23 NOVEMBER 1956, Page 19

SLR, —Is it not time that the loose use of the

word 'imperialist' as a term of opprobrium ceased? The exercise of empire devolves inescapably upon nations which recognise a duty of leadership in the face of stagnation and squalor. We need not be ashamed of the exercise of power. The biographer of Arch- bishop Benson has recorded a picture of that great man, newly arrived in a remiss and seedy diocese, striding round his garden, switching the dead tops from the herbaceous border with a walking stick, and repeating : 'These people need rousing into tranquillity.' That is universally true of backward peoples, likewise of overfed 'neutrals.' We may thank the Prime Minister for having rescued the British name from false humility.—Yours faithfully,

1 Chapter House Street, York *

A. J. MCMULLEN