7 APRIL 1928

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It is reported from China that Chiang Kai-shek is at

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last starting on his advance from Nanking against Peking. - The Shanghai correspondent of the Times says that his armies are equipped with a large propaganda department, whose...

The bare truth is that France and Italy mean to

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have their own people properly protected and not exposed to extortion and personal danger from local officials and mobs. If Britain withdrew, France and Italy would instantly...

Mustapha Pasha Nahas, the new Wafd Prime Minister in Egypt,

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is in an exceptionally illogical position, and he makes the task of those who are striving for a very friendly settlement proportionately difficult. For the Constitution which...

The Egyptian Government says, in effect, " We are quite

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competent to protect foreigners and their property. You have nothing whatever to do with it and we shall interpret any attempt on your part to provide protection as a denial of...

News of the Week

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THE extreme difficulty of the Egyptian situation was indicated by the holding of a special Cabinet meeting on Monday. The immediate matter to be considered was the Egyptian Note...

EnrroarAL an Ptrumsania OFFICES : 13 York Street, Covent Garden,

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London, W.C.2.—A Subscription to the SPECTATOR costa Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registered as a Newspaper. The...

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Germany is to be congratulated on the promptness with which

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she has made good her promise to prevent the export of arms to China. When the China Arms Embargo Agreement was concluded in 1919 certain Powers were not represented. Traders in...

It is good news that the Lord Mayors of London

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Cardiff and Newcastle have opened a Fund for the relief of the miners' distress. Such a Fund is not opened except on critical occasions, and there is no doubt what- ever of the...

The Upper Houses of Convocation having approved, of the revised

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Prayer Book Measure, passed it on last week to the Lower Houses, who on Thursday, March 29th, also gave their approval, by 176 votes to 67. The next step is for the Measure to...

Mr. Baldwin, who wound up the debate, explained why the

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Government had omitted both redistribution and a revision of the Corrupt Practices Act. The Speaker had felt unable to preside over a conference to consider the whole matter as...

The Franchise Bill had a great victory in the House

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of Commons on Thursday, March 29th, when the second reading was carried by 387 votes to 10. Sir William Joynson-Hicks, who spoke first for the Government, described the Bill as...

The Committee contrast with the disappointing results in Britain the

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fact that in the United States an increase of 64 per cent. in power capacity has called forth an , almost exactly equivalent increase in output. The result here is a...

The monarchical group in France known as Action Franfaise has

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been finally banned by the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Church, itself historically based upon a rigid discipline, has always taken the view that it is wrong for members of...

On. Tuesday the Committee on Industry and Trade which was

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appointed by .111r. MacDonald in 1924 issued the fourth instalment of their important Report. It is believed that the next instalments will follow quickly, and that the seventh...

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The General Council of the Trades Union Congress has continued

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to interest itself in the struggle in the Nottinghamshire coalfield between the remains of the old union, the body affiliated to the Miners' Federation, and the new Miners'...

Last Saturday Prince Henry, the King's third son, became Duke

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of Gloucester in honour of his twenty-eighth birthday. The Gloucester Peerage dates back to 1122 when Henry Beauclerc created his natural son Earl of Gloucester. Perhaps the...

At Messrs. Sotheby's on Tuesday the manuscript of Alice in

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Wonderland was sold to Dr. A. S. W. Rosenbach, of Philadelphia, for £15,400. Dr. Rosenbach then announced that he would sell the MS. to a British buyer at the same price. It is...

We greatly regret to record the death of Lord Cave,

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which occurred within a day of his resignation of the Lord Chancellorship. It was not widely known that for several years Lord Cave had bravely borne the heavy burden of his...

The Government have introduced certain changes into the Army and

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Air Force Bill for this year in regard to the death penalty. They propose to retain the death penalty for mutiny, treachery, cowardice, desertion to the enemy, leaving a guard...

Last Saturday the Boat Race was won by Cambridge in

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a runaway manner such as has been seen only once before. The critics as a whole had greatly underrated the merit of the Cambridge crew, who showed themselves to be not only one...

Reports of the Court Martial at Gibraltar on incidents in

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the ' Royal Oak ' have occupied a great deal of space in the newspapers, but most people think it deplorable that it should ever have been necessary for such matters to become...

In the most exciting and tempting political encounters he would

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rely upon the cool discussion of principles. Unhappily it cannot be said that such methods generally win in politics though they deserve or do so. Lord Cave triumphed because...

