22 DECEMBER 1928

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The Afghan tribesmen have a kind of rancorous conservatism which

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is very different from the docility of the Turks. Mustapha Kemal, the Turkish dictator, is convinced that there is no future for Turkey either in, or in contact with, Europe...

The -news- from -Afghanistan has been disturbing and reassuring by

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turns. It is known, however, that the British-- , Minister, - at--Kabul -is - safe: - - A -British'aeroplane was shot down by the rebels, though the crew were for- tunately...

There is no prospect of Germany agreeing to such Conditions:

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The truth is that Great - Britain and Belkiannt" are continuing the occupation of the Rhineland, which has become both senseless and dangerous in view of the Locarno Treaties...

We have written in a leading article about the con-

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versations at Lugano in regard to Reparations and the evacuation of the Rhineland. Evacuation seems to be no nearer. The really troublesome dispute, in which Great Britain takes...

King Amanullah has a very different people to deal with,

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but we must hope that, perhaps having learned something from the present revolt, he will succeed. His aims are in the main right. Moscow has produced by far the silliest...

News of the Week

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T HE statement of the doctors that there are " increasingly solid grounds " for hoping for the King's recovery has brought a sensible, though by no means final, relief to the...

EDITORIAL AND PIIRLLSHINO OFFICES : 13 York Street, Covent Garden,

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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 Newspaper. The...

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It is semi-officially reported from China that Sir Miles Lampson

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has signed a Tariff Treaty with the Nanking GovernMent: A ' violent attack by anti-Japanese students on the Chinese Foreign Minister is the only other notable news we have had...

Mr. R. J. Boothby, who is Private Parliamentary Secretary to

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the Chancellor of the Exchequer, made an important speech to his constituents at Peterhead on Friday, December 14th, explaining his own views about British relations with...

On Tuesday the Foreign Relations Committee of the United States

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Senate decided by fourteen votes to two to report the Kellogg Pact favourably for ratification. When we write it is believed that the Pact will be ratified without reservation,...

Seven weeks ago, M. Vintila Bratianu resigned in the face

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of 'grave financial difficulties, a currency depreciated and liable still to considerable fluctuations, all this being the result of Nationalist finance, of which the latest...

We must part company with Mr. Boothby, however, when he

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attributes the absence of information about Russia to the " unfortunate policy of isolation pursued by the Soviet Government." A statement to the Press Association by the Editor...

One more of the caucuses which for so long dishonoured

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the name of politics in Europe has gone by the board in the virtual annihilation of the so-called Liberal Party, under M. Bratianu, in Rumania. The elections, both to the Lower...

In connexion with the naval question we note an article

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by Mr. Frank L. Simonds in the Sunday Tinier. Mr. Simonds' article is not agreeable reading for English- men, but we believe it tells the whole truth about American naval...

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Several readers have inquired whether they could " adopt "

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a necessitous family in Aberdare, and arrange- ments have been made for them to do so. We hope to return to this subject later. We publish several letters from Aberdare, among...

In a visitation charge to his clergy on Monday the

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Bishop of Durham described the Establishment as " an anomaly which is ceasing to function even tolerably." The nineteenth century, he said, destroyed the " Anglican monopoly "...

Mr. Chamberlain has made one rather important concession in response

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to a joint Socialist and Unionist demand. He will instruct County Councils to invite comment on their schemes from all lesser authorities within their areas before they can...

In the House of Commons on Monday the Prime Minister

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spoke of unemployment and distress and must haye convinced some of the sceptics of the Opposition that the Government have done more than is often admitted. Mr. Baldwin said...

Once again we have to thank our readers for their

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splendid response to our appeal on behalf of the town of Aberdare in South Wales. A further sum of £1,800 has been subscribed, making the total £3,842 on Tuesday, and three...

The Local Government Bill (England and Wales) is in the

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Committee stage, and it is significant that after keen discussion in a well-attended House it remains substantially as it was when Mr. Neville Chamberlain made his memorable...

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 102k ; on Wednesday week 102 ie.; a year ago 101k. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 90 ; on Wed- nesday...

