sweeping Europe. Disdaining his oval little Denmark, he fixed his love...

WITII characteristic sang-froid the City is standing up well to intensified air bombardment. Only a glance at prices is needed to show that the resisting power of markets is...

AIR D E1A L IE AID E N SOLUTION The winner of Crossword No. So is the Rev. Canon C. 13 Ye , Rowe of Trees, Alderley Edge, Manchester. NEXT WEEK

IA prize of a 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...