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 Tuesday 1021 ; on Tuesday week 102* ; a year ago 101*. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Tuesday 88 it ; on Tuesday week...

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The Surplus

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T HE conclusion of the financial year brings the proof that Mr. Churchill's excessive ingenuity in the last Budget was not wasted. His luck has not merely not failed him, but...

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Outlawing War

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M R KELLOGG and M. Briand are getting continu- ally nearer together in their discussions about the outlawry of war. In. this odd world it often happens that the desired end is...

The United States After Thirty Years.

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1.—New York W HENEVER, during a recent visit to the United States, I was asked (as I continually was) whether I had visited America before, I felt inclined to - say " Yes,...

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Great Britain To-day and To-morrow

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[As one of the most famous journalists in the world," Pertinas " requires no introduction. It is interesting to note that this French critic of Great Britain, who has said some...

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The Week in Parliament

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G OVERNMENT business has been conducted with celerity and skill since the opening of the session. The smooth passage of the second reading of the Franchise Bill, and steady...

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The Russian Press

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[In accordance with our policy of printing " the other side " —a plan initiated by the late Mr. St. Loe Strachey—we are publishing this survey of the Russian Press by Mr. John...

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Preparing for Summer

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F ASTERTEDE in the northern hemisphere finds all the world rising to a new birth, welcoming the new life which is everywhere upspringing after the death-like sleep of winter....

An Irish Country Church at Easter

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W ELL, we are in time, after all ! How sweet the Church smells with all these flowers. Spring flowers have such a wistful scent, it makes me think of the night before a funeral...

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The Theatre

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[" THE MAKING OF AN IMMORTAL." BY GEORGE MOORE. Al THE ARTS THEATRE CLUB.-" THIS YEAR OF GRACE." BY NOEL COWARD. AT THE LONDON PAVILION] WAS it Bacon ? Or was it Shakespeare ?...

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Correspondence

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A LETTER FROM PARAGUAY. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,--Paraguay, a land that has suffered from the neglect common to those who live within the shadow of great and...

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LITTLE AFPORESTATIONS.

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A number of questions have come' to me about the wisdom of planting small areas—an acre here, an acre there—with trees. In the pumice areas of New Zealand anyone who pleases may...

The Countryman, in a commentary on " the extraordinary series

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of letters which the Spectator . . . has evoked from Masters of Hunts," quotes an ingenious letter from a hunting man. He writes :— • " I sometimes wonder if fox hunting ought...

A CLIMBING WEASEL.

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Both stoats and weasels are fond of playing the squirrel. I once saw a weasel run up the wall of a three-storied house and at the top disappear along the gutter. It would not...

Country Life

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A. COUNTRY WALK. How vividly, apart from any particular point or importance, small incidents of observation may mirror themselves on the retina of the memory. I was walking the...

Some interesting addenda to some Spectator themes have appeared in

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the Field and the Countryman. The Field, whose chief subject is sport, has only one objection to the method of the onslaught on pigeon shooting at Monte Carlo : it was not hot...

THE EXPENSIVE RAT.

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It is a point in natural history worth the investigation of keepers, farmers, and any owner of country property how far the presence of weasels means the absence of rats. I have...

The lively editor of this lively quarterly—the first ever published

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in an English village—has been engaged in an original duel that is of concern to all country people. He gave, on the invitation of the B.B.C., a series of agricultural Talks on...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—The article by Warren Postbridge, " Stocks and Shares and Morals," in your issue of March 24th, merits serious study by all your readers. In conjunction therewith I would...

Letters to the Editor

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STOCKS AND SHARES AND MORALS [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —The interesting article on this subject in a recent issue raises questions so difficult that I for one...

THE ROUMANO-HUNGARIAN DISPUTE [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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Sra,—The article which your Geneva correspondent has given in the Spectator of March 17th, on " Some Hard Problems ", which the League Council has had to face, inspires me to...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—The problem we are

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confronted with is not day-school v. boarding-school, but boarding-school v. home. Our son is aged ten and due for his preparatory school this September. He is a " War baby "...

DISARMAMENT AND SECURITY [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—May

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I be allowed to tender through the medium of your columns my grateful appreciation of the masterly contribution towards the cause of international peace made by Mr. Gabriel...

BOARDING SCHOOL AND DAY SCHOOL [To the Editor of the

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SPECTATOR.] 'SIR,—May I be permitted to reply to Mr. Gwynn's arguments on this very important matter ? The question of expense, on which he lays such stress, only confuses the...