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Sir Austen Chamberlain and the Rhineland

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T HE assonance of Lugano and Locarno inevitably arouses, in advance of any other feeling, deep regret that the meeting of the British, German and French representatives at...

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What We Are Doing at Aberdare I F those who have

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contributed to the Spectator Fund for Aberdare could see what their money is doing and hear the expressions of those who benefit by it, they would feel very happy to have...

Our Aberdare Fund L3,842 is. 7d. so far

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The following list represents subscriptions to the SPECTATOR. Aberdare Fund received up to tlu , first post on Tuesday, December 18, 1928. . All remittances (which should be...

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The Week in Parliament

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T im Prime Minister announced the proposals of the Government for relieving the distressed areas in the House of Commons on Monday: It came' as some- thing of a surprise to...

A Case for Arbitration

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T HE dispute between Bolivia and Paraguay is a test case for all those who have declared their belief—as we have—that the post-War machinery for preventing war is of real value....

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Modern Values

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T HE dictionary gives the following as one of the definitions of the word " value " : " the desirability of a thing, especially as compared with other things." If one regards...

Parliament and Prime Ministers Considered as Exhibits P ARLIAMENT can on

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occasion afford the most exciting show of any place in London ; Prime Ministers can be picturesque like Mr. Gladstone, or engaging like Mr. Baldwin ; but not even Mr. Gladstone...

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The Christmas Tree

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TN other years I have helped to transplant little Douglas fir trees from their native shrubberies to green tubs inside the house, and to hang them with gold and silver tinsel...

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Report _ of the "Exceptional Christmas " Competition .

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WE have received some most entertaining descriptions of exceptional . Christrnasses, spent in the most extraordinary places, and very much regret that we have not the space to...

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Art

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[THE BEAUX ARTS GALLERY, BRUTON PLACE.] MR. BERNARD LEACH is one of the pottery pundits, and Ws show of stoneware pottery at the Beaux Arts Gallery is a clear demonstration of...

The Theatre

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[" MR. PICKWICK." ADAPTED BY COSMO HAMILTON AND F. C. REILLY. AT THE HAYDIARKET THEATRE.] WHAT a cast ! What a crowd ! Thirty-nine names on the programme. Which is as it should...

A Hundred Years Ago

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Some sensation has been excited in Paris by the trial, on the 10th instant, of Beranger the poet, of whose suppressed songs we gave an account in the 17th number of the...

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"Spectator" Conference for Personal Problems

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Family Constellation [The SPECTATOR Conference offers to readers a service of advice on personal problems in which they would like impartial help. The Editor has appointed a...

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The League of Nations

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The Council's Migration to Lugano IT is a thoroughly bad thing for the Council of the League of Nations to elope from Geneva at anyone's persuasion. When it gets away you may...

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PATRICIDAL ROBINS.

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In spite of the host of observers, many odd questions in respect of the life of birds remain unanswered. For example, it is a popular belief—on which one query reaches me— that...

The young of the domestic fowl have a quite peculiar

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fondness for the back of their mother ; and this may indicate the likelihood of a flying bird carrying its young. But it would be a precarious perch ; and I doubt whether any...

VANISHING MISTLETOE.

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How is it that mistletoe is vanishing from England ? It used to grow on many more species of tree and in much greater quantity, though never perhaps as freely as it grows on the...

ELMS AND SPARROWS.

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If we were asked what tree and what bird were the toughest, the most irrepressible, the least vulnerable, we should answer the elm and the house sparrow. Yet within the year,...

His suggested figures of essential bankruptcy in the industry are

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too grimly exaggerated. A good deal of money has been made this year by intensive cultivation in South Lincolnshire, which is the eye of England, by the growers of potatoes and...

YOUNG-CARRYING BIRDS.

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The very interesting question whether birds carry their young has been put to me by a correspondent of the Spectator. It is now absolutely proved that the woodcock will carry...

Country Life

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A GLOOMY LANDOWNER. In a speech delivered during the course of the Smithfield Show, Sir Walter Gilbey declared, with all the emphasis he could muster, that eighty, if not...

