12 APRIL 1924

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As though to make that point plain, the Committee goes

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on to make the further assumption that " German economic activity will be unhampered by any form of control organization other than that provided for in the scheme." All...

The Committee draws a sharp distinction between Germany's tax-paying power

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and her capacity to make external payments, and remarks that failure to recognize this distinction has been " the most fruitful source of difficulty." It is recommended that the...

NEWS OF THE WEEK.

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T HE issue of their Reports on Wednesday by the two Expert Committees on Reparations is the most important event in foreign politics that has happened for many months. The...

EDITORIAL AND PUBLISHING OFFICES: 13 York Street, Covent Garden, London,

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W.C.2.

The Dawes Committee points out that it is useless to

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build any constructive scheme " except on a basis of good faith," and they rely on all parties to carry out the scheme on such a basis. That is perfectly true. It is worth while...

As regards the nature of control, the experts propose that

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the German railways shall be converted into a com- pany with a capital of £750,000,000. Half of the managing board will be nominated by trustees under the Reparation Commission....

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The result of the Italian elections is that in the

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Chamber there will be together 374 Fascisti, 65 Socialists and Communists, 40 Giolittian Democrats, 17 Social Demo- crats, and 39 " other parties." The total number of members...

There has never been a more confused or more un-

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satisfactory Labour situation than the one which is threatening to lead to a national lock-out in the ship- yards. We do not pretend to understand, still less to judge, of the...

It is really an elaborate scheme of " Unproportional Representation,"

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and as such it seems to have considerable merit. After all, any system with local single-member constituencies such as our own might be extremely unfair to such a movement as...

In the House of Commons on Friday, April 4th, the

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second reading of the Guardianship of Infants Bill was carried without a division. The Bill provides that the mother of every legitimate child shall be the guardian jointly with...

While expressing our thorough agreement with the principle of the

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Bill, we must point out that there may be a danger. In a letter to the Times, Mf. Claud Mullins has shown that when the responsibility for the regis- tration of births rested...

Last. Sunday Baron Matsui made an important state- ment to

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the Times correspondent on the Japanese attitude to the Singapore scheme. It goes far to sub- stantiate the view we have all along held, that whatever polite assurances might be...

The abandonment of the scheme will unquestionably allow Japan to

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slacken her own naval construction, which she naturally will be glad to do. If we had pro- ceeded with the construction of the base, she would unquestionably have increased and...

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A remarkable discussion on the moral aspects of birth control,

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which was very significant of the movement of thought, took place at the conference on Christian Politics, Economics and Citizenship at Birmingham on Tuesday. A report which was...

The question of Waterloo Bridge came before the London County

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Council on Tuesday, when it was agreed to accept the proposal of the Improvements Committee. The Committee had asked for a vote on account of £1,000,000 to reconstruct and widen...

In the House of Conunons on Tuesday Mr. Shaw, the

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Minister of Labour, moved the second reading of the Unemployment Insurance (No. 3) Bill. It substitutes a maximum period of 41 weeks of benefit for the 26 weeks prescribed by...

We cannot find, within the limits of journalistic convention, words

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strong enough to record our agree- ment with the widespread and growing public protest at the action of the British Empire Exhibition authorities in disfiguring the magnificent...

We tell in our leading columns the whole lamentable story

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of the Government's handling of their Rents Bill and their subsequent defeat. The solution which Mr. MacDonald has found to bring him out of the impasse that resulted on...

Bank Rate, 4 per cent., changed from 3 per cent.

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July 5, 1923 ; 5 per cent. War Loan was on Thursday, 102 k ; Thursday week, 1024- ; a year ago, 10211.

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THE LABOUR SPLIT AND THE POLITICAL SITUATION.

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FROM OUR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT. M INISTERS have decided not to treat the adverse vote on the Rent Restrictions Bill as a matter of confidence. But the position of the...

TOPICS OF THE DAY.

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THE SETTLEMENT ABROAD AND A POLITICAL TRUCE AT HOME. T HE Reports of the Expert Committees, upon which we all hope a stable European settlement will be founded, have been...

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DEMOCRACY ON TRIAL IN EUROPE.

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-KING LEAR (Act IV., sc. vi.). " No, they cannot touch me for coining ; I am the King himself." B Y the end of May the suffrages of millions of men and women in the distressful...

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NOTICE TO OUR READERS.

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With the approach of the holiday season, during which many readers will desire their copies of the Spectator sent to temporary addresses, the publisher feels it neces- sary to...

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THROUGH THE SMOKE.

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AND SOME ACCOUNT OF THE EFFORT OF LEEDS TO GET OUT OF IT. O NCE, when the achievement of Victorian industrialism seemed at its zenith—at the moment of its highest...

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STANDARDIZED FOOTBALL.

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A NATOLE FRANCE somewhere points out the -CX- comedy of life in the suburbs of a great city where, if you could take out the fronts of the houses (as in the Queen's doll's...

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THE

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ENGLISH-SPEAKING WORLD. BY EVELYN WRENCH. T HE South African Party received a severe blow as the result of Mr. A. G. Robertson's defeat at the by-election at Wakkerstroom by...

