W HAT happened at the conference between Herr Hitler and Signor Mussolini in the Brenner Pass on Monday remains a mystery, but it is significant that no less marked than the...

The presence in London of Dr. Colijn, the former Prime Minister of Holland, and his conversations with Mr . Chamberlain, Lord Halifax and other British Ministers, are signs of...

T HE Prime Minister was able to make a strong case for the Government in the debate on Finland in the House of Commons on Tuesday. At the beginning of the Russian attacks...

Though Sweden and Norway were not prepared for the supreme sacrifice on behalf of the country which is a buffer State between them and Russia, it would be extreme in- gratitude...

There is no time at which German propaganda in the Balkans is not violently active, and of course it exploited to the utmost the amnesty granted by the Rumanian Govern- ment to...

Another practical development of the intimacy between Britain and France is to be found in the measures which are being taken by Mr. MacDonald and M. Georges Mandel, the French...

The conclusion of a trade agreement between this country and Spain is welcome both for its direct commercial conse- quences and as evidence of the complete restoration of normal...

has never had many admirers in the Opposition parties, and his popularity on the Government side vanished with his resignation. But even his fiercest critics must admit that he...

The Unemployment Insurance Fund in recent years has accumulated a substantial reserve, which was increased last year by L16,600,000, though provision had been made for...

son of a great Tory Prime Minister reveals clearly his distrust of his father's successor, it is, to say the least of it, highly disconcerting. But worse was to follow. Mr....

no doubt as to where his own sympathies lay, he skirted round the awkward topic of Finland. Clearly he was not prepared to choose this ground for a whole- hearted attack. After...

Our Parliamentary correspondent writes: Mr. Chamber- lain made an adroit speech on Tuesday. Seldom, if ever, in recent years has he had a more uphill task. The greater part of...

In an address to the Norfolk branch of the National Union of Teachers Lord De La Warr, President of the Board of Education, discussed the possible future relations between the...

T HE great festivals of the Christian Church become seasons of deep poignancy in war-time. To those with resolution to confront the facts full-face the irony is tragic almost...

A T the moment when there is a general expectation that we are at the turning of the ways, and that there must soon be an intensification of the war in the military, or the...

in years ; he is twenty-nine years off the century yet. Not in total convictions, for he is up to I r o in them already. But last week Mr. Pond, who had been charged...

received an infinite variety of interpretations in the course of history. I offer one more—as matter for Easter reflections. The verse runs, it will be remembered— Here is...

time before my eyes is of thousands of people, male and female, young and old, sitting impotently any evening between seven o'clock and midnight, with a telephone receiver glued...

are going like wildfire. In one I have just heard of, a key-man in his area was waiting for the expected telephone-call. It came. He dashed to the instrument, got his...

AM not sure how much truth there is behind the report I that Sir John Reith is anxious to bring the British Council under the authority of the Ministry of Information. In one...

has sustained through Herbert Sidebotham's death. Much better known as " Scrutator " of the Sunday Times, and " Candidus " of the Daily Sketch, and to readers of quarter of a...

Finnish Minister in Paris that if Finland did not accept the Allies' offer of help they could not guarantee the restoration of the country's territorial integrity after the war....

By STRATEGICUS T HERE is in some quarters a disposition to overrate the results of the Finnish capitulation. We are still ignorant of many of the factors that led up to it ;...

By WILSON HARRIS F EDERAL Union, as I understand it, is advocated on the ground that some effective international organisa- tion, at least in Europe, after the war is the only...

By HERMANN RAUSCHNING B EFORE the War a view was prevalent regarding the situation in Germany according to which the only way of overthrowing the National Socialist regifne in...

By CANON F. R. BARRY W HEN civilisation decays," says Dr. Gilbert Murray in his latest book,' " philosophy must needs decay with it ; a disintegrating society may produce an...

By CHARLES J. ROLO G REAT BRITAIN and Germany are fighting a war over neutral territory, a war about which very little has been said or heard in Europe. I refer to the...