OUR HEALTHY BIRDS.

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Maladies among our birds are very rare. Pigeons, here as in North America, may suffer most distressfully from throat diseases, and the numbers differ enormously—especially in...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I am very thankful

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to the Spectator for the thousand pounds you have given towards the distress at Aberdare. People of this area have been hard hit since 1921. I should like to impress upon the...

[To the Editor of the Srgervron.]

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SIR,—I have read with much interest William J. Hodges' letter in which he discusses the possibilities of new industries in Aberdare. Could nothing be done to help the miners by...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —The extent of the

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problem in Aberdare is roughly as follows. Out of a working population of between 10,000 and 11,000, 60 per cent. are either irregularly or regularly employed, and 40 per cent....

Letters to the Editor

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-OUR ABERDARE FUND [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I beg to acknowledge the receipt of your cheque for £1,000. Words must be few, but I can only say, in the name of the...

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WHAT IS WRONG WITH BRITISH AGRICULTURE ?

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,--The suggestions with which Mr. Boving concludes his articles in your issues of November 24th and December 1st are t minently...

[To the. Editor of the SPECTATOR,] SIR, —At a meeting of

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" The Aberdare Chamber of Trade " held last week, we considered—with full appreciationthe splendid practical result of your timely and sympathetic appeal on - behalf' of the...

OUR ABERDARE FUND—POINTS FROM LETTERS We wish we had space

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to pint all the letters of sympathy from our readers about our Fund. Appended is a small collection of excerpts Mr. C. I. Smith-Pearson, Castle Street, Launceston, Cornwall. "...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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was much interested in Mr. Boving's articles on " Agriculture," and particularly in his reference to Denmark. There is one point which he did not mention, and upon which perhaps...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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Sin,--There seems to be a misconception about these Govern- ment 'fauns which Mr. riming ailvaeates; In your fOotnoie to my first letter - you speak of them as " experimental."...

• exposition of the American sentiment toward the 'Arneriesin Navy.

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That is, as it appears to an American of English blood who at least has travelled abroad and has been in practically every large city in the United States. . - - • The-American...

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SAILING SHIPS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Probably many of your readers regret the passing of our old sailing ships, and wish that something could be done to preserve a few typical...

" SCRUTAMINI SCRIPTURAS "

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. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] " Scrutamini Scripturas," published in the Spectator Literary Supplement, page 869, I read : " A devout Roman Catholic lately said to me, I...

CATTLE MARKETS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] am a lover of animals myself, and would do all I could to prevent needless suffering, but I think your corre- spondent who wrote " Cruelty in...

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ANGLO-AMERICAN . RELATIONS [To the Editor of the. SPECTATOR.] .

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Fixt,—Upon returning to America, after a somewhat extended stay in England, I should like to say a brief word. I have in mind the relationship between. England and America. So...

Poetry

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St. Cecilia BY ribbons of silv'ry sound Rippling in raptured air, Is Harmony's circlet bound In St. Cecilia's hair. The myriad songbirds sweet Trilling with ardent fire The...

POINTS FROM LETTERS

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HUNT BALLS AND THE MINERS After- reading long lists of Hunt Ball fixtures, I am wondering if it would be possible for the Masters of the Hunt, and their members, to cancel...

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Mr. Edmond Holmes is well known for his numerous and

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earnest studies of spiritual religion, made from the point of view of the " higher Pantheism." In Experience of Reality : a Study of Mysticism (Cobden-Sanderson, 5s.) he...

Some Books of the Week

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IN his introduction to Punch and Judy (Allen and Unwin, 3s. 6d.) Mr. C. H. Grandgent says : We begin to understand why Mr. Punch is so popular with us all, and why he appeals...

* * * *

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E. M. and K. M. Walker's book On Being A Father (Cape, 5s.) fills a hitherto empty space in parental literature. Accord- ing to the preface " the germ from which this book grew...

For Miss Dorothea Fairbridge's The Pilgrim's Way in South Africa

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(Oxford University Press, 21s.) we have nothing but praise undiluted. The " pilgrimage " was to the stately tomb of Cecil Rhodes among the Matoppos. Briefly stated, the book...

