10 AUGUST 1945, Page 5

The question whether King John did or did not sign

Magna Carta has aroused more interest than many greater matters are apt to. My critics have attracted defenders into the field. One declares that John did sign, for the dictionary defines the verb " sign " as "to mark with a sign, express with one's signature, initials or an accepted mark, as an acknowledgment, guarantee, ratification, &c." Another says he has been told that there exists in the archives of Exeter Cathedral a deed of gift for the upkeep of the church at Bampton, signed by William I. Well, this is all very interesting ;

but the matter has now, I think, been adequately explored. * * * *