29 AUGUST 1931

Page 1

In our first leading article we have expressed our admiration

The Spectator

of the courage of Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Snowden in telling their fellow Socialists that the country must obey economic laws. Yet the General Council of the Trades Union Congress...

Thus, Mr. MacDonald has, with the King's encourage- ment, gallantly

The Spectator

picked up again the heavy burden which he laid down for one moment only. The temptation to a tired man to run away, or to cling to his old supporters, must have been immense. He...

On Thursday, August 20th, Mr. MacDonald and Mr. Snowden, who

The Spectator

had already had conversations with the Unionist and Liberal leaders, explained to the Executive of the Labour Party and the leaders of the T.U.C. the dire state of our finances...

EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES: 99 Gower Street, London, W .C.

The Spectator

1.—A Subscription to the SPECTATOR casts Thirty Shillings per annurrs, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registered as a Newspaper. The Postage on...

[Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the

The Spectator

SrEcreporc.]

News of the Week

The Spectator

The Political and Financial Crisis T ' journey of His Majesty to London on Saturday night after he had been for a few hours at Balmoral first revealed to the general public the...

Page 2

Hungary The elections in Hungary returned a majority in favour

The Spectator

of the Government. Count Bethlen was urged to take again the office of Prime Minister, but refused on the ground that he needed rest, as well he may. His place is taken by Count...

India It has been officially announced that the change of

The Spectator

Government will not affect the arrangements made for the Round Table Conference. Many of the delegates arrive in England in the next few days. Mr. Gandhi was re- ceived by the...

Quebec The elections in the Province of Quebec were for

The Spectator

many years, under the influence of Sir Wilfrid Laurier, followed by Sir Lomer Gouin, regularly expected Liberal victories. Mr. Taschereau seems to be another great leader of the...

On Tuesday the Cabinet was formed and in the evening

The Spectator

the King's appointments were announced. Besides Mr. MacDonald, Lord Sankey, Mr. Snowden, and Mr. Thomas remain at their old posts in an inner Cabinet of ten. With them Mr....

Mr. Theodore's Case It is most satisfactory to know that

The Spectator

the action brought by the Queensland Government against Mr. Theodore, the Commonwealth Treasurer, to recover 130,000, alleged to be public funds , wrongfully withheld, has...

Spanish Unrest While the Catalan leader, Colonel Maeia, has had

The Spectator

a friendly reception in Madrid and the Catalans are counting on the recognition of their autonomy by the rest of Spain, it is far from clear that the claims of the Basques to...

Page 3

The B.B.C.'s Autumn Programme Both in conception and in execution

The Spectator

the B.B.C.'s autumn programme of talks marks a new departure. It is planned on a more generous scale than heretofore, to cover six months, and its authors have sought to impose...

The Weather After a cheerless summer the weather on land

The Spectator

and sea has been worse than ever. The farmers ; who see foot-and- mouth reappearing here and there, still have a great deal of hay out, and their corn, where it was not cut...

The Duke of Gloucester The country will regret that at

The Spectator

a time of serious national emergency the Royal Family should have an additional anxiety. We are assured, however, that the Duke of Gloucester has gone through his operation...

Crime in New York Three weeks ago we wrote in

The Spectator

these columns, referring to the campaign against crime in New York : "It may be anti-social, but it is only human, to wish the gangsters a clean ' get-away ' rather than a...

The Stock Exchange The Committee of the Stock Exchange, in

The Spectator

view of the situation in the country, has decided to reopen the " House " on Saturdays from September 19th. The five-day week, adopted during the War, has been con- tinued by...

America In the West Indies the Cuban revolt is said

The Spectator

to be subsiding. At any rate, the United States has not felt it necessary to intervene on account of her financial and industrial interests there, nor on account of the...

Sir Ronald Ross When Sir Ronald Ross, in 1897, discovered

The Spectator

that the Anopheles mosquito was the bearer of malaria germs, he conferred an incalculable benefit upon the human race. As the result of that discovery, regions once useless have...

Bank Rate 41 per cent., changed from 31 per cent.

The Spectator

on July 30th, 1931. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 1001 ; on Wednesday week, 100* ; a year ago, 108*. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 92f; on Wednesday...

Page 4

The Crisis

The Spectator

M ORE than a century ago, a poet and philosopher wrote : Down the river did glide, with wind and tide A pig with vast celerity ; And the Devil look'd wise as he saw how the...

Page 5

The Future of Burma

The Spectator

T HOSE of us who belong to the pre-War era are subject to many disabilities. Advancing years are the least of them ; that is the common lot of all people in all ages. But ours...

