11 MAY 1929

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The whole scheme represents a present capital value of about

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£1,800,000,000 as compared with the £1,800,000,000 which Germany originally offered. The Allies originally claimed £600,000,000 for Reparations proper, and as £500,000,000 is...

We always expected that if a deadlock was reached —and

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it was reached in the middle of last week—Mr. Owen Young, the American representative, would come forward with some proposal half-way between what the Allies demanded and what...

News of the Week

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Reparations I N the Reparations controversy the week has been fruitful of ups .and downs,' singular reversals of expectations, and, finally, a crisis which is not resolved when...

Before we come to the surprising proposal which upset this

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fair prospect let us look at the figures of the latest German offer. Germany would make 37 annual payments at an average rate of about £103,000,000. From the 87th to the 58th...

The Government are morally right in their firm rejection of

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a scheme of sacrifice which is proposed by America but in which - America does not appreciably .. share. We notice with regret, however, that members of, the Labour and. Liberal...

[Signed articles do not necessarily represent the views of the

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SPECTATOR.]

EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES : 99 Gower Street, London, W

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.C.1.—A Subscription to the . Seaerexoa costs Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registered as a Newspaper. The Postage on...

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The American attitude ought to be clearly understood. Mr. Gibson

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yielded to the French thesis that trained reservists should not be reckoned in estimates of military strength, not in the least - because' he had changed his mind, but because...

We should think, however, that Sir John Simon will find

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it difficult to reconcile his present exultation over Mr. Lloyd George's " conquest of unemployment " with what he said only last September. A correspondent of the Daily...

Sir John Simon's Seat In dissuading- the Conservatives of Spen

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Valley from running a candidate against Sir John Simon, Mr. Baldwin has done a characteristically generous thing. It will " pay " him, we are sure—to put the matter on very low...

The chief progress, if it may be described as such,

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in the military controversy took the form of two agreements. First, it was agreed that statements of national expen- diture on war material should be sent annually to the...

The Independent Labour Party The Independent Labour Party, as was

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to be expected, is not pleased with Mr. Ramsay MacDonald's programme. The New Leader, the organ of the Independent Labour Party, says that it will not pause in the Election...

Disarmament On Monday, the Preparatory Commission of the Dis- armament

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Conference adjourned, and will probably not meet again until after the next Assembly of the League. Although much which will make history has happened during the meeting, the...

We sincerely hope that the examination of the details necessary

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for naval reduction as proposed by Mr. Gibson will be as prompt as possible. The guns, armour, age, speed, radius of action, and so on, of cruisers will have to be reduced to a...

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International Co-operation It is good to see British delegates playing

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a prominent part in the discussions of the Consultative Economic Committee at Geneva. The present session provides the opportunity for a very necessary examination of conscience...

The London Traffic Bills It is satisfactory that the House

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of Commons has passed the private Bills for co-ordinating the traffic of London. : These Bills were the only practicable alter- native to the much desired Government Bill for...

The new Primate; replying for The Guests, took for his

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main theme a subject dear to the Spectator, namely the preservation of England's rural beauty. He deplored the spread of drab and dreary suburbs, fitted with " every modern...

Communist Disturbances in Berlin That May Day " Labour "

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demonstrations are now virtually confined to Communist fanatics and hapless tights is a sure sign, of the times. In Berlin the general picture of comedy was tinged with tragedy...

Slum Clearance and Compensation A Unionist Government is popularly supposed

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to rely for a considerable part of its support on small property-holders. Yet in its ordinances for slum clearance the Ministry of Health has been guilty of a flagrant disregard...

The Royal Academy Banquet There was the usual distinguished gathering

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at the Royal Academy Banquet last Saturday. Prince George in his speech showed a keen appreciation of the importance of art in the civilization of a period. Lord Salisbury, in...

Sir Geoffrey Butler The death of Sir Geoffrey Butler, on

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Thursday, May 2nd, at the early age of forty-two, is a sad loss to the Unionist Party and to the country. He will leave almost as big a gap in the United States, where he was...

Bank Rate, 51 per cent., changed from 41 per cent.,

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on February 7th, 1929. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 1001x.d. ; on Tuesday week 1001x.d.; a year ago, 1001x.d. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 881 ; on...

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Common Sense About Coal

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UT E make no apology for returning again and again to the common sense aspect of national and inter- national problems. It is our experience that the ordinary layman, because...