In the first chapter of Lotus and Pyramid (Cape, 5s.)

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Mrs. Constance Sitwell describes her impressions of Eygpt, as seen from a train. " Why ? " she asks, " Why should fresh places have this strange pressure ? The sight of those...

The Booklovers' Diary (2s. 6d.) is a welcome innovation from

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the best-known of contemporary diary publishers (Charles Letts & Co.), in collaboration with the publishers of John O'London's Weekly (George Newnes). It contains a miniature...

The Competition

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Barry Island—I send in homage the topaz of my silence— Your threepennybit. The Editor offers a prize of five guineas for the most plausible explanation of this message, taken...

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A Historian of the Soul

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A Literary History of Religious Thought in France from the Wars of Religion down to our own Times. By Henri Bremond. Vol. I. Devout Humanism. Translated by K. L. Montgomery....

The Secrets of the Universe The Nature of the Physical

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World. By A. S. Eddington. (Cambridge University Press. 12s. 6d.) nR. EririnvOrow reprehends Dr. Johnson for thinking that to kick a large stone refutes the theory that there...

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The America We Do Not Know

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Gentlemen Unafraid. By Barrett Willoughby.... (Putnam. 15s.) IN the Metropolitan Museum of New York there is one section devoted entirely to " American Art," which is full of...

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Stalin and Trotsky

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The Real Situation in Russia. By Loon Trotsky. Translated by Max Eastman. (Allen and Unwin. 78. 6d.) Tun struggle between the two sections of the Bolshevik party represented by...

The Silent Populace of London

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The People's Album of London Statues. Described by Osbert Sitwell ; drawn by Nina Hamnett. (Duckworth. 12s. 6d.) How few of us could suddenly name a score or so of the figUres...

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Poet and Artist

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THE fashion for illustrating books of verse, which is strongly revived this Christmas, is an excellent one so long as artists can be found who are able to resign themselves, as...

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Fiction

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Books of Distinction The Woburn Books, including A Wedding Morn, by Sheila Kaye Smith ; The Portrait of the Misses Harlowe, by Martin Armstrong ; The Sword of Wood, by G. K....

Adventure Books for Boys Ax American firm, Messrs. Appleton, have

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sent us a collection of really good boy's books at $1.75 apiece (about 7s. ed.), a challenge which, we hope, our publishers will accept. The Tamer of Herds, by F. Rolt-Wheeler,...

Arthur Mee's Book

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Ma. MEE has again turned Fairy Godfather, and once more presents the children of England with an encyclopaedic volume containing prose, verse, and excellent reproductions of...

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Crusader writes : It is very gratifying to find concrete

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evidence that sometimes a crusade yields results. I have read the Quarterly Bulletin of the Indian Association for Mental Hygiene with great interest. This is preventive...

We are conscious of the inadequacy of a paragraph to

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review the very important record of travel and exploration which Mr. H. St. J. Philby has given us in Arabia of the Wahhabis (Constable, 81s. 6d.). Here is one who has followed...

More Books of the Week

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(Continued from page 982) Essays on the Gila, by Shri Aurobindo Ghose (Arya Pub- lishing House, Calcutta, 2 vols., Its.5 each) contains, perhaps, the best interpretation in any...

Dr. Richard McKeon, the author of The Philosophy of Spinoza

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(Longmans, 25s.) has undertaken his task in the belief that the minute study of one philosopher, in his historical and intellectual relations, is one of the best of all...

A Chaff° and Windus Miscellany 1928 (Chatto.and Windus, 2s. 6d.)

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is at once irritating and delightful. It ja.,irritating because it is full of snippets from novels by Miss Rosamund Leluriann, Mr. Norman Douglas, Mr. Aldous Huxley and others,...

Answers to Questions on Noses

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1. Tycho Brahe, the Danish Astronomer, having lost his nose in a duel, attached a golden one to his face with cement.-2. The Prioress in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales...

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BRITISH FUNDS FIRM.

