U NLESS weather conditions detain them King George and Queen Elizabeth will by this time have begun their journey home. The value of the service they have rendered since they...

T HE international situation is in appearance, if not in reality, markedly less favourable, and all the indica- tions are that it is not in appearance only. The challenge by...

Princes and their repre- sentatives in Bombay on Monday of the Instrument of Accession to the new Federal Constitution is a blow to the hopes reasonably entertained of the early...

dealt with in the Civil Defence Bill, which received its third reading in the House of Commons on Wednesday. The ques- tion of deep shelters or slighter blast-proof shelters,...

preparing the way for the carrying out of the last stage of the Coal Mines Act, which must be reached in the form of compulsory, if not voluntary, amalgamations in 5940, and has...

there has been spirited debate in educational circles on the question whether Militia service should come before a University course or after it. The pros and cons have been...

British and French Con- cessions at Tientsin differs from the series of provocative actions that have preceded it—such as the killing of Mr. Tinkler and the arrest of Colonel...

There have been further repercussions of the Czecho- Slovakian gold transfer, and the retention in Spain of Italian war material. It semed to many people astonishing that the...

the turgid atmosphere of the Civil Defence Bill for another place on Monday, on the supposition that Lord Halifax would correct the misinterpretations of his speech made on the...

and Colonel Wedgwood on the Home Office's policy towards German refugees shows that, numerically speaking at all events, the " invasion of aliens " amounts to surprisingly...

Abortion discloses an unsatisfactory state of affairs, for which no single remedy exists Criminal abortion appears unmis- ta kably on the upgrade, however cautiously the...

Marketing Board, had a cheerful report to make at last Friday's annual general meeting. Production rose over the year by nearly 7 per cent. to top the thousand-million-gallon...

is suffering from a form of nervous depression. Even the more sanguine forecast another crisis before the end of the summer; but they believe that Hitler will not fight and,...

C LEAR and unexceptionable though the statement of British policy by Lord Halifax in the House of Lords last week was, Opposition critics in this country, who fixed their...

O NCE a year, on the occasion of the Colonial O ffi ce vote, the House of Commons turns its attention to that vast portion of the British Empire whose inhabi- tants are not in a...

criticism of Lord Perth. But it is not criticism, let alone gratuitous criticism, to say that just as he has no special qualifications for running the Ministry of Agriculture,...

th.:. revelations regarding aspects of the Soviet regime published earlier this year in the Saturday Evening Post of Philadelphia under the name of a General Krivitsky, who was...

commonly paid in hotels, restaurants and clubs—the result, no doubt, largely of the assumption that tips will bring the total to a reasonable level. Apparently conditions in...

A N interesting, though obviously not an original, question is raised by an American reader of this column. Just as captive Greece took her fierce captor captive by imparting to...

as it appears to have been, in broad daylight, when the galleries were open to the general public, is on the face of it a remarkable achievement. But given enough...

I was wrong, it seems, in thinking that Mr. A. P. Herbert would succeed in dissuading the President of the Board of Trade to disallow the incorporation of Dr. Buchman's move-...

By HUGH SETON-WATSON J UGOSLAVIA is the principal State of the Balkan penin- sula, and of great importance to the Axis Powers. Her economic resources are eagerly sought, and...

By ERWIN D. CANHAM Washington. D ESPITE—and, one might truly add, because of— extreme pressure from many American Jews, the United States Government is most unlikely to...

By H. G. WOOD W E usually approach the Gospels under the influence of a long line of commentators and authors of lives of Jesus who have sought to harmonise the records and...

By OUR MEDICAL CORRESPONDENT C ONSIDERING that the problem of sleep has fascinated poets, philosophers, and natural observers since the beginning of history, it is curious how...

By Dr. CHARLES SINGER 0 F the many definitions of science perhaps the most satisfactory is " The search for those conclusions on which universal assent is attainable."...

By HUGH NICOL N OT, of course, down its tree: koalas are much too good at climbing for that ever to happen. Koalas— those fascinating originals of the teddy-bear—are slipping...

By HELEN SIMPSON N O doubt of it, the back page is the one to go for. Editors edit news ; that is what they are paid for. Leaders, like other exponents of the Fiihrer prinzip,...

IN DEFENCE OF MEXICO By ALEXANDER MARTIN B RITAIN needs Mexico's oil, across the safe Atlantic route. We have not been getting it, because we brusquely refused to understand...

overt comments of the Nazi speakers and journalists is in fact astonishing. There is the same use of such phrases as " impertinence," " governess," " British hypocrisy," " Ger-...

made a speech in which he affirmed our dual policy of resistance and conciliation. On the same day, in a written reply to a ques- tion by Lieutenant-Commander Fletcher, the...

after years the causes of the catastrophe of 1914-1918, to attribute the mistakes of their diplomacy to the diseased mind and fatal influence of Geheimrat von Holstein, one of...

to despair by the exactitude with which German history repeats itself. The overtures which in the opening days of this century were made to Germany by the Prime Minister's...

is true that the Prime Minister's statement may have caused depression at Bucharest, Athens, Ankara and elsewhere and have confirmed those elements in Moscow who assert that our...