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The Success of Export Credits

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M ANY heads were gravely shaken when, in 1926, the Government launched their scheme of Export Credits. It was said that a Unionist Government, who should be the last people in...

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In Defence of the Faith

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The Spirit of Orthodox (Eastern) Devotion—I. [Professor N. Arseniev, author of "Mysticism and the Eastern Church," is a Russian scholar who has many associations with this...

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The Week in Parliament

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IT was a characteristic gesture on the part of the late House of Commons to pass without any dis- cussion, and within a few days of its own demise, a measure to raise the legal...

DIRECT subscribers who are changing their addressee are asked to

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notify the SPECTATOR O f fice BEFORE MIDDAY on MONDAY or RACE WEEK. The previous address to which the paper has been sent and receipt reference number should be quoted.

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The Presence of Flowers W ITH every spring that comes to

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London, bringing its flowers in the places where we have always been accustomed to see them—in the parks, in the formal gardens—but passing practically flowerless, as though it...

Mothercraft in Elementary Education

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rpRE General Election of 1929 has an obvious signifi- 1 cane for infant welfare workers. The time will come when the problems of infant nurture will be investi- gated by...

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The Younger Generation and Marriage [This is a third article

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written from " The Younger Point of View." The Spectator is anxious to give its readers under thirty this opportunity to express their views.—En. Spectator.] - E - T was...

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Yorkie

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M INE hostess and I were discussing the book version of The Singing Fool film (Woolworth, 6d.) and had just arrived at the conclusion that this was the sort of book upon the...

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Art

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The Academy [SECOND NOTICE.] ArrEit a second visit to the Academy my opinion remains the same, namely, that there is nothing outstandingly successful, but plenty, in fact more...

Music

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[COVENT GARDEN OPERA.] Tine Covent Garden Opera Season opened with a good and Welcome performance of Der Rosenkavalier. It was an alto- gether happy choice for the first night....

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Correspondence

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A LETTER FROM MADRAS. fro the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, — On the day when 1,001 more or less illustrious ones filed past His Excellency the Governor and Viscountess...

A Hundred Years Ago

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AINTING. It is not quite safe to contemn the modern school of painting. You should even profess to have two or three favourites among living British artists. Do not let Wilkie...

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THE SITUATION ON THE STOCK MARKETS.

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In spite of the fact that prices of securities on the New York Stock Exchange remain amazingly and persistently high. there are increasing misgivings among responsible...

SOME EDUCATION FIGURES.

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From $781,707,000 in 1913-14, educational expenditures in the United States, according to a recent survey in a Report by the Committee on economic changes—of which President...

THE SUCCESS OF THE T ▪ ALKIE • S Recent achievements of

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the talking motion picture and its varied possibilities have aroused the enthusiasm alike of dramatic critics, producers, theatregoers, scientists and educators. The talking...

A " PREFACE TO MORALS."

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The literary event of the week is the publication of Walter Lipmann's Preface to Morals. Mr. Lipmann is one of the Editors of the New York World, and is commonly regarded as...

THE HONOUR OF THE PRESS.

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An avalanche of newspaper protest has followed the revelation that one of the large power companies had invested substantial sums in purchasing an interest in various news-...

American Notes of the Week

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(By Cable) [The SPECTATOR hopes to publish week by week a survey of news and opinion in America, cabled from New York by our American correspondent.] AN ATTACK ON MR. ANDREW...

President Hoover's physical condition has occasioned some anxiety. Immediately a

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new President takes office, his health becomes of national concern and a member of the medical staff of the Army or the Navy is assigned to live at White House and look after...

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The League of Nations

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The A B C • of European Economics RESULTS OF THE WORLD ECONOMIC CONFERENCE. The World Economic Conference of 1927 left behind it two important organisms whose raison dare is...

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MORE WILD FLOWERS.

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The fight for the preservation of our wild flowers is not to be allowed to die. The sword is to remain out of the sheath till " England's green and pleasant land," dissimili...

MAY'S Gu"rs.

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May has brought two things new to this year of grace : a south wind with rain in its embrace ; and though the speed of growth and budding and flowering has been almost fantastic...

CONGENIAL TREES.

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Everyone with an orchard is asked this spring and summer to watch which kinds of apple or pear or plum flower simulta- neously. Some quite astonishing results of cross...

