30 JUNE 1917

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The degrees of blame apportioned by the Commission are various.

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Several of the most important members of the present Government are involved (Mr. Lloyd George, for instance), and to demand a con- dignpunishment for all is simply to bring...

The news from Greece is important, and on the whole

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highly encouraging. M. Venizelos has returned to Athens and has been entrusted by King Alexander with the formation of a Ministry, M. Zaimis having resigned. M. Vcnizelos was...

An officer who loses all employment as well as his

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reputation is most heavily punished. And in general we would say that Voltaire's grim irony about " encouraging the others " contains the most profound wisdom. Is General Nixon...

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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T HE Mesopotamian Report, which was issued on Tuesday night, is the one topic of the moment. It is the most searching and outspoken Report published during this or any other...

General Haig has during the week pushed our lines still

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nearer to Lens. Between last Sunday night and Tuesday our troops ad- vanced on both sides of the Souchez rivulet and occupied the village of La Coulotto in the southern...

The French, after sustaining and repelling some violent German attacks

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on the heights north of the Aisne, delivered on Monday a well-planned counter-attack which restored to them the full command of the ridge overlooking the Ailette Valley...

The enemy submarines were less successful last week. Twenty British

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vessels over 1,600 tons were sunk by mine or torpedo, as compared with twenty-five and twenty-four in the two preceding weeks. Six smaller vessels were sunk, as against five and...

THE PAPER SHORTAGE.—We trust that readers of the "Spectator" will

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give definite orders to their newsagents for a copy of the " Spectator " to be reserved for them each week till countermanded.

One newspaper finds a pretext for retrampling on Mr. Asquith

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; another for pursuing Lord Grey of Fallodon into his temporary retirement ; another for hounding Lord Hardinge permanently out of diplomacy because he failed in another branch...

the turning-point of the war. These American Regulars are the

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advance guard of a mighty Army, with the unlimited resources of America behind it. Within three months of the declaration of war against Germany on April 6th, they have arrived...

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Scandinavia and Holland, whose merchants have profited greatly by feeding

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Germany while their working people have suffered from the high price and scarcity of food, are directly threatened by the American Embargo Act, which the President is preparing...

Great excitement and indignation have been aroused in Norway by

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the discovery of a bomb plot evidently aimed at Norwegian shipping. The police at Christiania discovered amongst the luggage of Baron Belden:dela, described as a German Imperial...

The overwhelming success of the first issue of the American

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War Lean is summed up in the figures given in Monday's papers. A communication from the United States Embassy points out that the subscriptions amounted to £607,015,370, or more...

The Times has published letters from Lord Inchcape and Mr.

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F. H. Houlder showing that the price of meat when it is landed in this country is still low, and the facts, which we do not dream of disputing, have been used to bolster up the...

A further proof of this resolute temper is noted by

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the Times correspondent in Washington. Last Saturday the Food Contrel Bill was passed by the House by 365 to 5, "after the insertion of a drastic amendment prohibitiug further...

The position of General Smuts as a member of the

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War Cabinet was discussed at question time on Monday in the Commons. Mr. King foolishly interpreted Mr. Boner Law's disinclination to amplify his previous answer to mean that...

We gather from Mr. Prothero's remarks at Exeter on Friday

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week that home-grown meat will soon be required for the Army abroad. That means a still further reduction of supply for the consumer at Wine. Is this the time, then, to...

In Russia the sky seems to be clearing. The All-Russia

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Congress of Workmen's and Soldiers' Delegates, now in session, is a more truly representative assembly than the improvised Petrograd Council which has hitherto controlled the...

in his final and -detailed analysis of the expenditure on

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Votes of Credit, Mr. Boner Law points out that the increase of expenditure on Army Services is in part attributable to payniente or advances which will'be ultimately...

In fulfilment of his promise made on June 18th, Mr.

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Boner Law issued on Monday a detailed statement of the items ntaideg, up current national expenditure and the basis on which the figurea were compiled. Mr. Bow Law had stated on...

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The result of the by-election at Liverpool will not be

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known till we have gone to press, but we may say a word here as to the general issue for which the independent candidate, Mr. Hughes, stands. We believe that many of the...

But while we are anxiously awaiting the event, we feel

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it our duty to say one thing. No matter what the expectations of a politi- cal arrangement may be, there can never be any justification for the failure of a Government to...

In a debate in the Lords on Tuesday on air

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raid• warnings and reprisals,. Lord Derby, replying for the Government, said that they were doing all they could to meet Lord French's demands for aircraft. They could not,...

