7 FEBRUARY 1931

Page 1

The whole of the.Hawkes Bay. district was affected in varying

The Spectator

degrees. Such an earthquake cannot indeed be compared . with the Messina earthquake in which eighty thousand lives were lost and still less with the Japanese earthquake in which...

The vote in the Senate was carried in the main

The Spectator

by the Democratic Senators, who are making State responsibility an integral part of Democratic policy. They say that rather than be defeated on this point they will take the...

The American Unemployment Controversy Unemployment has brought about a more

The Spectator

delicate situation in American politics than there has been for a long time. When we write there is deadlock in the controversy between the Senateand the House of Repre-...

News of the Week

The Spectator

The New Zealand Earthquake - XTEW ZEALAND mourns and all the Empire mourns with her. Although New Zealand, and particularly the North Island, is characteristically: volcanic and...

, EDITORIAL S AND PUBLISRING OFFICES : - 99 Gower Street,

The Spectator

London, W.C.1.-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...

Page 2

American War Pensions Another financial dispute in the United States

The Spectator

is concerned with a vastly larger sum than the £5,000,000 proposed for unemployment relief. There is a strong possibility that provision will be made for the ex-Service men in...

Mr. Oliver Stanley said, however, that he was convinced that

The Spectator

if there was to be any change a majority of the House would prefer Proportional Representation to the Alternative Vote: The Alternative Vote would give a much less accurate...

The controversy on Monday seemed to swing in favour of

The Spectator

the Senate when Mr. Borah made one of those rare speeches which have an effect far outside Congress. According to the report in the Times, he said :- " They talk of how...

The Prime Minister declared stoutly, in spite of UniOnist laughter,

The Spectator

that the Bill would enable the majority of voters to express themselves more plainly. The Unionists naturally wished to preserve a system which had sm.\ e them well, and had...

The Electoral Reform Bill The Government are enjoying fairly calm

The Spectator

weather after the recent storm. Their ship has clawed off the land where it was embayed, and at the moment it is not in danger. The arrangement with the Liberals, though we do...

The next day—Tuesday—the scale was tilted the other way by

The Spectator

President Hoover, who answered the threat of the Democratic Senators to force a special session. Mr. Hoover pointed out that few people had had more experience than himself in...

`The Government and Unemployment Insurance At a Labour Party meeting

The Spectator

in the House of Commons on Tuesday the Prime Minister made a statement about the policy of the Government which was regarded as rather vague. In particular he was asked to say...

Page 3

The resolutions were adroitly written. Whoever reads between the lines

The Spectator

can see that nothing is said which cannot be unsaid. It seems that Pandit Madan Mohan Malaviya and a few other leading extremists strongly opposed the resolutions, because they...

India Opinion in India about the Round Table Conference is

The Spectator

marking time. This is on the whole encouraging, as members of the Congress who are not frantically de- nouncing Great Britain are more open to reason than they were. The...

A New Series of Articles An eminent contributor to our

The Spectator

series on " The Chal- lenge to Religious Orthodoxy," which has just come to an end, observed in his account of the present situation that " there is a big fight coming in...

The Cotton Lock-out On Tuesday, there was a joint conference

The Spectator

of employers and operatives in the cotton industry, but the only move towards ending the lock - out was a decision that the weavers' General Council should meet on Saturday of...

Mr. Max Beerbohm We have announced in one of our

The Spectator

advertisement pages the plans of the Spectator for this spring and summer, which will include a series of drawings by Mr. Max Beerbohm, the famous caricaturist. Mr. Low of the...

Mr. Churchill and the Unionists Mr. Churchill, with the consent

The Spectator

of Mr. Baldwin, has retired from the " Business Committee " of the Unionist Party. They have exchanged very friendly letters, but Mr. Baldwin said plainly that he thought Mr....

The East Islington By-Election The East Islington by-election is becoming

The Spectator

a circus like other by-elections which have fallen under the influence of the friends of " Empire Free Trade." Lord Beaverbrook put forward Mr. Paul Springman as a " Crusader "...