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BRITAIN AND EGYPT

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sni.,—Having had considerable experience in Egypt, and in the thick of their tumults in 1918, I would like to say that at the latter time a big...

-• THE LIVE-HORSE EXPORT. TRADE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sur,—The Scottish S.P.C - .A. recognizes the necessity for legislation both to enforce humane slaughter bf all animals killed for food, and to...

THE PRAYER BOOK MEASURE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] • Sra,—In your admirable summary of the position in which,the New Prayer Book question now stands you rightly emphasize the chief and decisive...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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Snt,—If the matter was not such a serious one, the recom- hiendation of "A Correspondent" in a recent issue; that the %aster of Hounds and members of the hunt should sign a r...

SWITZERLAND AND DISARMAMENT [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—In

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M. Martin's article in your issue of the 24th, there is an implication that the Covenant of the League obliges States-members to maintain a certain minimum level of armament for...

SUTTEE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sni,—Your readers and your reviewer—whose courtesy and knowledge I appreciate—will be interested to know that suttee shows a tendency to recur...

THE HOUSING PROBLEM

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. [To the. Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—As you have recently been opening your columns to the ventilation of the urgent question of Housing, I am requested by - the committee...

LITTLE MOSCOWS " OF SOUTH WALES

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin, —The Rev. W. D. Thomas writes that Communists are a small minority in Mardy. But he will hardly deny that for all practical purposes they...

STEEL TRAPS [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—AS a sometime contributor to the Spectator, and a Still constant reader, may I say a word about the steel trap ? I have been delighted to read the condemnation of its...

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Poetry

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The Musician at Rest (IN MEMORY OF JOHN Cnuncn.) THEY have come with the musician ; They have put him out of sound, Into his silent sleeping place Under the ground. The snow...

DOG RACING BILL

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—In ignoring dog racing as organized in pursuit of the live hare, and confining the application of the provisions of the Dog Racing Bill to...

CHINAMEN AND CHINESES

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,--Your correspondent's reference to the use of the form " Chineses " in the eighteenth century reminds me that this form was also known to...

MAKING GOOD COFFEE

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[To the Editor of the Spacraroa.] Sza,—In several recent issues you have exhibited an interest in the preparation of Coffee as a beverage. Many ingenious and elaborate...

SUCCESSFUL FARMING

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—Your correspondent " Countrywoman " is amusing. Dairy farmers are to be envied, but why this mania for marketing ? And why that insistence...

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* * *

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Television has been rendered possible by the discovery of lubstances like selenium which change their electrical proper- ties when light falls upon them. Suppose you train a...

Germany's emergence from financial chaos into a state of ordered

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prosperity hai been one of the most remarkable de- veloinienti of the post-War years. How it was achieved may be read at length in a singularly able book by the man chiefly...

The opinions of Boswell and General Dunsterville on the subject

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of biography coincide. Boswell has recorded that " minor particulars are frequently characteristic and always amusing," and the General in his preface to Stalky's Rend*....

Professor Rudmose-Brown, who directs the study of Romance Languages in

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Trinity College, Dublin, very naturally writes an introduction to Louis Le Cardonnel, by Phyllis Aykroyd (Dent, 8s.), which issues from his school. Miss Aykroyd earned her...

Some Books of the Week

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THE appearance of the introductory volume of the Linguistic Survey of India, Vol. I., Part I., by Sir George A. Grierson (Calcutta, 1927, 19s.), marks the completion of a truly...

A New Competition

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THE Editor offers a prize of five guineas for the best suggestions, in five hundred words, or less, on How to Keep Young. The closing date for this competition will be Friday,...

Owing to pressure on our space our regular feature, the

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League of Nations page, is held over ; also the General Knowledge questions.

* * * * (More "Books of the Week" will

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be found on page 544.)

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The Master of Thrones and Crowns

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SEVEN . hundred years ago a man almost conquered the earth He was Cenghis Khan, the Scourge of God, who obliterated races and diverted rivers that came across the path of his...

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An Emperor in Exile

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Days in Doom. By the Empress Hemline. (Hutchinson. 21s.) IF the reader finds the opening chapters well written but commonplace he should persevere, for the excellent reason that...

Two Women

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WHEN Charlotte Brontë saw Rachel, the greatest of French classical actresses, she was moved by her acting, but moved despite herself. " Though a spirit, she was a spirit out of...