Page 6

The Colour Bar

The Spectator

[The Spectator does not necessarily agree with all the views of the writers contributing to this series on the Colour Bar: Our object in publishing the series is to attempt some...

Page 7

Education

The Spectator

BY SIR FLINDERS PETRIE. [We are permitted to make certain extracts, of which this is the second, from the autobiography of Sir Flinders Petrie, to be published by Messrs....

Page 8

Incongruities

The Spectator

Captain Edward Gibbon—I By E. M. FORSTER. T HE garden where I am writing slopes down to a field, the field to a road, and along that road exactly 170 years ago passed a young...

Page 9

A Penny of Observation

The Spectator

ARMADO : How hast thou purchased this experience ? Mora: By my penny of observation. (Love's Labour's Lost.) THE POST. It was recently our good fortune to acquire, for the...

Thus far the Guide had provided us with agreeable reading

The Spectator

and a fascinating field for speculation. It was not until the section on "Imperial and Foreign Parcel Post" was reached that there began to creep over us that sickening feeling...

Page 10

The Swallow

The Spectator

Tim= are three Greeks upon a piece of stone Who turn their heads and stare into the sky While a young lad, with right hand lifted high, Points to a bird which suddenly has flown...

THE MAN WHO DIDN'T BELIEVE IN WOMANLY INTUITION.

The Spectator

"He told her he was a detective and showed her a crusader's badge of the Southend Christian Tabernacle to substantiate this." (From The Times, August 25th.) * * * *

THE KITCHEN GARDENS OF DETROIT.

The Spectator

With a wisdom which we applaud, Mr. Henry Ford has commanded all his married employees to grow vegetables. They must grow enough by next winter to make their families partly...

The Theatre

The Spectator

"Tux CASE OF THE FRIGHTENED LADY." BY EDGAR WALLACE. AT WYNDHAM'S THEATRE. "BLACK MAGIC." BY NESTA SAWYER. AT THE ROYALTY. Tins time Mr. Edgar Wallace begins in the very heart...

Page 11

HARVEST HOPES.

The Spectator

This season is one when weeds are a peculiarly insistent subject. Like all green stuff, they have flourished out of all measure. But so have the crops themselves. Even yet there...

AUSTRALIAN FLOWERS.

The Spectator

The cult of flowers has spread very rapidly in Australia, where perhaps it was once a little neglected. A reference made more than a year ago in this place to the difficulty of...

A BIRD CRIMINAL.

The Spectator

It is not pleasant to condemn any bird ; but if half the evidence given me in North Wales is true—and I fear all of it is true—the carrion crow cannot be acquitted of the worst...

THE GREEK MALLOW.

The Spectator

A particular flower that continues to grow in popularity (though many of the best amateur gardeners seem to know little of it) is the Sidalcea or Greek Mallow. Like other...

FLOWERS AS PEACE AGENTS.

The Spectator

A delightful and suggestive variant of Voltaire's, II faut cultiver noire jardin, was given the other day by Lord Bridge- man at one of the two great flower shows to which the...

Country Life

The Spectator

WEEDS AND MR. ORWIN. Once more, on the wireless as in print, Mr. C. S. Orwin, to whom farmers owe much, has been urging his clients to specialize, specialize, specialize—if it...

VICTORIAN POSIES.

The Spectator

A surprising turn in floral fashion is the new popularity of "Victorian posies." Immense quantities of tight, round little posies have been sold, and are now being sold,...

Page 12

INDIA: INDEPENDENCE v. DOMINION STATUS [To the Editor of the

The Spectator

SPECTATOR.] SIR,—You published extracts from a speech in London by Mr. V. J. Patel (Ex-President of the Assembly) in the Special°, of July 11th. It is clear that my friend is...

ACCESS TO MOUNTAINS [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sht,---Your

The Spectator

correspondents, writing on this subject, appear to have missed the most important factor in the economical side of the question. This is not that sporting rights afford em-...

Letters to the Editor

The Spectator

[In view of the length of many of the letters which we receive, we would remind correspondents that we often cannat give space for lon# letters and that short ones are generally...

EMERGENCY MEASURES [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] is time

The Spectator

the individual Briton considered tackling the industrial depression. The whole world has outrun the constable." For the whole of civilization it is a case of reculer pour mieux...

Page 13

SLAVERY IN INDIAN STATES

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In his reply to my letter, Mr. Ramanujam has shifted his ground ; although, if he will allow me to say so, he is still rather unhappy in...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—As a regular subscriber

The Spectator

to your journal, I write to protest against the article appearing in your issue of August 22nd. The heading of this article says : "A substantially true story." From this one...