By OUR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT T HE medical examinations now going on of many thou- sands of young men, indeed of almost the whole young manhood of the nation, have the advantage...

By FRED URQUHART ivp s MAYFIELD would never have considered the job if she hadn't been trying to escape from the clutches of the Dole. That was the villain with the black...

complete freedom of political opinion " should be permitted in the French Press. In so far as concerns French news- papers this promise has been more or less observed. Within...

if we are absolutely frank with each other and air • those grievances which, if suppressed, might become septic. The French have many grievances against us which they are too...

are never incompetent about important things. They contend (and in this they are certainly right) that there is no incom- petence about their armed forces. They assert that,...

of our leading daily newspapers wrote a report in which the following sentence occurred: "Not since the beginning of the war has criticism of the Government and of Allied policy...

By HAROLD NICOLSON T . WONDER sometimes whether extreme efficiency be not I the sign of a second-class mind. For, whereas I myself seldom miss trains, confuse appointments or...

when I compare the twilight dignity of Paris with the midnight frivolity of London. I quite understand that they, in their deep seriousness, should be shocked by our conception...

the treatment accorded to the reports sent home by British correspondents in Paris regarding the effect upon French opinion of the Finnish capitulation. The French public (which...

" La Traviata." At Sadler's Wells. Wrrti the revival of La Traviata last week Sadler's Wells has completed its presentation of the three masterpieces of Verdi's first maturity....

THE CINEMA " Pinocchio." At the New Gallery. OF recent years Walt Disney has tended to produce two different types of film—on the one hand slap-stick phantasies involving...

about feeding and protecting birds has been heard of late, and some " distinctions that are plain and few" may be usefully recalled. To agricul- ture in general just two species...

Art For and By the People THE British Institute of Adult Education is going to do a good deal for art this year. It has already organised an exhibition of contemporary art at...

Among several rather surprising requests that have reached me this week is one from Canada, asking for a graft or even a few seeds of " the bloody Turk," which is a cider apple...

Candide's Recruits Never within my memory have quite so many women and children been seen at work on allotments, though the number of new allotments has not been increased as...

Among the garden plants that have not been killed by the frosts are two which many people regard as at best tender. One is a passion flower that adorns a south-east wall ; the...

[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...

suggestion. He says that London " is advancing to a greater synthesis," but gives no indication of the synthetic process. What possible synthesis is going to relieve the motor...

issue with Mr. Oldmeadow on the general question of saving and spending, in regard to which my views are probably not very different to his own, and he therefore must not accuse...

in your issue of March 15th points to the probability of more attractive conditions for agricultural workers. The tribunals set up for Conscientious Objectors very frequently...

I can only imagine that in writing it he was rely- ing on the chance that most of your readers would not trouble to refer back to the previous week's issue of The Spectator....

the whole point of Mr. William Gerhardi's historical biography, The Romanovs, in his statement that Mr. Gerhardi's history is " irrelevant." Mr. Vinogradoff's historical...

your issue of March 8th is a typical reflection of the present official attitude to this subject. I must apologise if my estimate of the tonnage of valuable material which is...

the article on " German Propaganda in Sweden " by a Special Correspondent, which appeared in your issue of March 1st. It contains, however, one or two remarks which seem to be...

SIR, —May I ask you to favour me with a small space in your publication for the voicing of a suggestion which I think will be met with pleasure and approval, if adopted, by the...

SIR,—In reading, in The Spectator of March 8th, the article " The Finland I Knew," the writer of which was I believe my comrade-in-arms in Russia towards the end of the Great...

SIR,—Parents are urged not to bring their children home from the reception areas. A child in my care was recently taken to the doctor on account of a rash suspected to be...

SIR, —It is reported from America that Senator Pittman, Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee of the Senate, has said in a broadcast that " both Germany and Britain must...

Sta,—The letter of Mr. N. G. S. Corbett taking exception to a statement in the previous issue of The Spectator to the effect that Herr Hitler neither expected nor desired war...