By HAROLD NICOLSON H IS Majesty's Government during the last ten days have made important endeavours to counter the encirclement propaganda which has been let loose in Germany...

" Goodbye, Mr. Chips ! " At the Empire. " Louise." At the Carlton.—" You Can't Cheat an Honest Man." At the Leicester Square.—" The Good Old Days." At Warner's. SOME of us may...

OPERA "Don Giovanni " At Glyndebourne MR. CHRISTIE is adding nothing new to his repertory at Glyndebourne this yea:. Thz: uncertainties of the times for- bade new ventures....

Quickening the Pace o facts are most apparent about the present cricket sc.:son: the first is that the pace of county matches has i•ibly quickened ; the second that the West...

[D'un correspondant parisien] EMILE ZOLA, chacun le sait, avait une maison de campagne a Medan. En bonne menagere, sa femme conservait les cor- nichons du jardin. Certain :.)ur...

May I offer a suggestion to those many people, young and old, who will doubtless compete for the Do prize offered by the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds? The subject...

I spent a pleasant hour this week in a garden which pro- duced a succession of prize-winning irises at the latest show of the R.H.S. They looked very lovely, especially as seen...

We have all noticed how fond of a motor-car is the domestic dog ; but the dog is by no means unique in this taste. Among other animals the Panda, which has been enjoying a...

The scientific as well as the curious are given plenty of food for speculation in almost all the ways of this bird. For the first time the other day I learned that its large...

Beneficent Drought Three weeks and more of much sun and no rain have singularly failed to qualify the freshness and greenness of the English scene. Grass, grain crops and most...

In talk about the fine stretch of coast scenery about St. David's Head, for which the National Trust seeks funds, the phrase " Little England beyond Wales " has been freely...

Some recent accounts of the strange habits and behaviour of that eccentric bird, the brush turkey, now multiplying its progeny at the Whipsnade Zoo, have misrepresented or mis-...

The National Trust has now collected enough money to save one bit of the Pembrokeshire coast. St. David's Head and Carn Llidi are safe ; but a good sum is needed to complete the...

[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a pseudonym, and the latter must...

re-reading the Gospels was rather like mine on first reading them. I first came to grips with them at the age of twenty-four, with no Christian back- ground, with only a...

SIR,—It is always pleasant to read Mr. C. E. M. Joad. His facts are often to the point. His style is clear. But in last week's article all his critical objections to the Gospel...

SIR,—I read Mr. Joad's article with great interest, because, starting from the Agnostic position, I arrived at precisely opposite conclusions. Reading as I would have read any...

Sut,—Professor C. E. M. Joad's article on this subject is further evidence of the fact that a writer may possess dis- tinguished literary gifts and still be unable to appreciate...

a convinced Christian, to express the hope that Professor C. E. M. Joad's contribution on "Re- reading the Gospels " will be very widely read and digested. I have never seen...

SIR, —While reading the issue of The Spectator dated June 9th, I read on page 982 in the News of the Week, under the head- ing " Unhappy Spain," that " The German contingent [in...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Sta, — The Times has recently published correspondence from headmasters, dons and others in which some of these gentlemen point out how fatal...

Sta,—Colonel Hawkes ends his article on Dr. Salazar in your issue of May 26th with " Lisbon is the capital of a friendly nation which has been our ally for more than 50o years,"...

The Spectator should lend its columns to propagate the views of Dr. Joad, as set forth in the last number—not the views of the seeker after truth, for the history of centuries...

recent days the United States of America have taken a realistic interest in the present conditions in Europe. They appear to have thrown off their extreme isolationist attitude....

SIR, — It may be presumptuous for someone without special knowledge or qualifications to intrude into the controversy over Palestine, but it may be pertinent to suggest that...

I am sure that I am expressing the feelings of many of your readers when I say that the admission to your issue of the 9th inst. of the paragraph, under the head of " A...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SrR,—Referring to Mr. I. H. Robinson's letter in your last number about English Prime Ministers, he does not appear to know that the Scots in...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—I have read with great interest Mr. Michael Sadleir's friendly and courteous letter about my comment on the practice of defacing review...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—Our attention has been called to a letter which appeared in your issue of May 26th on the subject of the policy of this Association in...

The English Book Trade (Michael Sadleir) Little Old New York (D. W. Brogan) ... The Economic Basis of Class Conflict (Honor Croome) France and Munich (D. R. Gillie) Poland :...