INDIA

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Discussing the Indian situation the other day, an Englishman, pouring vituperation on the weakness and vacillation of the Government of...

WHY COME TO BRITAIN?

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the ScEcrxroa] SIR,—We have a saying in the North of England that "no one cries stinking fish." That there are exceptions to every rule is borne out by "...

Page 14

CRIME AND THE POLICE

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Although the Spectator has appeared to me for some time past to be tending to the left, it was with surprise that Tread the final...

LICENSING LAW IN CANADA

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Miss G. Delap Stevenson's description of licensing law in Canada shows what an unrestricted happy hunting ground that Dominion is for the...

THE WEEKLIES AND A LIBRARY

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] ' Sin,—There appeared in the issue of August 15th of your contemporary, The Week-end Review, a letter, signed John Stevenson, complaining of...

THE PLIGHT OF THE FARMER

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sir.,—Here is a rather different instance of the discouragement offered to agriculture in this country. I recently bought a small piece of...

THE STERILIZATION BILL

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I think that medical practitioners will be wise, in spite of Mr. Binney's interesting letter, not too readily to assume that they may with...

Page 15

THE COTTON GLUT

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, — As one who regularly reads, and has for many years read, your paper and as one who has always felt that you never publish any statement...

NURSES

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, — The Spectator has been in constant demand among my colleagues this week, for in no other paper have we read such a balanced criticism of...

SURRY ZOOLOGICAL GARDENS.

The Spectator

We made a pilgrimage to Walworth to see the Surry rival of our favourite Zoological lounge in the Regent's Park ; and were agree- ably surprised to find a very picturesque spot...

A Brr or THE TRUTH.

The Spectator

The country sees plainly that the members of the present Govern- ment are not men of business. They are not capable of managing concerns which involve intricacy of details, and...

THE COLOUR BAR

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, — Apropos of Lieut.-Col. Lascelles' article in your issue for August 15th on the "Colour Bar" and of its successful solution in New...

A Hundred Years Ago

The Spectator

"Tax SPECTATOR," AUGUST 27TH, 1831. Sr. PAUL'S TN DANGER. Not unfounded fears have been entertained for the south portion of the Cathedral, in consequence of an enormous drain...

AN EXPENSIVE MEAL

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—The paragraph with the above heading, which you reprinted on August 22nd from the Spectator of a hundred years ago, immediately recalled...

Page 16

"Spectator" Competitions

The Spectator

RULES AND CONDITIONS Entries must be typed or very clearly written on one side of the paper only. The name and address, or pseudonym, of the competitor must be on each entry...

Page 17

The Scottish National Dictionary

The Spectator

The Scottish National Dictionary. Edited by William Grant. (Scottish National Dictionary Association. Vol I, Part I.)* LET not anyone think that the Scottish National...

Fifty Years of China

The Spectator

MR. ARLINGTON, who is a retired Commissioner of the Chinese Postal Service, here presents a record of fifty years spent in China. This would be a long time in any country, but...

Page 18

English Industries

The Spectator

The Cotton Trade and Industrial Lancashire, 1600-1780. EcoNomac history is now making headway in England. The society founded three or four years ago to promote its study is...

Page 19

Hey Presto !

The Spectator

Humour and Fantasy. By F. Anstey. (John Murray. 8s. 6(1.) 'Pius omnibus collection of Mr. F. Anstey's work contains, be- sides the immortal Vice Versa, The Tinted Venus, A...

French Cookery

The Spectator

What to Eat and Drink in France. By Austin de Crozeo (Warne. 5s.) French Dishes for English Tables. By J. Berjane. - (Warne. (i8.) THE best works of art are always produced in...

Page 20

Memories of Travel

The Spectator

Goon Baedeker and reliable Murray used to be our guides on Continental wanderings, and are still, though numerous other useful guidebooks exist and come with us on our travels....

Fiction

The Spectator

The Wheel and the Cog THESE four novels are all inspired by pity for humanity "in the fell clutch of circumstance "—for men and women as cogs in the relentlessly spinning wheel...

Page 21

Current Literature HUMAN society is in a transition stage between

The Spectator

the passive acceptance of war as inherent in the scheme of things and the state of international relations which postulates peace. Public opinion in every country holds firmly...

CORNISH DROLLS. Compiled from Bottrell by Sarah L. Enys. (Brendon,

The Spectator

Plymouth. 5s.)—Legends of Cornish Giants, Sorcerers, Fairies, Ghosts and the Devil, all taken from William Bottrell's contributions to the Cornish Telegraph some sixty . years...