Both the American and British airmen who are trying to

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fly round the world have been held up by engine trouble. The United States army pilots were delayed for several days at Seattle, but they were subsequently able to leave for...

The Kenya Observer gives a full account of the annual

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meeting of the Association. Of especial interest are the references to the wonderful skating lake near the top Of Mount Kenya, where it is also possible to ski and toboggan....

In view of his diminishing majority General Smuts probably did

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the wise thing ; delaying the evil day would certainly not have improved his prospects. It is impossible to foretell what the result of the election will be, although...

The Royal East African Automobile Association is a very live

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organization as is obvious to anyone who reads its interesting report. Quite apart from the service the Association has been able to render to its members during the past year,...

A dramatic sequel to the South African Government's defeat in

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the Wakkerstroom by-election was the announce- ment by General Smuts on Monday in the Union House of Assembly of the immediate dissolution of Parliament —a decision which has...

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New Zealand is little further from the western coast of

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the United States by way of San Francisco than is Cape Town from London. If the New Zealand Govern- ment planned a carefully-thought-out publicity cam- paign throughout the...

A track has been cut through the virgin bamboo forest

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up to the frozen lake by Mr. Ernest Carr, who has also erected rest houses en route for the accommodation of visitors. It is now proposed to proceed with the con- struction of a...

The suggestion has again been made in the American Press

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that a fresh arbitration treaty with Great Britain on the lines of the unfortunate Hay-Pauncefote treaty which was killed by the Senate during Mr. Taft's pre- sidency might be...

I notice that the Auckland Star has been lamenting the

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general ignorance about New Zealand—certainly one of the most attractive countries on the face of the globe. Apart from the Commonwealth of Australia, New Zealand is to most...

American seed catalogue writers are beginning to learn the art

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of the late P. T. Barnum, the super-showman. This is how the pansy is described in a seed catalogue which came into the possession of an editorial writer on the New York Nation...

THE THEATRE.

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"THE CONQUERING HERO," BY ALLAN MONKHOUSE, AT THE QUEEN'S. WE are introduced to the persons of the play at the moment when it was not yet quite certain whether England had...

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It is reported that a great tower, 450 feet high,

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is to be erected as the central feature of the long facade of Selfridge% . Store in Oxford Street, and the proposal has not been received with approbation in the architectural...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR.

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CONSERVATIVE POLICY. [To the Editor of the SrEcrsroft.] Sza,—At the recent meeting of the Conservative Party it was strongly emphasized that a merely negative policy of...

I cannot resist drawing attention to the recent publications of

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the Sir John Soane Museum in general, and the Publication No. 8, The Works of Sir John Soane, R.A., in particular. Soane was one of the most original and inspired of English...

ARCHITECTURAL NOTES.

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TnE . quality of perfection, by which is meant the entirely successful achievement of the end in view, is to some people almost irritating.. Such people argue quite soundly that...

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A SHAKESPEARE EMENDATION.

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• [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Reluctant as anyone must be to differ from so great an authority on textual criticism as the Vice-Provost of Eton, I cannot feel that in...

A CIVIC SENSE IN ENGLAND ?

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—It is good to know from the article in the Spectator that some English people deplore the hideousness of all our manufacturing towns and...

DR. STEFANSSON ON OSTRICHES AND ESKIMOS.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I have been travelling most of the time since you published my last series of three articles in the Spectator, 'and I am, therefore, not...

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POETRY.

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AUSTRALIAN AUTUMN. Now is the highest noon of summer drought, And earth with cracking lips Sighs heated breath, and draws a hood of clouds To shade her sombre face. The open...

THE STORY OF COAL : A CORRECTION., [To the Editor

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of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—In the advertisement " The Story of Coal No. 7.—The Owners' Offer to the Miners," which appeared in your last' issue, there is an incorrect statement in...

LATE MIGRATION OF REDWINGS.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The letter which you were good enough to publish on March 29th on the appearance of redwings in London on March 17th has brought use an...

CRUELTY IN SPORT.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] ST11,—With reference to your article on the above subject.! Some years ago I was fishing in the " Top Stream " of " The Rocks," at Newtown...

GERMANY AND BLACK TROOPS.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Owing to absence from London I did not see the Spectator of March 29th till to-day. The article on page 492 headed " France and Mr....

ARCHITECTURAL NOTES.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra,—Wfll you allow use to thank you for your new feature —" Architectural Notes " ? If it continues as delightfully as it has begun, it will...

A REMEDY FOR BLACKMAIL.

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—The remarks made by the judge in the recent blackmail case, on the apparent increase of this foulest of crimes, have attracted a good...

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BOOKS OF THE MOMENT.

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THE VAGARIOUS POLE STAR. The Pilgrimage of Festus. By Conrad Aiken. (Martin Seeker. 5s. net.) The Sleeping Beauty. By Edith Sitwell. (Duckworth. 5s. net.) Ma. D. H....

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BOOKS.