Country Life

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THE CLEVEREST Binh. The strangest story with regard to bird intelligence, especially the case of owls, comes from the Surrey estate of Sir George Courthope (the estate from...

DANGEROUS RATS.

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A good account, worth the attention of anyone who might think of naturalizing any foreign animal, reaches me from the Continent on the subject of a certain large rat that is...

WRYNECR VERSUS OWL.

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A neighbour of mine had both little owls and wrynecks nesting in his garden, and kept particular notice of the wry- necks, which are not very often attracted to nesting boxes....

A FAITHFUL LABOURER.

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An unexpected illustration of the continuity of tradition in rural life is worth recording from Lincolnshire. I found new buildings being put up to accommodate the immigrant...

At this juncture one of the keepers saw with his

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very eyes a little owl attack and kill a brood of pheasant chicks ; but the deed done, the bird flew away without eating its kill. A watch was maintained. Presently the bird...

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Letters to the Editor

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INSURANCE AGAINST WAR [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—I have noticed some comments in the English Press on the suggestion of financial assistance for States threatened...

WHY NOT OPERATE THE SAMUEL REPORT ?

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—In a recent issue Mr. Philip Gee states that a voluntary pooling of wagons (which is the outcome of amalga- mations) is being carried out...

THE ZOO CENTENARY

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —The Zoological Society has marked the centenary of its foundation by publishing Dr. Chalmers Mitchell's History of the Zoological...

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IN DEFENCE OF THE FAITH

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sts,—A belated Press cutting from England has just reached me here in Chicago, containing the letters of " Unbiassed Enquirer," J. W. Poynter...

AN ANIMAL WEEK

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—Last autumn you gave prominence to some corre- spondence describing the keeping of an animal week-end in Jamaica under the auspices of...

THE YOUNGER GENERATION

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Su;,—As one who was also six years old at the outbreak of War, I should like to congratulate " R. M. B." on his sincere and temperate defence...

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WHERE MEAT COMES FROM

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—This article came as a painful surprise to me, and pro- bably to many others of your readers also ; for certain state- ments there made...

TEMPERANCE POLICY

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your issue of April 20th contains a very - excellent article headed " A Practical Proposal for Temperance Reform," signed by " Pruden...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—I am sure that few people will agree with the advice of the Bishop of Liverpool, contained in your issue of April 27th, that there should be further drink legislation on...

THE IMPROVED PUBLIC HOUSE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. F. M. Phillips asks, what in my opinion constitutes an improved public house, and how can the brewers support the movement for such...

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A SUMMER COURSE IN AMERICA

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIa,— Tabor Academy, at Marion on the Massachusetts coast, has renewed the invitation (noted in the Spectator a year ago) for two British boys...

" SLAVES OF THE GODS "

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[To the Editor of the SeEcrAeoa.] Sm,—Miss Mayo may exaggerate the evils of Child Marriage and the practice of devoting little girls to the service of the gods (and others). She...

-VEGETABLES OR MEN ?

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I read Mr. Hamilton Fyfe's arresting article with envy. It must be magnificent to have such a ranging and adventurous mind. A less...

FLORA ANNIE STEEL

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[To the Editor of the SPEcrAToR.] Sue,—I read with the greatest interest, in the Spectator of May 4th, the appreciation of that wonderful book, On the Face of the Waters, by...

Page 20

A FORGETFUL DOMINION

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—Your - correspondent " Wanderer " is perfectly correct in stating that there is no memorial to Edward Gibbon Wakefield in New Zealand,...

STAG HUNTING

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your correspondent seeks to show that the hunted stag— the carted stag—is indifferent to its pursuers. Can you find space for the other...

Poetry

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Sea, Nocturne LIGHTS on the sea-line go, Vibrating to and fro, Errant, mysterious, low, Seen bright, seen dwindled ; But that one steadfast spark That cleaves the drooping...

ENGLISH UNDEFILED.

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Everyone who is anxious to preserve the purity and beauty of the English language must regard with dismay the danger of incorporation into the mother speech of such new coinages...

IS NATURE_ CRUEL ?

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In my letter on " Is Nature Cruel ? " to which Mr. E. C. Oppenheim replies in your issue of April 27th, my point of view was to show that whether the infliction of suffering in...

TRANSPORT COSTS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—The letter by " Parallax commenting upon Com- mander Windham's advocacy of the spending of money on roads and air service in preference...