Bank Rate, 3 per cent., changed from 31 per cent.

The Spectator

on May 1st, 1980. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 10811; on Wednesday week, 1034 ; a year ago, 1011, Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 941 ; on Wednesday week,...

Page 4

Progress in Australia

The Spectator

"NA THILE Mr. Scullin, the Australian Prime Minister, was in London for the Imperial Conference, Mr. Fenton (as Acting Prime Minister) and Mr. Lyons (as - Acting Treasurer) kept...

The Treasury and Unemployment N OT nearly enough attention has been

The Spectator

given in the newspapers to the grave and indeed alarming statements which were made last week to the Royal Commission on Unemployment Insurance by Sir Richard Hopkins (the...

Page 5

The Challenge To Religious Orthodoxy

The Spectator

[This is the last article of our present series, in which men and women representing the outlook of the younger generation have been Invited to express their criticism of...

The Rouse Trial

The Spectator

O F the many remarkable features in the trial of Alfred Arthur Rouse who was condemned to death at Northampton Assizes last Saturday, perhaps the most striking is the fact that...

Page 7

The Week in Parliament

The Spectator

M R. CHURCHILL has ever interested the British public. There is a quality in his work and a dramatic touch about his actions which combine to fascinate the Man in the Street....

THE SPECTATOR.

The Spectator

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...

Page 8

Making Parliament Workable

The Spectator

By SIR NORMAN ANGELL. p ROPOSED reforms in our Parliamentary institutions usually aim at two objectives : First, to get in our Parliamentary representation a better register of...

Page 9

How Did Andree Die ?

The Spectator

By VILHJALMUR STEFANSSON. T HE death of Andree and his companions is a mystery story whose authors died before the final chapters were written. I submit here a tentative draft...

Page 10

The BrontEs BY E. F. BENSON.

The Spectator

I T is odd to reflect that, for eighteen months during the years 1846 and 1847, Wuthering Heights was going the rounds of publishing houses and being invariably re- turned to...

Page 11

Delightful Dinner Parties and Hatters' Teas

The Spectator

Report of the Competition BY CECILIA TOWNSEND. I T is not all of us who know how to give a good dinner party—not even in imagination, not even though we mix in the best...

A Glance

The Spectator

By RABINDRANATH TAGORE. [Translated from the original Bengali by Bhahani Bhattacharya.] A T the moment of parting, she turned her face slightly and gave me her last glance. In...

Page 12

Music

The Spectator

[STRAVINSKY AGAIN.] THE Stravinsky Concert given by the British Broadcasting Corporation last week was an enlightening event. It revealed quite clearly that there are still...

The Use of it All

The Spectator

THE QUESTION WHAT is the use of it all, This chaos called life ? These age-old years, these age-old tears, This blind desire and strife ? This desperate striving to forget...

Next treek

The Spectator

A CARICATURE : by " MAx" of Mn. H. G. WELL.% THE NOTION OF SURVIVAL : by SIR OLIVER LODGE. THE ART OF MAX BEERBOHM : by Low, of the Evening Standard. WANTED—A NEW REFORM BILL :...

Page 13

A NEW BIRD.

The Spectator

We may now, I think, feel confident that those engaging birds, the crossbills, are quite permanently established in England in considerable numbers. One colony is already...

PERIODIC VARIATIONS.

The Spectator

The ups and downs of the population of birds are hard to understand. Like some of the mammals they seem to illustrate some untraceable law of periodicity. The redstart is a...

Some aspects of the artificiality—perhaps the necessary artificiality—of modern sport

The Spectator

as practised in a crowded country, may astonish even the accustomed observer. A fisherman said to me the other day that he did not regard it as a drawback to a particular stream...

Country Life A TREELESS LANDSCAPE.