GWENDRA COVE. By C. C. Rogers. (Jordan's Bookshop. Truro. 5s.)—Visitors

The Spectator

to Cornwall will find a good deal of information in Lady Vivian's sketches of West Country placvs and people. She is pleasantly ironical in some places, but too apt to stress...

At the height of the holiday season it may be

The Spectator

worth while to draw attention to the excellent leaflets issued by the Scapa Society, whose address is 71 Eccleston Square, Bel- grave Road, London, S.W. 1. No, 3, on "Litter,"...

THE WINNING TRICK. By Neville Brand. (John Lane. 7s. 6d.)—"

The Spectator

Big spies have little spies . . . . and so ad infinitum." A thrilling catch-as-catch-can yam of the secret service, which suggests a particularly lurid film scenario.

New Novels

The Spectator

THE YOSHIWARA. By Tadishge Matstunoto. (Henry Walker. 6s.)—The irritatingly artless style adds to the monotony of the long family history recounted in the first of these love...

People and Things, by Harold Nicolson (Constable, Ss.), a collection

The Spectator

of Mr. Nicolson's wireless talks, and since, as he says in his preface, no alteration whatever has been made, he is to be congratulated. For these occasicuil spoken essays and...

THE CRIME WITHOUT A FLAW. By Leslie Despard. (Nash and

The Spectator

Grayson. 7s. 6d.)—A patient and ingenious reconstruction of an imaginary 'crime in a very realistic setting of an English country town.

THE UPFOLD FARM MYSTERY. By A. Fielding. (Crime Club. 7s.

The Spectator

6d.)—After amateur detectives have failed to solve the Upfold Farm mystery, Scotland Yard takes up the case and produces a surprising solution. A good, briskly written story.

THE HOUSE IN THE SQUARE. By Margaret H. Watt. (Grant

The Spectator

and Murray, 126 Princes Street, Edinburgh. 7s. 6d.)—A charmingly sentimental Scottish romance of 1858, which reads like a" find " from old family papers. An Italian political...

A MYSTERY IN GLASS. By Eclwyn Kilvington. (Houghton Publishing Co.,.

The Spectator

35 Great Pulteney Street, W. 1. 7s. 6d.)— Original in plo t and in characterization, but the story is a little thin. The criminologist's method of soothing his nerves by...

THE EMERALD NECKLACE (by A. R. and R. K. Weekes,

The Spectator

Ward Lock, 7s. fid.) was confiscated by the Bolsheviks, who sold it to the reigning Prince of Neuberg, who gave it to his mistress, who lost it in the arms of an agent of —. If...

Page 22

* * * * savage,' but who sit at home

The Spectator

in their studies and write about him as if he were a fossilized Etruscan or an Aztec." On the other hand, after reading Jungle Ways (Harrap, 10s. 6d.) the armchair ethnologist...

Dr. Emma Gurney Salter has had the happy idea of

The Spectator

extracting from the Calendar of State Papers (Venetian) some Of the abundant material that exists for an account of Tudor England through Venetian Eyes (Williams and Norgate,...

Travel

The Spectator

[We publish on this page articles and notes which may help our readers in making their plans for travel at home and abroad. They are written by correspondents who have visited...

* * * *

The Spectator

We are interested to learn of the advent of a new publishing firm, Messrs. Ivor Nicholson and Watson, Limited, of Essex Street, Strand. They propose to commission authors to...

Mr. L. L. Price's Short History of Political Economy in

The Spectator

England (Methuen, 6s.) has been a familiar book for many years. To the fourteenth edition now issued the author has added a substantial new section on the distinguished econo-...

The new volume issued by the Hakluyt Society and edited

The Spectator

by its learned President, Sir William Foster, is of unusual interest as a picture of the Near East in Elizabeth's day. The Travels of John Sanderson in the Levant (Quariteh,...

Page 24

REDUCED FARES TO AUSTRALIA.

The Spectator

Readers who spend their Winter abroad are well advised on the score of economy to inspect the recent announcement made by the shipping companies on the Australian route...

FACTS AND FIGURES.

The Spectator

To judge from the wild statements which are now being made by that section of Labour which has refused to support the Prime Minister and Mr. Snowden in the matter of drastic...

Finance—Public & Private

The Spectator

At Last—Economy ! WITH a persistence which I am afraid has been wearisome I have insisted from week to week in these columns that there could be no real improvement in the...