PASSPORTS
SIR,—One would not wish that Strix in his fascinating article 'Slim Volume' should make a false point in stressing the enormous changes and their implications in the passport of today and that of thirty years ago. But his noting of the fact that there now appears the words : 'the property of Her Majesty's Govern- ment and may be withdrawn at any time' has less significance that he would have us believe.
The passport has never been the property of the individual; it is true that this fact was made more acutely felt when Mr. Justice Charles pronounced upon its ownership in 1929.
What is significant is the use to which a passport is now put. It is used as much to check people going out of the country as it is to facilitate their travels abroad—its original and only function.—Yours faith-
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