The Spectator

The following letter reaches me from a resident on the edge of Stratford-on-Avon :- " Yesterday the crime was perpetrated which you foreshadowed in a recent contribution to the...

LITTLE DEER.

The Spectator

One the most charming additions to the Regent's Park Zoo is of the little Pudu deer, which is rather less large than a fox. Now another deer, the Muntjaek, which is not much...

THE CLOSE SEASON.

The Spectator

Even sportsmen may enjoy the arrival of the close season, which begins just one day later than the law-giver intended, for the first of February is not close but open. It would...

MORE SILVER FOXES.

The Spectator

The alien of the moment in many parts of the world is undoubtedly the silver fox, which seems to be peculiarly well suited to the British climate from Dartmoor to Sutherland-...

Page 14

Letters to the Editor

The Spectator

GREAT BRITAIN AND INDIA [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] EIR,—I write on behalf of H.H. the Aga Khan, chairman, and the members of the British India Delegation to the Round...

THE REAL INDIA [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

The Spectator

Sui,—The village communities of India, though habitually neglected in political discussions, have a population. of more than two hundred and fifty millions. The Simon Report,...

Page 15

CLEARING THE SLUMS

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—You had the happy and audacious thought of forwarding to Mr. George Bernard Shaw the outline of my plan for clearing away the worst of...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I have read with

The Spectator

great interest Mr. Alfred C. Bossom's articles on " Clearing the Slums," which appeared recently in your valued paper. His plea for utilizing the open cuts of the railways...

THE PLANNING OF LONDON—THE PROBLEM OF RECENTRALIZATION

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In the last few years the planning of the London Region has been dealt with or considered from many different points of view. In addition...

Page 16

LIBERIA

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Readers of the report of the International Commission in Liberia may find comfort in the fact that the evidence of oppression appears to...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, — The letters under the

The Spectator

above heading that have appeared recently in the Spectator make sad reading ; but at the same time seem to exhibit an inadequate knowledge of the com- plexities of activity...

SAVING AND SPENDING

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SM,—In your article in last week's issue on the subject of " Saving and Spending " I fcel that scant justice has been done to the theories of...

THE CALL OF THE CHURCH

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin, — It would be interesting to ask your correspondent who is annoyed at the clergy for not calling on him (although he has never called on...

Page 17

THE R.S.P.C.A. AND PERFORMING ANIMALS

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sza,—I am distressed to read the suggestion made by Lady Cory in her letter to you that " often " no steps are taken by the Council of the...

PIT PONIES

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—May I be allowed the privilege of your pages to say a few words on behalf of pit ponies in this country ? The public may be...

THE CHALLENGE TO RELIGIOUS ORTHODOXY—SCIENCE AND GOD

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SrEenvroa.] &a, Mr. Langdon-Davies's article will excel in giving surprise to scientists of a reverent mind and to religious folk possessed of scientific...

DIVORCE

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sm,—I am afraid that your correspondent, Claire Madden, has not read my article with sufficient care. Had she done so, she would have seen...

PERFORMING ANIMALS

The Spectator

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] crave the courtesy of your paper with regard to another point relating to performing animals. Of many, one of the most serious objections to...

Page 18

A Hundred Years Ago

The Spectator

THE " SPECTATOR," FEBRUARY 5TH, 1831. FRANCE. The tone of the French, the Government now as well as the people, becomes more warlike. We hope their acts will not keep pace...

POINTS FROM LETTERS

The Spectator

THE UNIVERSITY FRANCHISE. Mr. H. W. Fox is quite misinformed as to the modern conditions governing the above. The franchise (at Oxford) is open to any graduate, subject to...

Page 20

If Only

The Spectator

If. Lapses into Imaginary History. Edited by T. C. Squire. (Longman. - 21s.) IF there were in this country a proper and traditional School of Historical Disputation, the theme "...

The Riddle of Germany's Future

The Spectator

IN the closing pages of this book Herr Diesel, who is the son of the inventor of the Diesel engine, discusses the riddle of Germany's future in a rapidly changing world. He...