POINTS FROM LETTERS

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AMBASSADORS FOR FRANCE. I read with interest an article in the Spectator of April 6th headed as above, but I fear your correspondent was wrongly informed.. He stated that the...

THE PORTLAND VASE.

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In answer to Mrs. Steel's letter in the Spectator, asking - it the replica made by Wedgwood which she possesses - is unique. It may interest her and your readers to know that I...

TRAPPING.

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I notice a letter in your columns this week on the difficulty of humane trapping. I wonder if the trap committee of the R.S.P.C.A. have ever considered the possibility of...

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Some Books of the Week

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DURING the past month the books most in demand at The Times Book Club have been :— N o e-Frarrosr.—Memoirs of an Old Parliamentarian,, by the Rt. Hon. T. P. O'Connor ; Zola and...

Praise_ of the beauty, of Nonesuch books has become a

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plati- tude. The fact that " the whole " is " under the care of Francis Meynell " is a sufficient guarantee not only of its artistry, but also, if it be an addition, of its...

According to the ex-Emperor William II. in My Ancestors (Heinemann,

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10s. 6d.) the early Zollerns from the time of Frederick H., the Hohenstaufen, nourished the idea of Divine Right (which he calls " objective State-Authority "), thereby lighting...

grateful to Messrs. Peter Davies for their reprint in one

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volume of Moll Flanders and Roxana. It is a massive volume for the price (7s. 6d.). The adventures of Robinson Crusoe are a part of the history of England and known to every...

There is much to be said for " source books."

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provided that the choice of the originals is intelligently made. A very good example of this kind of historical literature is Professor G. M. Trevelyan's Select Documents for...

Professor Keynes and Mr. H. D. Henderson have written a

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clever and plausible pamphlet answering in the affirmative the question Can Lloyd George Do It ? (The Nation office, 6d.). They maintain that the Liberal leader'S pledge to...

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A New Competition

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Tux Editor offers a prize of five guineas for the paragraph of not more than a hundred and fifty words, on any subject in which is hidden the largest number of names of...

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Page 22

By Air to India

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The Third Route. By Sir Philip Sassoon. (Heinemann. 15s.) The Baghdad Air Mail. By Wing-Commander Roderic Hill. (Arnold. 18s.) WE read Wing-Commander Hill's book first,...

A Great Lady Again THIS new volume of letters by

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Lady Augusta Stanley concerns her later life—and is hardly less entertaining than its pre- decessor. As the wife of the Dean of Westminster she was still the friend and...

Page 23

Wit and Reformer The Letters of Peter Plyntley ; and

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Other Writings. By Sydney Smith. Edited by G. C. Heseltine. (Dent. Os.). IT was not all wit and good companionship that made a name for the Rev. Sydney Smith. He was...

Page 24

The Discovery of " Long Will"

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A VERY important little book has recently been published by the Oxford University Press. In it Mr. Allan II. Bright, for the first time with any certainty, gives a habitation...

Page 27

The Setting Sun

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THE " decline " of which Mr. Tilley treats in this scholarly' and conscientious volume covers half the long reign of Louis XIV. It was the period in which Louis took upon...

A Great Trilogy Ashanti Law and Constitution. By Captain R.

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S. Rattray. (Clarendon Press. 25s.) ONCE again Captain Rattray has placed us heavily in his debt. The present volume completes a great Ashanti trilogy and rounds off the...

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Fiction

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Varying Shades VARIOUS shades of colour are represented in these four novels: crude, natural, and pastel. The Golden Fleece opens naturally enough, but is spoiled by the...

Giorgione's Landscapes

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Giorgione : A New Study of his Art as a Landscape Painter. By Sir Martin (Bann. 15s.) SLR MARTIN CoNwAV is qiiite precise as to what he essays to tic in this book, and it is no...

As Others See Us

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A History of the English People, 1895-1905. By Elie Haldvy. (Henn. 25s.) As ithers see us " is a salutary medicine, nor need we be afraid of the dose administered to us in Dr....

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MURDER ISLAND. By Wyndham Martyn. (Jenkins. 7s. 6d4-Murder Island is

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the name which an American multi-millionaire gives to a lonely isle off the coast of Maine, where he builds a palatial home and entertains large house- Parties. For purposes of...