The return to Cork on Saturday last of a number

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of released Shut Feiners has led to serious rioting. On Sunday a crowd of sympathizers smashed alt the windows in the county gaol, seizedthe Sinn Fein Drill Hall, which had been...

We have refrained from any, comment of late on the

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state of affairs in Ireland, stud on the prospects of the Convention, for what seems to us a sufficient reason. We have always held that the Union is- the instrument of...

In the House of Commons on Friday week Mr. Asquith

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supported a demand for inquiry into the working of the Military Service Act under which discharged or rejected men are called up for re-examina- tion. In face of much...

War is war, and there are inevitable consequences. After all,

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the suffering and inconvenience in this country have been almost trifling compared with those of other nations. What the working man cannot abide is to be bought off with the...

Representatives of the British and German Departments con- cerned with

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prisoners of war have met at the Hague—the first direct meeting between belligerent officials. The British repres sentatives are Lord Newton, Sir Robert• Younger, and General...

Such complaints may be very serious even if half-articulate signs

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of a deep and menacing unrest. And we believe that in this case they are. However the election may go, we are certain that the Government will do well to remember that the...

The House of Commons discussed on Monday an amendment to

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the Reform Bill, proposing to enfranchise every soldier or sailor who had seen active service and had reached the age of nineteen— the official minimum age for enlistment. The...

It was for the military authorities to decide what was

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the best way of hitting back, and the Government had given them an absolutely free hand to use their air machines in whatever way they thought best to' secure military success....

The King has instituted two new Orders, to be awarded

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for war services of all kinds to British and Allied subjects, whether men or women. The Order of the British Empire, the first of these, is an Order of Knighthood, arranged in...

Hank rate, 5 per cent., changed from 51 per cent.

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April 5th.

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TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE MESOPOTAMIAN REPORT. T HE Mesopotamian Report, which is intensely painful if salutary reading, shows in the event the great strength as well as the glaring weakness of...

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DECISIVE VICTORY AT SEA.

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TO those who preach an unpopular, or at least an un- fashionable, doctrine it is highly encouraging when a response, or a confirmation, comes from an unexpected quarter. They...

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THE MATERIAL AND THE MORAL.

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W E may be permitted to wonder if Napoleon, could he have looked down on June 7th upon the Messines Ridge, would still have held that the moral in war is to the material as...

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RECALLED TO LIFE. T HE first problem of Reconstruction is the

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problem of the disabled soldier. No Committee, were it composed of supermen and superwomen, will devise a satisfactory plan for the reconstruction of society after the deluge of...

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ECONOMY AND ELEGANCE.

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VCONOMY is not generally regarded as attractive, and this is particularly the case—so it is said—with the British nation. It is true that there are plenty of people to whom...

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THE COCKNEY IN HOSPITAL.

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A CERTAIN Cockney of the slums, Bert, was an acquaintance of mine before the war, and from him I gleaned soma vague knowledge of his kind. I did not guess how intimate was soon...

SOBER AND INCAPABLE.

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The ordinary man is apt to underrate the capacity of the minor enthusiast. Great fanatics rank in the eyes of the world with men of genius, but lesser persons of the same type...

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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.] THE CLERGY AND MILITARY...

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AN ESSENTIAL TOWARDS NATIONAL HARMONY. [To THE EDITOR Or THE

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" SPECTATOR."] Soo—While thanking you for your kindness in publishing my letter in your issue of last week, I must respectfully beg to demur to what you have said in your note...

THE IRISH CONVENTION.

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[To THE EDITOR Or TILE " SPECTATOR."] SIR,—" I believe we (might) be able to hit upon a plan to satisfy the Irish sentiment and the Imperial sentiment at one and the same time."...

[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR. " )

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Sin,--The following extract from a letter recently received from a private in France so entirely endorses Mr. Ellis's letter in your issue of June 9th that I hope that you will...

[To THE EDITOR OP THE " SPECTATOR.") Sna,—The Spectator of

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June 9th has just reached me, and I know that the letter of Mr. Ellis on the subject of • " The Clergy and Military Service " expresses a generally accepted view of men out...

[To IRE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") am a young

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clergyman, fully eligible to fight, working in an important manufacturing town. Many men of my age have been kept back by their employers. My employer has kept me hack. I could...

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MR. HOOVER AND THE USE OF GRAIN FOR LIQUOR. [To

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THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sta,—Perhaps you may think it worth while to print the follow- ing extract from an article in Land and Water, June 7th, by Mr. Hoover, the Food...

" PROFITEERING."

