24 APRIL 1920

Page 1

In regard to Income Tax, Mr. Chamberlain said that he

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would adopt the main proposals of the Royal Commission, and would give effect to them by a separate Bill. He would not gain additional revenue, but would lose £2,700,000 this...

The Chancellor of the Exchequer went on to say that

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the expenditure for 1920-21 was estimated at £1,184,102,000, while the revenue on the existing basis of taxation was expected to yield £1,341,650,000. While the revenue included...

The Post Office, Mr. Chamberlain continued, had been worked at

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a loss of £3,000,000 last year, and higher wages for postal servants would cost £8,000,000 more this year. To meet this heavy deficit, he must increase the letter postage to...

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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R. CHAMBERLAIN made his Budget speech on .01 Monday. The Budget is marked by great honesty and courage, in spite of some doubtful points ; but as we have commented on the...

Unfortunately Mr. Lloyd George was not present to hear his

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Chancellor of the Exchequer pronounce the doom of the Land Values Duty which was the feature of the Budget of 1909. Mr. Chamberlain said that as his leader's Land Taxes were...

Mr. Chamberlain then startled the House by announcing that he

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would not abolish the Excess Profits Duty, as had been confidently expected, but would actually increase it from forty to sixty per cent. He proceeded to justify it on the...

Coming at length to his new taxes, Mr. Chamberlain began

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with drink. Spirits would pay 22s. 6d. more a gallon, or 72s. 6d. in all—raising the price by 2s. a bottle—and would yield £23,500,000 more this year. Beer would pay 30s. more a...

Mr. Chamberlain went on to deal with direct taxes. Stamps

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had yielded £22,500,000 in the past year, or more than twice as much as before the war. The twopenny stamp on cheques required from September, 1918, had been successful in...

* 4 ,' The Editor cannot accept responsibility for any articles or

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letters submitted to him, but when stamped and addressed envelopes are sent he will do his best to return contributions in case of rejection.

Page 2

When the House debated the Budget on Tuesday, Mr. Asquith

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took exception to the treatment of realized assets as revenue, but for which, as he said, the Budget would show a deficit. He expressed regret at the abolition of the Land Value...

Mr. Chamberlain concluded his speech by saying that his new

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taxes would yield an additional £76,650,000 this year, and £189,000;000, apart , from the Post Office, in a full year. His total revenue this year would be £1,418,300,000. His...

The Bolshevik delegates who were supposed' to represent the Russian

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Co-operative Societies are still at Copenhagen. As the Co-operative Societies have been abolished by Lenin, it is clear that the delegates only represent the Terrorists of...

The Morning Post of Wednesday publishes an undesignedly amusing letter

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written from Moscow by " a prominent Russian " to an English friend—the Morning Post guarantees the genuine- ness of the letter and happens to know the writer—in which among...

Mr. Chamberlain replied to his critics on Wednesday. The Budget,

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he said, had been more favourably received than he expected, and no practicable alternative to it had been sug- gested. He did' not think that the. higher Wine Duties would...

The Scottish members of the House of Commons on Friday

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week had a pleasant debate on Scottish Home Rule—a subject in which no Scotsman of our acquaintance takes any real interest. The debate came to an inconclusive end because there...

We team from an excellent summary of the German Press

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in the current Political Review that moderate Germans.condemn the Government for employing the Monarchist mercenaries to restore order in the Ruhr Valley. It is indeed• hard to...

The Supreme Council of the Allies met at San Remo

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last Sunday. Mr. Lloyd George, M. Millerand, and Signor Nitti, according to semi-official statements, devoted themselves to the completion of the Turkish Peace Treaty, which is...

The Council of the League of Nations has convened an

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Inter- national Financial Conference, to be held in Brussels next month. America has been asked to send representatives. Germany and Austria. may be invited to supply...

Page 3

The Coalition candidates won both the Edinburgh by-elections. Mr. Clyde's

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old seat in North Edinburgh was retained - by the Coalition Unionist, Mr. P. J. Ford, who defeated Mr. Runciman by 1,475 votes, while a Labour candidate was a bad third. Mr. C....

In the circumstances in which Mr. Mailaby-Deeley came forward he

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is hailed as a kind of public saviour, but if he had obscurely entered upon his beneficent work before the war, and it had suddenly been discovered that he had made a fortune in...