General Knowledge Questions

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Ova weekly prize of one guinea for the best thirteen Questions submitted is awarded this week to Mr. W. F. Broadbent, 35 Seymour Street, Portman Square, W. 1, for the following...

A Library List

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REFERENCE BOOKS :-Hote to Enjoy Birds. By M. Woodward. (Hodder and StouOton. 2s. 6d.)-How to Observe in Archaeology. Second edition. (British Museum. 2s. 6d.)-A Dictionary of...

Page 32

Mark Twain was a Baconian, as Mr. James M. Beck

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reminds us in his preface to Sir Dunbar Plunket Barton's attractive book on Links between Shakespeare and the Law (Faber and .Gwyer, 12s. 6d.). And the otherwise shrewd...

More Books of the Week

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(Continued from page 745.) As if to drive home the fact that the Church is very much alive, the London diocese has started on a literary venture which deserves every...

Art in the - Sale-Rooms

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EVERYONE who strolled into .Christie's on May 2nd must have been impressed by the - crowd of patient sightseers who waited at least two hours to seethe Portland Vase put up to...

In bygone days, it is said, clergymen who had no

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great gift of eloquence used to buy their sermons ready-made. The Columbia Graphophone Company has now performed similar service for Parliamentary candidates who are doubtful of...

Answers to Questions on Italian History

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1:- Alaric, King of the Goths.--;--2. Nicholas Breakspear (Had' rian IV).-3. A.D. 697.-4. A plan for the simultaneous assassi- nation of Lorenzo de Medici and his brother...

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Finance—Public and Private

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Securities and the Election RIGHTLY or wrongly, it is assumed that, for good or for ill, the result of the General Election must have a con- siderable effect upon the course of...

STOCK MARKET FEARS.

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Finally, of course, there is the possibility of the election resulting in something like a stalemate, with the Conser vative Government returned to office, but with its power...

SOME APPREHENSIONS.

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I think, perhaps, therefore, it may be useful if I try and make clear some of the reasons why holders of securities, and more especially of what is known as high-class Home...

RENTIER FEARS.

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Moreover, if to the other influences were added th fact of more severe direct taxation, a further impet might be given to the downward . movement (a) beta of the bigger...

CO-OPERATION.

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Of course, it might be that ultimate salvation wo come along the lines of wage earners and capitalists operating in the matter of cheaper production, thereby counteracting some...

NO ZEAL FOR ECONOMY.

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Unfortunately, no one of the three political parties is really displaying the cause of National Economy upon its banner, but roughly and, I think, fairly stated, the...

IF LABOUR WINS.

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Assuming, on the - other hand, that Labour came into k office with su ffi cient strength to carry out its pro ramme, attention would probably be quickly directed to the...

IF THE CONSERVATIVES WIN.

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Assuming, then, for the moment that each party adheres to its programme, the outlook would seem to be something as follows : If the Conservative Government were returned to...

IF THE LIBERALS WIN.

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Assuming for the moment the rather improbable event of a Liberal Administration, it will be seen that the mere prospect of very large loan operations competing with existing...

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BRAZILLAN AFFAIRS.

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Until quite recently an unfavourable feature in the markets has been the dullness of Brazilian securities, w has been due to some anxiety with regard to the position the...

There were three points which gave special interest to t

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recent meeting of the Dunlop Rubber Company. There first the interest which always attached to the statements the Chairman, Sir Eric Geddes, with regard to the position this...

Financial Notes

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FAVOURABLE FACTORS. - ALTHOUGH the approach of the Whitsuntide Holiday; to followed almost immediately by the General Election, b at tended to restrict dealings in public...

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NATIONAL MINING CORPORATION.

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This Corporation experienced a good year in 1928, the realized profits being £194,181 against £145,514 in the previous year. The company has written off Investments £90,470, and...

Special interest attached to the recent meeting of share - holders

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of the Financial Times (1928), Ltd., as it constituted the first annual meeting of the new company formed in January of last year. Sir William Berry was able to present a most...

ROYAL EXCHANGE.

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The vitality of the Royal Exchange Assurance seems to increase rather than diminish with the passing of years. The fact that the recent meeting constituted the 209th Annual...

LONDON AND LANCASHIRE.

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At the recent ordinary general meeting of the London and Lancashire Insurance Co., the Governor, Mr. F. W. Pascoe Rutter, stated that the year 1928 had proved to be one of the...