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THIS WEEK'S BOOKS. COUNT LEON ToLsroi comes forward with an attempt to show the peace and placidity of Tolstoi's family life. " Tur- geniev," he states, " spoke with envy of...

SQUIBS AND MARVELS.

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Eyeless Sight. By Jules Romains. Trans. by C. K. Ogden. (G. P. Putnam's Sons. 58.) A Critical Examination of Psycho-Analysis. By A. Wohlgemuth, D.Sc. (Allen and Unwin. 10s....

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A HANDFUL OF PLEASANT DELIGHTS.

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The Harleian Miscellany. Edited by Henry Savage. (Cecil Palmer. 12s. 6d. net.) WILLIAM OLDYS, quaintest of antiquaries, shrewd needle- eyed strainer of printed and manuscript...

" JUST-SO " ANTHROPOLOGY.

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CULTURAL anthropology as conceived by Mr. Perry is a very simple affair indeed. It consists of one axiom (or article of faith), and one deduction arising therefrom. The axiom...

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DOGBERRY AND VERGES.

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The Westminster City Fathers (The Burgess Court of West- minster), 1685-1901. By W. H. Manchee. (John Lane. 16s. net.) Tan situation of Westminster at the very gates of London...

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Mr. Frank Harris's new volume contains a dozen short , stories.

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Within that compass it covers a remarkably wide' field. The scenes of the stories are laid in places as far apart as Vienna, Samarcand, France, China, Central Africa, Heaven....

FICTION.

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VISIONS AND WARNINGS. The Dream. By H. G. Wells. (Cape. 7s. 6d.) FAR preferable to Mr. Wells the romantic is Mr. Wells the realist, and far preferable his account of the...

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After the delicate work to which this writer has accus-

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tomed her readers, the rather coarse texture of her present novel will prove a disappointment. The story of the heroine, married at an exceedingly early age, begins with a...

THE FORTNIGHTLY.

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The Byron centenary, Turkey, Germany and the Labour Government are the main topics of this month's issue, and in each of them two or more contributors have something to say. Sir...

Mine. Kailas is Finnish and, Mr. Galsworthy vouches, well known

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out of England. This volume is the first that hits been translated for us. The short stories in it are re- creations of feudal life in Esthonia ; almost all are based on actual...

Miss Storm Jameson has followed up her much-discussed Pitiful Wife

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with a novel of a very different kind at an alarm- ingly short interval. The Pitiful Wife- was a strange book. One could never tell from one moment to the next whether it was...

THE NATIONAL REVIEW.

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Mr. L. S. Amery, who last month lamented the loss of our industrial supremacy, now shows how we may regain more than we- are supposed to have lost, by developing the ire as a...

THE APRIL MAGAZINES.

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NINETEENTH CENTURY. The most important article on foreign affairs is by Dr. Benes on " The Foreign Policy of Czechoslovakia." Dr. Benes was,- of course, formerly Prime Minister...

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THE CONTEMPORARY.

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Lord Meston, one of the few experienced Anglo-Indian officials who favoured Mr. Montagu's scheme of dyarchy, has begun to have misgivings, and expresses them in a notable...

BLACKWOOD.

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Fiction and travel sketches, very good of their kind, fill most of the month's issue. Captain Pitman's paper on crocodile-shooting in India is of interest, and Mr. David Hannay...

SHORTER NOTICES.

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Lord Long's volume of reminiscences is like his own politcal reputation—straightforward, simple and trustworthy. " The great fact which is ever present to my mind," he says, "...

EMPIRE REVIEW.

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Mr. E. V. Knox and Mr. E. V. Lucas contribute a mock Ode on the Wembley Exhibition. It is very good fun and, unlike most mockery, will help instead of hurting. Mr. Austen...

THE TREFOIL. By A. C. Benson, (Murray, 12s. net.)

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Mr. Benson's narrative has all the mellow quiet of an autumnat Sunday afternoon in the country. It tells what he can remember of the three phases of his father's life that led...

REMINISCENCES. By A. H. Sayre. (Macmillan. 18s. net.) Dr. Sayee's

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work as an archaeologist is well known and respected, and in this book he shows himself in lighter vein— witty, gently reminiscent and anecdotal. He reveals the story of his...

THE LONDON MERCURY.

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The article by Prince D. S. Mirsky on " Byron" makes the April number of the Mercury notable. It is vigorous and decided : but its chief interest is in the contrast between...

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LOVE IN CHILDREN. By Oskar Pfister. Translated by Eden and

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Cedar Paul. (Allen and Unwin. 24s. net.) • In this volume the Swiss pastor reviews the history of love in the ages, to the great comfort of us moderns, and then turns lovingly...

FINANCE-PUBLIC & PRIVATE

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[BY OUR CITY EDITOR.] RISE IN INVESTMENT STOCKS. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Quite an exceptional number of favourable in- fluences have operated on the Stock...

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FINANCIAL NOTES.

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The question of whether to convert or not to con- vert has been exercising the minds of holders of the existing 5 per cent. War Loan during the past few days. In many respects...