Take as an example the sudden.and unexpected demand of the

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National Union of Railwaymen that'their wages shall be increased by a week. There •is no disguise about the reason for this demand, which was frankly put forward "in view of...

On Monday an agreement was reached between the The Spectator

the employers of dock labour for giving effect to the Majority `Report of Lord Shaw's Court of Inquiry. As we pointed out lest week, it was essential that the employees should...

The Lord Mayor of Dublin stated that when he was

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summoned to the Viceregal Lodge Lord French agreed that the prisoners should be released on parole. Afterwards a hitch occurred at the prison, where the Governorunderstood that...

This means that the'dockers are in honour bound tolulfil their

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part of the contract in return for the payment of the minimum wage ; in short, to recognize that -there must -be a proper ratio between work •and pay. We hope that the...

The release of the Sinn Fein hunger-strikers from Mountjoy Prison

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last week apparently meant, as we hoped, that Sir Nevil Macready and Sir Hamar Greenwood wanted to start the new regime in Ireland with as clean a slate as possible. It did -not...

Sir Nevil Macready has had plenty of experience in organ-

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ization, and we trust also that he will use this experience in forming an adequate intelligence service, which seems to have been sadly wanting in Ireland. Mr. Birrell of course...

An instructive portent in some'of the shop-windows of London now

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is the efflorescence of S.O.S. signals to the public that tailoring has become cheaper. We know not how many windows of tailors' shops have burst into challenges to Mr. Mallaby-...

Bank rate,7 per cent.,changed from 6 per cent.Apr. 15, 19E0.

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5 per cent. War Loan was on Thursday, 861; Thursday week, 871 ; a year ago, 96.

A new form of terrorism is spreading in Ireland which

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the Dublin correspondent of the Times describes as " agrarian Bolshevism." The conditions which had prevailed in Galway for some weeks have spread to the Midlands. Farmers, says...

Page 4

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE BUDGET. I T is a comfort to feel in times like these that we have at the financial helm so conscientious and so courage- ous a man as Mr. Austen Chamberlain. Whatever we...

Page 5

HOW NOT WHETHER.

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T F only a fraction of the rumours which proceed directly 1 and indirectly from San Remo are true, it is evident that things are not going easily in the Supreme Council. If the...

Page 6

1HE OUTLOOK FOR' BRITISH SHIPPING.

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O NLY three years ago the German pe,ople,were watching with glee the progress of, the " unrestricted," U '-boat campaign: which, was to destroy our. mercantile marine and thus....

Page 7

THE LEISURE OF THE PEOPLE.

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" The bulk of mankind will know days when labour will become less incessant and exhausting, less material, tyrannical, pitiless. What use will humanity make of this leisure ?...

Page 8

THE CHURCH AND SOCIAL SERVICE.

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A COMMITTEE of ten persons was lately appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury " to consider and report upon the ways in which the Clergy, Churchworkers, and Church- people...

Page 9

THE LAST OF THE SOUTHDOWN SHEPHERDS.

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S TEPHEN BLACKMORE is dead, and with him has passed away the last of the old race of Southdown shepherds. This is a matter that will be greatly regretted by all who are intimate...

Page 10

FINANCE—PUBLIC AND PRIVATE. iTo TEE EDITOR. or TEE " SPECTATOR.")

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Sat, — To comprehend the attitude of the City towards the Budget it is necessary to appreciate one important fact—namely, the profound distrust of the Government which exists...

Page 11

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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[Letters of the length of one of our leading paragraphs are often more read, and therefore more effective, than those which fill treble the space.] MR. LLOYD GEORGE AND LABOUR....

Page 12

SIR ANDREW MACPHAIL'S " FACTS."

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."] Stg,—Sir Andrew Macphail's memory is considerably at fault when he describes the people of Quebec as "most tolerant " in matters of religion...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR, —I can

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assure you the hideous list of crimes contained in the Government White Paper published a few days ago does not fully represent the real condition of things in Ireland. It is...

BOLSHEVIKS AND STRIKES.

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[To THE EDITPR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] Sin,—Some light may be thrown on the unrest and extreme demands of sections of the Labour movement by a circular which has been sent to the...

THE PLUMAGE BILL.

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—As the second reading of Colonel Yate's Plumage Bill (identical with Lord Aberdeen's) is to be read in the Commons next Friday, perhaps...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—lleaders of Mr.