New York Panorama : A Comprehensive View of the Metro- polis. Prepared by the Federal Writer's Project and presented in a Series of Articles by Various Hands. With an...

HERE, under a variety of headings, is a consistent present- ment of the liberal attitude towards the economic trends of today. To quote the admirably accurate " blurb," the...

MR. WEirrn continues to deserve the gratitude of all those who are trying to discover what is happening to France. For the third time in five years he has rushed to our help...

Paideia : the Ideals of Greek Culture. By Werner Jaeger. Translated by Gilbert Highet. (Basil Blackwell. 155.) A WIDE circulation of this book would do a valuable service to...

POLAND is a fascinating country for the descriptive writer. Its strangeness and remoteness from Western Europe, its vivid contrasts between antique manners and modern aspira-...

Early Stages. By John Gielgud. (Macmillan. 12s. 6d.) YOUR only really intolerable egotist is the one who is un- aware of his failing. So, in admitting that his friends tell him...

OF these five books about five countries, only one is written simply from the traveller's viewpoint, omitting political and social aspects. This is Mr. Brian Lunn's, which is...

MR. EVANS has quite rightly given more attention to the earlier—that is, to the pre-War—work of G. K. Chesterton than to the later. First, because his most characteristic and...

Karavan. By Nils Ambolt. Translated from the Swedish by Joan Bulman. (Mackie. i5s.) DR. Nils AMBOLT is a Swedish scientist who for five years, from 1928 to 1933, worked in...

GEORGE MEREDITH would have appreciated this book: its vivacity of expression, its occasional intolerance, and its air of gallant panache would have seemed to him typical of the...

State Interference in South Africa. By F. J. van Biljoen. (P. S. King. x5s.) THOUGH its interest to English readers is inevitably less widespread than to the author's...

fictional form " the coming of the European to a part of Africa previously untouched by white influence as it appeared to one family of one tribe living in one small district "...

IT is a waste of time criticising Leon Bloy as a novelist : he hadn't the creative instinct—he was busy all the time being created himself, created by his own angers and...

By KATE O'BRIEN The Duchess of Popocatapetl. By 'W. J. Turner. (Dent. 7 , , 6d.) The Duchess of Popocatapetl, like all the work of Mr. W. J. Turner, is addressed to the...

By CUSTOS ONCE again the City is becalmed. As I suspected last week, the recovery movement, which after all had carried industrial share prices almost to the high point of...

This is the oil market's busy season and, taken as a whole, • the big companies are showing results for 1938 which are fairly close to most estimates. Burmah Oil, as I explained...

It is obvious that from the purely trading standpoint Roya. Dutch fared somewhat worse last year than in 1937, although the setback was much less sharp than in the case of...

to say about oil consumption as well as the company's production programme at the meeting of Venezuelan Oil Concessions. He contrasted the absence of any material increase in...

BOOTS PURE DRUG COMPANY, LTD. RECORD SALES EXPANDING EXPORT TRADE LORD TRENT'S REVIEW OF A SUCCESSFUL YEAR THE fifty-first annual general meeting of Boots Pure Drug Co., Ltd.,...

Although they showed net profits slightly below the record figure, Boots Pure Drug Company achieved record sales in the year ended March 31st. At the meeting last week the...

dull markets, when activity springs up in an out-of-the-way share, since the buying or selling is likely to be well-informed. In the last week or two there has been some quiet...

RECORD STEEL PRODUCTION RECORD output was achieved by the British steel industry during May. Output of steel ingots and castings, at 1,218,100 tons, compared with 1,058,200...

VENEZUELAN OIL CONCESSIONS GREATER PRODUCTION ACTIVITY INTENSIVE DEVELOPMENT THE twenty-third ordinary annual general meeting of the Venezuelan Oil Concessions, Limited, was...

FISHER AND LUDLOW'S POLICY Fisher and Ludlow, the motor body builders, are to con- centrate in the immediate future on efficient production rather than on expansion. This is...

the share- holders know what to expect, Mr. Philip Hill fulfilled that function amply at last week's meeting of Beechams Pills. He was prepared to foreshadow increased profits,...

BEECHAMS PILLS NEW RECORD IN PROFITS THE eleventh ordinary general meeting of Beechams Pills, Limited, was held on June 8th at the Hotel Victoria, London. Mr. Philip E. Hill...

Lisbon Electric Tramways expect to be called upon for con- siderable capital expenditure in connexion with the town- planning scheme which is now under consideration there. At...

SOLUTION NEXT WEEK The winner of Crossword No. 14 is the Rev. F. J. Ashley, Wesley Manse, Horrabridge, S. Devon.

[A prize of a Book Token for one guinea will be given to the sender of the first correct solution of this week's crossword puzzle to be opened. Envelopes should be marked...