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(To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") SIR,—Yon have admitted one exception (the medical profession) to your rule that " the rise in the price of labour is universal." May I...

THE CONSERVATION OF FOOD. [To THE EDITOR OF THE "

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SPECTATOR.") Sra,—Do you think your readers would be interested in the not lines of Dr. Isaac Watts'— "There are a number of us creep Into the world to eat and sleep, And know...

of the Glasgow and District Licensed Trade Defence Association., from

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which you will see that he makes the extraordinary state- ment that " the Government were at last realising that the effort to prohibit the sale of liquor was a-pro-German...

LIEUTENANT 0. G. SAMUEL'S FAREWELL LETTER.

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[TO THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") Ste,—On Sunday last a Memorial Service was held here for Lieutenant Gerald George Samuel, son of Sir Marcus Samuel, Bart. At this service I...

[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."]

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Sra,—Mr. Nugent Bankes's letter and your comments induce me to put on paper what I have had very much in my mind, viz., the splendour of new soldiers—no other word is adequate...

WAR MEMORIALS.

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[To THE EDITOR Or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sur,—Ideas of commemoration and monuments of affection are necessarily in our minds, yet we must perforce wait for their execution, seeing...

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ANOTHER GERMAN "GEM."

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[TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.") Sia,—May I thank you for your kind review of my 501 Gems of German Thought, and at the same time say that I have just come across another...

SUMMER KNITTING.

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(To TIM EDITOR OF THE " SPECILTOR.") Sin,—Can you find me room to express deep gratitude to friends all over the country who, I hear, are getting together a wonderful supply of...

HUT LITERATURE AT THE FRONT.

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[To THE Enrron or THE " Sewn:ma:1 SIR,—May I thank, through your columns, Canon Douglas and others who have already responded to Mr. Eland's appeal by forwarding their copies...

BLIND BABIES.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOE."1 SIE,—May we ask you to grant a little space in which to allow us to tell your readers of a new project which has been initiated for the...

PROBLEMS OF RECONSTRUCTION,

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECIATOR."J Sip,—Will you allow me to tell your readers of a Summer Meeting which is to be held in the Hampstead Garden Suburb from August 3rd to...

WOMEN'S HOLIDAY FUND.

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[To THE EDITOR OF THE " SPLCTATOR."] Sim,—The Women's Holiday Fund, which owes so much to your allowing an appeal for help to appear year after year in the Spectator, will...

"3 Hamilton Place, W., April 10th, 1916. MT DEAR Boys,—I

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shall be going away shortly to the front, and am going to say a few words of farewell to you, in case I should not return. First of all, I want you all to know that the happiest...

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POETRY.

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THE ANXIOUS DEAD. 0 am, fall silent till the dead men hear Above their heads the legions pressing on: (These fought their fight in time of bitter fear And died not knowing...

"CHRIST IN FLANDERS."

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Owura to the Large and continued demand for copies of the poem entitled "Christ in Flanders," which appeared in our issue of September 11th, 1915, it has now been reprinted in...

THE CUCKOO IN CAMP,

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DARK elms in deep June heat, Poppies blazing in wheat, Dust in a windless street, Silence. . . . And then Unbelievable, meet Beyond all va:ces of spring, You, from some copse...

"A STUDENT IN ARMS."

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Tin leading article in the Spectator on the death of Lieutenant Hankey and his article "Don't Worry " have been republished as a leaflet by Messrs. W. Speaight and Sons, 98-99...

MILKING SHEEP.

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fTo THE EDITOR OF Tar " SPECTATOR...I SIR,—When Heligoland was British, and indeed for many years afterwards, until the pasture ground was oecupied by big guns, the leeal milk...

(To- THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."i

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Sra,—You will doubtless be interested to know that the letter from the Chaplain in France, which appeared in a recent issue of your journal, suggesting that readers should send...

" BURY OR BURN."

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Tug article under the above heading, dealing with the desecration of beautiful places by the scattering of pieces of paper and other picnic debris, which appeared in our issue...

THE HAILSTORM AT WORCESTER ON SUNDAY, JUNE 17TH. (To THE

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EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR: '1 SIR,—My friend Larrie, whose intelligence once figured in the Spectator, had an experience last Sunday evening which falls to the lot of few...

MILTON AND JEHANGIR.

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(To Tat EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR."' SIR,—In your issue of June 23rd you quote from Sir Thomas Roe's description of Jehangir's Court : " High in a gallery, with a canopy over...

" CHESS STRATEGY."

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Met THE EDFFOR OP THE " SPECTATOR."1 Sza,—In a review of Chess Strategy, by E. Lasker, in the Spectator for March, 1915, or thereabouts, the authorship was attributed to the...

