15 JULY 1911, Page 16

cor,Tigurrna NOUNS.

[To 2113 EDITOR OP 7PCR " SPECTATOLn . SIR,—A letter under the above heading in the Sp-edgier of July 8th recalls some words of William Cobbett's on the subject. In his "English Grammar," published in 1919, he holds that either the singular or plural may be used, but the fallow- ing is one among many illustrations he gives of the habit of not using either consistently: "You may use either a singular or a plural verb with a noun of multitude, but you must not use both numbers in the same sentence. It is wrong to say • Parliament is shamefully extravagant, and they are returned by a gang of rascally boroughmongers."—I am„ Sir, &e.,. ROBIRT BOWEL 13 Park Terraee, Cambridge;