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Daniel's letter may be led to wonder if be, and those who may share his views, have ever read any history; or if he has ever heard of Michael Thomas Sadler or Richard Oastler,...

ITo THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Surely Mr. Daniel's

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reasoning is rather peculiar. It amounts to this: that because Trade Unions did such good work (according to Mr. Daniel) for the labouring classes in the past they are now...

THE STATE OF IRELAND.

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—We are in the most deplorable state over here. God only knows what the next movement will be. We are absolutely unprotected, the...

Page 13

f' BRITAIN'S OPIUM MONOPOLY " ?

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(To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."' Sia,—With reference to Mr. John H. Harris's letter on this subject, it is a curious fate that, after working for the sup- pression of the...

" NORTHERN EPIRUS" OR " SOUTHERN ALBANIA " ? (To

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THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sia,—In your issue of March 6th we read a letter appealing to British public opinion in behalf of Albania. As Epirotes we have no objection...

THE LETTER AND THE SPIRIT.

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To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPF.CTATOR.".1 Sia,—Your reviewer speaks in terms of such contemptuous patronage of the Bishop of Ely's " well-meant but ill-judged entrance into a...

COWPER - TEMPLEISM.

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(To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—In a recent issue you remark that "Cowper-Temple:-in has earned much scoffing from those people who are never satisfied with a good...

Page 14

THE LAUNDRY PROBLEM.

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—The writer on " The Laundry Problem" in the Spectator of the 17th inst. assumes that " nobody likes washing," and in fact that "we all...

NAMES OF CHARACTERS IN FICTION. [To THE EDITOR OF THE

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" SPECTATOR."] Sra, — De gustibus non est disputandum; but perhaps you will allow a Scot—and a parish minister—to question the judgment of Sir Francis Darwin, which you appear...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]

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Sra,— "One little sin against good taste our author sometimes commits—an error from which Sir Walter Scott is not exempt. We mean the humour of giving characteristic names to...

PISE, STRAW, AND BRICK.

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[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—In the Spectator of February 28th is a letter under the above heading : the writer refers especially to " the task of the Israelites...

Page 15

A DOUBLE RESEMBLANCE.

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[To TUB EDITOR or THF " SPFONSOft."3 Sts,—I give the following as related by my mother (the third Lady Lilford). She and my father, in company with the latter's cousin, Miss...

POETRY.

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APPONE LUCRO (Ipsi sibi senex anno aetatis . . .) WHO would have youth renewed P Not I. It is too shrewd. Too dazzling are the stars it sights; Give me half-lights ! Who...

THE THEATRE.

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GOGOL'S " THE GOVERNMENT INSPECTOR " AT THH DUKE OF YORK'S. The Government Inspector is a classic is the sense that Pia:with and Le Bourgeois Gentilhomme are classics. That is...

dir t *ptrtater TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION.

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Including postage to any past of the Yearly. United Kingdom .. £2 1 2 OVERSEAS POSTAGE. Including postage to any of the British Dominions and Colonies and India; America,...

NOTICE.—When " Correspondence " or Articles are signed with the

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writer's name or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are marked " Communicated," the Editor MU& not necessarily be held to be in agreement with the views therein expressed or with...

Page 16

BOOKS.

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THE LIFE OF LORD KITCHENER.* [FIRST NOTICE.] WHEN Lord Kitchener was drowned in the wreck of the ' Hamp- shire ' on June 5th, 1916, every true Englishman felt that he had...

Page 17

THE MODERATES IN EDUCATION.* THERE is at the present moment

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a considerable body of educa- tionists whom their friends would describe as followers after the golden mean, and whom the educational Reds " would probably describe as a sort of...

Page 18

11:114.; CASE FOR CAPITALISM.* Mx. HARTLEY Wrraxns, who has written

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several attractive and useful books on modern finance, has just published a well- reasoned and dispassionate defence of the existing economic system. We have long felt that mere...

Page 19

FLOWERS ON A GOLDEN BOUGH.*

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IT is always interesting to see how a learned man will comport himself when he enters the china-shop of belles lettres. Sir James Frazer, of The Golden Bough, has avoided the...

VICTORIAN RECOLLECTIONS.*

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MR. BRIDGES'S first aim in writing his " Recollections," he tells us, was to put up a defence of the Victorian era, which, he complains, " it has become the fashion for writers...

Page 20

FICTION.