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Not the least striking feature of markets, having regard to all the circumstances, has been the material improvement in British Funds and kindred securities. This is the more...

Financial Notes

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[We regret-that owing to pressure of space in connexion with our Aberdare Fund Mr. Kiddy's usual financial article does not appear in the SPECTATOR this week.] 13ETTER...

FORD MOTOR SHARKS.

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So far as the industrial and speculative markets are concerned, there is little doubt that the result of the Ford Motor flotation has been to give a stimulus to the speculative...

All who are going ski-ing this -year will want to

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read Mr. Dahinden's The Art of Ski-ing (Faber and Gwyer, 12s. 6d.). The book is beautifully printed and produced, with hundreds of illustrations, great and small. Mr. Dahinden...

" The' nightingale of the garden' of Shiraz" burst into

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full- throated song in 1258. Six hundred and thirty years later, Sir Richard' Burton brought back to us some sound and scent of that " time of the dominion of roses " by...

Though Germans invented printing, it is generally held that fifteenth

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century German books are less beautiful, on the whole, than the early products of Italian and French presses. Mr., Stanley Morison would not accept this contention, and he has...

THE GREEK LOAN.

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In contrast to the extraordinary success of the Ford issue must be set the poor response given to the Greek Loan. At the same time, there is nothing inconsistent in the two...

The Ainerican author of Fothunting Recollections, by J. Stanley Reeve

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(Lippincott, 21s.), writes of fOxhunting, in Pennsylvania, and principally of the sport shown by the Radnor- pack. These journals serve to reveal that .England is not the only...

General Knowledge Questions

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OUR weekly prize of one guinea for the best thirteen Questions submitted is awarded this week to Miss G. Pitt,_ 8 Wyndham Crescent, N. 19, for the following :- Questions on...

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LORD INCHCAPE ON TRADE.

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At the annual meeting of the P. & 0. Co. Lord Inchcape was in his usual good form, and after presenting the very satisfactory Report, with its increased dividend, to the...

HARRISON GROUP OF NEWSPAPERS.

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At least four of the companies in the Inveresk Paper group are able to show good results for the past year, namely, Illustrated Newspapers Limited, Illustrated London News and...

THE ASBESTOS MERGER.

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It was a thoroughly cheerful, and at the same time sound, statement that Mr. W. W. Shepherd, the . Chairman of Turner and Newall—the manufacturers of asbestos, magnesia and...

INTERESTING BANKING DEVELOPMENT.

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There has been a distinctly interesting banking development during the past month in the shape of an intimation that a petition is being presented in the Canadian Parliament to...

S. AMERICAN PROSPERITY.

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The speech made at last week's meeting of the Bank of London and South America Limited, by Mr. J. W. Beaumont Pease has served to draw attention—if such were necessary— to the...

FAVOURABLE SIGNS.

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The very magnitude of the capital of these concerns conveys some idea of the importance of the undertakings and the vast interests affected. Both as regards iron and steel and...

IiARRODS (BUENOS AIRES).

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Additional interest was lent to the recent - meeting of Harrods (Buenos Aires) by the fact that the chairman, Sir Woodman Burbidge, was once again able to report, at first...

has to be reported, an announcement having been made during

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the week to the effect that Vickers, Vickers-Armstrongs and Gunmen Laird and Co. had concluded agreements under which important working arrangements are contemplated. One of...

BANKING IN THE EMPIRE.

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In very many respects the development is an interesting and an important one. For many years the Chairman of Barclays Bank Limited, Mr. F. C. Goodenough, has made no secret of...

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The figures of Meurisse Ltd. for the first two months

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of the current year commencing 1928 are now available and show an increase of £6,229 for October and £7,254 for November, a total of £13,493, or 40 per cent. increase. These...

TIN PROSPECTS.

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The recent meeting. of the London Tin Syndicate was note- worthy by reason of the general review of the tin industry, which was given by Lord Askwith. Although the output of tin...

The annual report of the Commercial Bank of Scotland is

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a good one, which shows steady progress, notwithstanding the depression in a great many of the heavy industries. The Bank's deposits reveal a small increase for the year,- with...