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Richard the Hermit

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Writings ascribed to Richard Rolle, Hermit of Hampole, and Materials for his Biography. By Hope Emily Allen. . (Oxford University Press. 30s.) Ir is only within the present...

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Sea Birds

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Tan older type of sailor was almost invariably a great lover of birds, if only in the sense that he liked catching albatrosses on a hook and line and making fancy waistcoats out...

The World in 1925

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Survey of International Affairs 1925. Vol. U. By C. A. Macartney and others. (Humphrey Milford. 25s.) THE Royal Institute of International Affairs has just issued its Survey of...

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The Magazines

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THE April number of the Nineteenth Century concerns itself hardly at all with politics. Lord Phillimore writes of " Church and State." He draws a delicate line between...

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Fiction

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Hardy's Little Ironies Jackson. 58.) FOR the price of one indifferent novel you may now obtain all the short—or long-short—stories of Thomas Hardy, excellently printed, on...

THE SPECTATOR.

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Before going abroad or away from home readers are advised to place an order for the SPECTATOR. The journal will be forwarded to any address at the following rates :- One Month •...

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The Divine Origin of the Craft of the Herbalist (Society

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of Herbalists, Culpepper House, 7 Baker Street, 5s.) is a little book full of cut-of-the-way information. Sir Wallis Budge, .the author, .has extracted many delightful recipes...

In T.P.'s Weekly, Mr. H. G. Wells begins his new

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novel The Open Conspiracy. The bits' we are given suffer, we imagine, from_ the editorial' necessity for selection and coin- pression ; however, Mr. Wells can hardly fail to be...

Some Books of the Week (Continued from page 535.) '

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We are told that, upon its first appearance, The English Rogue, " a history of the most eminent cheats of both sexes," by Richard Head and Francis Kirkman, was a forbidden book...

Post-War

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MR. THEODORE DREISER'S talent is gloomy and_oppressiye ; he seems always to be wondering whether life is worth living, and his stories are mainly essays in discouragement. Even...

THE CONQUEROR'S STONE. By Berry Fleming. (Henn. 7s. 6d.)—This first

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novel by a young American writer is a rollicking tale of piracy and adventure in eighteenth-century Carolina. Nicholas Waine, the son of an English emigrant, is sent to the home...

Professor George Gordon of Oxford has written a delightful introdUction

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to the latest 'volume of Times Third Leaders (Arnold) in which he gives us a most attractive picture of the " composite author " of these anonymous essays. The latter, we find,...

Mr. Canning Williams has' been a bee-lover for two genera-

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tions. His devotion to these useful insects increases with the passing of years, and in The Story of the Hive (Black, 6s.) he has collected a series of very fascinating essays...

A really excellent idea comes from the Leeds Public Library.

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Under its direction have been published a series of small booklets on What to Read on Psychology, by William McDougall, What to Read on Citizenship, by H. A. L. Fisher, What to...

A singularly attractive volume, not for invalids alone but for

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everyone, is Simplified Cookery and Invalid Diet, by a doctor's wife (Faber and Gwyer, 2s. 6d.). There are diets for fever, dropsy, diabetes, constipation, &c., but the various...

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Motors and Motoring

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The Modern Motor Car.—I. Some Special Features TICE motor car is fast becoming an object of interest to all users. The owner-driver, be it a case of a man with his first car or...

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THE VICEERs' MEETING.

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General Sir Herbert Lawrence, Chairman of Vickers, Ltd., was able to add a great deal at the meeting last Thursday to the understanding of the accounts by shareholders, full and...

Finance—Public and Private

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Empire Consols IN the brief space at my disposal I can do little more than draw the attention of the many readers of the Spectator who are interested in Imperial matters to the...

BANKING IN THE EAST.

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A very interesting address was delivered at the recent annual meeting of the Eastern Bank by the Chairman, who expressed the opinion that the stabilization of the rupee on a...

Financial Notes

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MARKETS AND THE REVENUE. DESPITE the natural slackening of interest prior to the Easter holiday, markets have continued very firm in tone, especially in the gilt-edged section,...

EMPLOYERS' LIABILITY.

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At the recent annual meeting of the Employers' Liability Assurance Corporation, the Chairman was able to place very satisfactory figures before the meeting. The amount trans-...

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* * * *

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A GOOD RECOVERY. A very striking recovery in profits is shown in the latest annual Report of Stewarts and Lloyds, the well-known steel tube makers. After setting aside £175,000...