Slit,—In his article " Herr Schmidt on Culture " your music critic refers to a German broadcast in which it was suggested that England had banned performances of Wagner's music....

of Germany is naturally of great interest and value. It will therefore probably be a little disconcerting to a whole-hogger patriot to note from page 352 of last week's...

Sia,—In the article entitled " Invaded Britain," in your issue of January 9th, the author writes: " Legend declares that the enemy were frightened by a distant view of...

Slu,—Twenty-two years ago, as a young soldier just back from France, I voted Labour not because I took any interest in home politics, but solely because I was revolted by the...

SIR, —Mr. Harold Nicolson, in his interesting "People and Things " of last week, tells us that his fantasy of becoming Prime Minister is a "day-dream." . . . Surely this is a...

Economics and Peace The Economic Basis of a Durable Peace. By J. E. Meade. (Allen and Unwin. 6s.) THE belief that wars are due to exclusively economic causes is a sure sign of...

Thoughts in War-Time. By William Temple, Archbishop of York. (Macmillan. 4s. 6d.) THIS little volume is not a new work by the Archbishop of York, but a colleCtion of various...

Christopher Marlowe : A Biographical and Critical Study. By F. S. Boas. (Clarendon Press. t5s.) OF all the astonishing and tragic careers of English writers that make the story...

Richelieu. By Carl J. Burckhardt. (Allen and Unwin. 16s.) DR. BURCXHARDT, who has combined the career of a dis- tinguished historian with momentous experiences of practical...

Too Much College. By Stephen Leacock. (John Lane. 7s. 6d.) Tins book, though it has a serious undertone, is not meant to be taken too seriously. The wrapper informs us solemnly...

" problem trilogy," following the volumes on The Problem Child and The Problem Parent. Readers who are interested in education, as well as those who want to find out more about...

More West Highland Tales. Translated from the Gaelic by John G. McKay. (Oliver and Boyd. 25s.) J. F. CAMPBELL OF ISLAY, who died in 1885, was an ideal collector of Highland...

FOR a book of 542 pages, 26 of which have fortunately been left blank, I Shall Not Want is a slim volume ; but as a novel it is too long. The slimness and the pre-war price of...

READERS are invited to state which one of the following six well-known characters they would, if they had been born into the appropriate period, most like to have been, ,nd to...

" the most complete man who ever lived." Readers were invited to suggest the name of the most complete woman,. and to give their reasons. This was a most interesting competition...

UNITED KINGDOM LIFE OFFICE THE LAST WAR AND THIS—STRONGER POSITION TODAY SIR ERNEST BENN ON SPENDING AND SAVING THE CENTENARY OF THE INSTITUTION THE ninety-ninth annual...

Those of us who hoped that Lord Stamp would lighten our darkness on the subject of railway earnings have been disappointed. At the London, Midland and Scottish meet- ing he left...

LONDON BRICK COMPANY EFFECT OF WAR ON BUILDING SIR P. MALCOLM STEWART'S STATEMENT THE annual general meeting of the London Brick Company, Ltd., was held on Tuesday, March...

By CUSTOS IT is now quite apparent that this is to be a 3 per cent. war, at least if the powers-that-be in Whitehall and Thread- needle Street can get their way. Following up...

LONDON MIDLAND AND SCOTTISH RAILWAY CO. LORD STAMP'S ADDRESS THE seventeenth annual general meeting of the London Midland and Scottish Railway Company, held at Friends House,...

The year 1939 was shaping reasonably well for the build- ing societies until the outbreak of war cut off new business abruptly and stimulated a sudden demand for repayment of...

As one would have expected, Sir Ernest Berm, who must be counted among the sturdiest advocates of individual enterprise, took the opportunity at the annual meeting of the United...

It is apparent from Mr. John E. James's review at the meet- ing of the Lancashire Steel Corporation that this important group has advanced another stage in its process of...

From recently-announced profits and dividends share- holders in building companies have learnt how severely war has cut across the normal activities of their undertakings. Thus,...

LANCASHIRE STEEL CORPORATION Tim ioth ordinary general meeting of the Lancashire Steel Cor- poration, Limited, was held on March 19th at Warrington. Mr. John E. James...