" FROM A V.A.D. HOSPITAL."

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Miss MART-ADAIR MACDONALD'a three poems ("In the Ward," " Epiphany Vision," and "In Last Year's_ Camp") have been reprinted from the pages of the Spectator in pamphlet form...

NOTICE.—When "Correspondence" or Articles are signed with the writer's name

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or initials, or with a pseudonym, or are marked " Communi- cated," the Editor must not necessarily be held to be in agreement with the views therein expressed or with the mode...

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BOOKS.

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THE PRESIDENT.• Tux Presidency of the United States captivates the imagination. Tho elected head of a hundred million people, inhabiting the richest country in the world, seems...

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CHATHAM'S COLONIAL POLICY.* Miss KATE HorstAck was enabled by the

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J. E. Cairnes Scholarship of Girton College, Cambridge, to undertake researches for which not many historical students have the time, the patience, or the means. It is a great...

THE FRAGMENTS OF SOPHOCLES.•

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Tars notable work, which rounds off Jebb's great edition of Sophocles, will stir, we think, in many minds an equal feeling of admiration and disappointment. For Sophocles holds...

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THE DEVOUT LADY.* Txr underlying idea of this study or

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series of studies is admirably set forth in Mrs. Sluine's Introduction. Devoutness, she insists, has no sex. " In faith is neither male nor female, wed nor celibate, bond nor...

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ARTHUR JOHN BUTLER.* A REAL scholar and an accomplished man

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of letters, Arthur John Butler was yet truly described as " one of those men who affect the world more through their influence upon their friends than through their writings."...

FICTION.

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THE TRANSACTIONS OF LORD LOUIS LEWIS.* Mn. PERTWEES book is a great deal better than its somewhat cumbrous title. It is really very good indeed, for the author has not merely...

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NATIONAL FOOD ECONOMY LEACH:M.—The National Food Economy League has earned

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a wide reputation for its useful publi- cations, particularly for its little Handbook for Housewives, and it has now issued a reprint of the pamphlet War-Time Recipes (Offices...

SOME BOOKS OF THE WEEK.

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[Notice in this columa does sot necessarily preclude sohseptent review.] Bench-Ends in English Churches. By J. Charles Cox. (H. Milford. 7s. 6d. net.)—This now volume in Mr....

Style and Composition. By E. Classen. (Macmillan and Co. 3s.

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Orl. net.)—A reprint of lectures originally prepared for students of the Science Faculties of Manchester University. In the first chapter Mr. Classen makes an interesting...

American architects are doing some excellent work, and this sot

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of lectures, delivered at the Chicago Art Institute, shows that they are full of ideas. We like Mr. Hastings's lecture on " Modern Architecture," with its insistence on the...

The New Map of Africa (1900-16). By H. A. Gibbons.

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(New York : The Century Co. 2 dollars net.)—Mr. Gibbons's political history of Africa since 1900 is interesting but highly controversial. Ono of his main ideas is that the aims...

An Easy Poultry Guide. By Edward Brown. (C. Arthur Pearson.

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ls. net.)—This little book is a reprint, with some addl. Lions, of Mr. Brown's Synopsis of Poultry Practice which has been put into Braille type for use by blinded men. Mr....

Growth and Form. By D'Arcy Wentworth Thompson. (Cam- bridge University

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Press. 21s. net.)—In this very able book Professor Thompson shows biologists that there are physical and mechanical reasons for natural forms, like the shell or the honey-boo's...

Thc Massareen Affair. By R. K. Weekos. (Edward Arnold. 13s.)

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—An account of an irregular alliance undertaken from original inotivea.—In the Night. By R. Goren Barnes. (Longmans and Co. 4s. 6d.)—A story with a mysterious murder in the...

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Bengal, Bihar and Orissa, Sikkim. By L. S. S. O'Malley.

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(Cambridge University Press. Cs. net.)—This is the third volume of the series of " Provincial Geographies of India," edited by Sir T. H. Holland, and, like the first two, is...

Pour Lectures on the Handling of Historical Material. By L.

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F. Rushbrook Williams. (Longmans and Co. 3s. net.)—Tho author of these able lectures on modern historical methods is the Professor of Modern Indian History in Allahabad...

Sardinia in Ancient Times. By E. S. Bouchior. (Oxford :

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B. H. Blackwell. 5s. net.)—Mr. Bouchior is doing useful work in writing monographs on the Roman provinces. After dealing with Spain and Syria, ho has now summarized all that is...