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altogether adequate clue to its contents, though each of them is in a measure justified. Mr. Frankau writes with minute and impressive particularity of the finance and...

JOHN PORTER OF KINGSCLERE.*

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IF Mr. Porter were to choose his own epitaph, we are sure he would ask no higher praise than : He trained Ormonde." With Ormonde his name is inseparably connected in the mind of...

Page 21

READABLE NOVEL-S.—The Cheats. By Marjorie Bowen. (Collins. 7s. 6d. net.)—Though

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"fantasy " is perhaps hardly as much " Marjorie Bowen's " true vein as is the fringe of history, which she handles so vividly, The Cheats is nevertheless a suffi- ciently...

POETS AND POETRY.

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OCTOBER.* THE name October which the Poet Laureate has given to his new book of poems is exceedingly appropriate. Though many of the verses which it contains are most...

The English Historical Reciew for April contains an interesting article

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by Mr. J. E. S. Green on " Wellington and the Congress of Verona, 1822." Mr. Green makes out a strong case for his theory that Wellington at Verona fell under the influence of...

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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[Notice in this column does not necessarily preclude subsequent review.] • Od,oSer. By Hobart Bridges. London: Heinemann. [5.3. net.] Wages," and one by Sir Lynden Macassey on...

POEMS WORTHY OF CONSIDERATION.—Line8 of Life. By Henry W. Nevinson.

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(Allen and Unwin. 3s. 6d. net.)—The Song of Tiadatha. By Captain Owen Rutter. (T. Fisher Unwin. 4s. 6d. net.)—An amusing but respectable work in the manner of Mr. Gilbert...

Page 22

British delegates to the Peace Conference. The series when com-

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plete will include a hundred and sixty works, in twenty-five• volumes, as well as a number of maps. The books resemble• articles from a very good encyclopaedia, and deal with...

The Wisdom of Disraeli. Arranged by T. Comyn-Platt. (National Review.

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2s. 6d. net.)—Lord Salisbury says, in a Preface to this neat little selection from Disraeli's speeches, that " no politicians will be the worse for studying these examples of...

The Sabi Reserve. By Arthur Sheerly Cripps. (Oxford : Blackwell.)—Mr.

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Cripps, well known as a missionary in Mashona- land, states on behalf of his native flock the case against a recent decision of a Commission in regard to the alienation of part...

The State Debt and the National Capital. (Methuen. 2s. 6d.

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net.)—The unnamed author, who, the publishers tell us, is a, high official, cannot be commended for lucidity, but we gather that he proposes to pay off the Debt by a forced loan...

The Change in the Distribution of the National Income, 1880-

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1913. By Professor A. L. Rowley. (Clarendon Press. 2s. net.) —Professor Bowley's dispassionate study of the national income in the generation before the war is a valuable...

French Studies and France. By 0. H. Prior. (Cambridge University

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Press. 2s. 6d. net.)—This is the inaugural lecture of the new Drapers Professor of French at Cambridge. It is a skilful plea for the recognition of French studies as an...

We are glad to learn from Messrs. Constable that Scribner's

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Magazine (2s. net), of which we were deprived by the war, has resumed publication in this country. The March issue, which has just reached us, contains a most interesting letter...

Page 23

Just as there are too many sorts of beer, there

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are far too many garden books. We should be well content to be quit of fifty per cent. of each, keeping.only the better half. Amongst that moiety we would certainly preserve Mr....

Works Committees and Industrial Councils. By J. H. Whitley. (Manchester

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University Press and Longmans. Is. net.)—This pamphlet contains an address given by Mr. Whitley in the Department of Industrial Administration at the Manchester College of...

Odd Corners of Old London and How to Find Them.

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By Reginald Rigby. (J. F. Belmont. Is. net.)—Many Londoners, to say nothing of visitors from the country, will find Mr. Rigby's little book useful and interesting. With his...

Chronology of the War. Vol. IL, 1916-17. (Constable. Is. 6d.

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net.)—The second part of this valuable handbook, " issued under the auspices of the Ministry of Information," is very welcome. It gives for each year a table of contemporaneous...

Half-Past Twelve : Dinner Hour Studies for the Odd Half-hours.

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By G. W. Gough. (Sells. Is.)—Any author who tries to explain the elementary principles of economics clearly and without political bias deserves to be encouraged. Mr. Gough has...