Page 21

Punishment

The Spectator

MRS. Wrcsor/ writes so well that one is in danger of reading her book, so attractively produced by Mr. Cape, for the sheer joy of it. And that would be a pity, for Mrs. Wilson...

Page 22

The Descriptive Sociology . of Africa IT is over fifty years

The Spectator

since Professor Duncan completed his volume on African races in Herbert Spencer's series of Descriptive Sociology. Since then the blank spaces of Africa have almost disappeared...

The Old Order

The Spectator

Things I Remember. By Tho Grand Duchess Marie of Russia. (Cassell. 21s.) TuE Emperor Nicholas the First used to say to his children, " always act so that you will be forgiven...

Page 23

From Politics to Fina,nce

The Spectator

Information on the Reparation Settlement. By John W. Reparation Revlewe J. By Sir Andrew McFadyean. (Bann: 8s. 6d.) IN times of economic stress that volatile force which we...

DIRECT subscribers who are changing their addresses are asked to

The Spectator

notify the SPECTATOR O f fice BEFORE MIDDAY On MONDAY OF EACH WEEK. The previous address to which the paper has been sent and receipt reference number should be quoted.

Page 24

Charles W. Eliot

The Spectator

Charles W. Eliot. By Henry James. 2 vole. (Constable, 30s.) IT is unlikely that changing America will ever again provide the opportunity for the .rise of such a personality as...

Eastward to Persia

The Spectator

Tux advantage of a book about an Oriental country written by an Oriental, is that the author will probably not approach his subject from the romantic point of view, investing it...

Page 25

Poetry and Music

The Spectator

Melody and the Lyric. By John Murray Gibbon. (Dent. l 2a. 6d.) MANY poets confess without shame that they are unmusical. For this they should be pitied, not blamed. But when...

Edward Thomas

The Spectator

World Without End. By Helen Thomas. (Heinemann, 6s.) EDWARD THOMAS'S friends will find this sequel to As it Was ; full of interest, and it is better written. In accordance with...

A Philosophy of Reality

The Spectator

FROM the multitude of highly technical and abstract works published every season, it is a pleasure to turn to A Philosophy of Reality, in which a genuine effort is made to think...

Page 26

THE SISTERS OF PRAGUE. By Joseph Gregor. (Seeker. 7s. 6d.)—Mr.

The Spectator

Gregor was born a romantic, - but has grown up with the Freudians. The three stories in this book are fantasies upon a theme of Sadism. In the first, which gives its name to the...

Fiction

The Spectator

Phrase and Fable High Table. By Joanna Cannan. (Bonn. 78. 6d.) Somebody Must. By Guy Pocock. (Dent. 7s. 6d.) Miss CANNAN'S new novel illustrates brilliantly the axiom that the...

Page 28

Some Books of the Week

The Spectator

I, animals must be caught it is as well that the work should be done by such men as Frank Buck, the author, with Edward Anthony, of a volunie of reminiscences entitled Bring 'Em...

The Magazines

The Spectator

Tim Nineteenth Century for February begins with a rather lame defence of the group system, , The Twilight of the Parties," by Mr. Stuart Hodgson. Mr. J. J. Ide contributes a...

The religious ferment in England under Charles II and James

The Spectator

II has often been studied, for out of it came Noncon- formity as an organized force. But Dr. C. E. Whiting's comprehensive and dispassionate Studies in Puritanism from the...

To a very large extent Lord Sanderson's Memories of Sixty

The Spectator

Years (Methuen, 10s. 6d.) is a history of the recent phases of the working-class movement on its educational side, for he was intimately connected; as tutor and 'eventually as...

It may be pedantry to object to an abridgment of

The Spectator

Boswell's Johnson. It is not pedantry to open such an abridgment in a critical spirit. We do- not think, however, that the truest lovers of Dr. Johnson will grudge this "...

