TAPER
SIR,—If Taper were to read beyond Chapter 1 in The Longest Journey, he would discover that the person who epitomises for him the Liberal Spirit, shows herself in the old familiar colours of the de- fensive hypocrisy of power as soon as she is given the reins to guide, goad or drive.
Another point made in the book is that problems of mundane sort, however apt to sully, have to he faced; while applauding Taper's idealism concerning the healthiness of a rebuff to Westminster figureheads, we must surely pay more attention to the immediate question, ignored by Taper, of whether we want one or the other of the two only alternatives for a next government, since a Liberal one is impossible. It seems a great shame to advocate practicability against worthy idealism, but in this case the only possible solution is to keep the ideal in one's heart and the other in the mind.
I heartily agree with the remarks .on authoritarian- ism; it is one of those creeping evils• which no one attacks till too late. But Taper is insulting our intelli- gence when, having said that the causes are not party-political, he concludes that this is therefore a reason for voting in favour of one party rather than another.
It goes without saying, of course, that the totally irrelevant piece of literary criticism with which he burdened its is as good an example of culture-snob cant as any of the political variety to be found in Westminster.--Yours faithfully.
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