The title of Sir David Harris's Pioneer, Soldier and Politician

The Spectator

(Sampson Low, 8s. 6d.) is rather more alluring than the contents justify. The author's pioneering mainly consisted in a rapid achievement of a good living as a diamond-broker in...

General Knowledge Questions

The Spectator

Oun weekly prize of one guinea for the best thirteen Questions submitted is awarded this week to E. hitching, Stoneleigh ? Moor Park, Rickmansworth, Herts, for the following...

Page 30

It is not an enviable thing to be the child

The Spectator

of a famous person, for such an inheritance can weigh down the second generation with. a sense of deadly finality. Miss Viola Meynell has Rot succumbed. She stands as an...

The present Exhibition at Burlington . House has invested all things

The Spectator

Persian with a new interest. The Bdhei'i World, recording the progress of a movement which arose in Persia during the last century, proves that the land of Omar Khayyam has more...

The foundation of St. Nicholas College for specialized training in

The Spectator

Church Music has already become a landmark in the history of the Church of England. When Dr. Nichoison first announced his plan, many were inclined to think that it was quite...

Ardent collectors of Mr. Humbert Wolfe's poetry will welcome a

The Spectator

selection called Early Poems, republished by Basil Blackwell at six shillings. It contains the London Sonnets—that slim book which was the Hesperus of his now deeply...

The twenty-sixth annual issue of Australia- To-day : 1931 ("

The Spectator

The Australian- Traveller,". Commerce House. 328 Flinders Street, Melbourne. Australia, 2s. 6d.) is devoted above all to the encouragement of immigration froth _Great Britain....

In his short, but arresting book, God in the Slums

The Spectator

(Hodder and Stoughton, 2s. 6d.), Mr. Hugh Redwood describes the work of the Salvation Army in the slums of South London. " Modern miracles " are recounted with fascinating...

The Keepsakes and Forget-me-nots and other, annuals of the earlier

The Spectator

nineteenth century have been a subject of ridicule for decades. They were very popular in their day, but the many copies printed cannot have been very carefully preserved, for...

Mr. Robson has written an authoritative book on The Development

The Spectator

of Local Government (George Allen and Unwin, 12s. 6d.). Few people, perhaps, realize the immense import- ance of local government in our modern community. Suffice it to say that...

Answers to Questions on Plutarch's " Lives "

The Spectator

1. Cicero.-2. Alcibiades.-3. Pompey's.-4. Pericles.— 5. Anaxagoras.-6. Demosthenes.-7. - Alexander, of Buce- phalus. 8. Pericles—his head was too long and out of proportion to...

Page 38

TURNER AND NEWALL.

The Spectator

Despite the reduction in the dividend, the Report recently issued of Turner and Newall was generally regarded by the Market as satisfactory in the light of the general trade de-...

DISTURBING INFLUENCES.

The Spectator

Elsewhere most of the influences operating have been against holders of stocks. English railways continue under the influence of poor traffics and the wages dispute, while...

GAS LIGHT AND COKE.

The Spectator

The comparatively mild weather in the South of England would seem to have affected the earnings of the Gas Light and Coke Company, the Report showing a slight falling off in...

* * * * ROYAL MAILS.

The Spectator

AN unpleasant feature among Industrial shares during the week has been the fresh weakness of Royal Mail Steam Packet Ordinary Stock, the quotation on Tuesday last being only £2...

SOUTH METROPOLITAN GAS.

The Spectator

The directors of the South Metropolitan Gas Company may be congratulated upon the economies effected during the past year. In consequence of smaller sales and less profit from...

Financial Notes

The Spectator

HESITATING MARKETS. IT says much for the resisting power of the Stock Markets to unfavourable influences that prices , should, on the whole, keep fairly steady, at all events...

Page 40

Motoring Notes

The Spectator

The 16 h.p. 6-Cyl. Singer Saloon THIS is a reliable type of family saloon which is very fully equipped and is sold at £280 . With the exception of the insur- ance policy, the...