14 JULY 1939

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NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

F OR the moment there is a slight relaxation of the tension created by the question of Danzig ; but though Mr. Chamberlain's recent statement has undoubtedly had a stabilising...

Turkey and the Peace Front In an impressive speech in

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the Kamutay last Saturday the Turkish Foreign Minister explained the reasons why Turkey has abandoned her policy of neutrality and joined the peace front with Great Britain and...

Hesitation in Tokyo Last week Japan celebrated the second anniversary

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of the outbreak of war with China by staging anti-British demon- strations in Tokyo, Tientsin and Shanghai ; and indeed Japanese opinion now regards Great Britain as the...

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* * * * American Neutrality Bill Postponed There is

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now little hope of early legislation in the United States for removing the embargo on the export of arms to belligerents under conditions favourable to coun- tries capable of...

A .R .P . Black -Out The " black-out "

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which took place in fifteen counties last Saturday night was certainly a valuable experience for those who took part in it, whether actively or passively. One of the most...

R.A.F. Flights over France Four squadrons of R.A.F. heavy bombers

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and eight of medium bombers carried out long-distance flights from England to France last Tuesday, the former making journeys to the neighbourhood of Bordeaux and back, in all a...

British Oversea Airways The derails of the British Overseas Airways

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Bill, which in effect creates a new public corporation to conduct the British oversea air enterprises formerly managed by Imperial Airways and British Airways respectively, have...

The South Tirol The recent agreement between Italy and Germany

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on the question of the South Tirol continues to provoke specula- tion. In pursuance of the agreement, an order has been issued by the Italian police expelling foreigners from...

Credits to Friendly Powers The Government's introduction of a Bill,

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to be passed into law before the summer recess, authorising it to give credits for the purchase of British exports to States in economic difficulties, has been received with...

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The House has filled up this week only at Question

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Time. Already it is beginning to wear its end-of-the-session air, and the odds and ends of legislation with which lately it has been faced are in present circumstances doubly...

All parties are anxious to support British civil aviation, but

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Sir Kingsley Wood's Airways Bill, introduced on Mon- day, came in for a good deal of criticism. Sir Hugh Seely, for the Liberals, objected to its smell of nationalisation, while...

Our Merchant Shipping The news contained in the latest quarterly

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returns of Lloyd's Register of increased shipbuilding in British yards 1 , highly satisfactory. There are 6o more ships being built than when the last returns were compiled in...

The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : Mr.

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Chamber- lain's statement on Danzig gave satisfaction throughout the House. There were a few comments that it might have been stronger—foreign ears miss all but the loudest...

A '• Times " Correspondence In some countries The Times

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is still regarded, sometimes with disastrous results, as the most representative organ of British public opinion ; in this country that reputation is being rapidly lost because...

Neglected Museums Lord De La Warr, President of the Board

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of Education, addressing the jubilee conference of the Museums' Associa- tion last week, said he was convinced by the facts presented in the Markham Report that an inquiry is...

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THUS FAR AND NO FARTHER

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M R. CHAMBERLAIN'S statement defining our position in regard to Danzig has caused relief to all friends of this country. They have been anxiously looking for convincing evidence...

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A PIONEER

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T HE death of Havelock Ellis this week emphasises once again that a prophet may get little honour in his own country ; and any tributes that are paid to him now are a poor...

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Mr. Chamberlain's worst enemies will not readily believe that his

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exclusion of Mr. Churchill from the cabinet is based on personal motives. Yet if a public motive is to be sought, it must inevitably be found in the fact that Mr. Churchill's...

* * * * A friend who had been listening

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to the proceedings of the ' Thetis ' tribunal has told me of a curious dream that came to him. He dreamed he was on board a submarine when an inrush of water occurred. The...

" Preserve them," admonishes the Chairman of the Veteran Car

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Club in that body's Gazette. "Dictators may come and Dictators may—and incidentally will—go! but no power on earth can manufacture any more cars prior to December, 1904. All of...

The hat fetish is very curious and interesting. St. Paul's

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directions about the meaning of hats in church are explicit if inexplicable. It is well established that a practising Jew must wear his hat when taking an oath, which is...

If at the moment of the ' Thetis ' catastrophe

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the Admiralty acted somewhat niggardly towards the Press, the London evening papers are taking a terrible revenge upon the tribunal of inquiry. Posters have been displayed,...

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK SIR ARNOLD WILSON, after spending a Sunday

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in Danzig, has arrived at " a basis of a settlement " of the European problem. His solution, strange to say, is identical with The Times's solution of the Czecho-Slovakian...

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IS RUSSIA READY FOR WAR ?

The Spectator

By NICOLAS BASSECHES [Mr. Basseches was Russian correspondent of the well known Viennese paper " Neue Freie Presse" or fifteen years] W HAT do we know of the Soviet military...

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THE BRITISH COUNCIL IN EUROPE

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By FRANK CLEMENTS T HROUGHOUT the main part of its four years' existence, the activities of the British Council (for Cultural Relations) have been shrouded in dignified...

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CHINA AFTER TWO YEARS OF WAR

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By GERALD L. G. SAMSON F RIDAY marked the second anniversary of the so- called " Lukouchiao Incident " which precipitated the Japanese invasion of China Proper. During these...

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A HUNDRED YEARS AGO

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Tans volume is a mine of statistics and advice for the young military surgeon, who has to examine recruits previous to their admission into the Army ; to certify that they are...

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THE MILITIA AND THE SOCIAL SYSTEM

The Spectator

By W. T. WELLS J ULY i5th, 1939, may live as one of the most momen- tous days in English history. It is the day when the first batch of our peace-time conscripts is due to be...

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MONEY FOR THE EMPIRE

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By H. V. HODSON C ORRESPONDENTS of The Times have recently drawn attention to the vivid contrast between the fate of Britain's investments in the Empire and her investments in...

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A LEAR OF THE TROPICS

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By RANJEE G. SHAHANI S TROKING his chin with a puzzled air, the man looked at the four roads leading from the square. He was a small fellow, with grey hair and a face...

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I explained to them at length, and with precision, the

The Spectator

actual import of Articles 102-105 of the Treaty of Versailles. The City of Danzig, I explained, although inhabited by a majority of German Nationals, was so situated as to be...

The elder of my two unexpected but most welcome guests

The Spectator

was employed in a wholesale business. His hours were 9.o to 5.3o, he was allowed Saturday afternoon free, and was given three weeks holiday a year. Four nights a week were spent...

PEOPLE AND THINGS

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By HAROLD NICOLSON e, 1 1HE English winter," wrote Lord Byron, " ends in July in order to begin again in August." The truth of this apophthegm was abundantly proved during the...

A change of method was evidently essential. I adopted the

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Socratic method. " So you are not prepared," I asked them, " to fight for Democracy?" " You bet we're not," they answered. " Then surely," I suggested winningly, " you must...

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Conzinonwealth and Foreign

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THE STATE OF FRANCO SPAIN By GEORGE EDINGER I TALKED quite recently to General Aranda, an outspoken leader in Franco's military mission to Germany, who has upset his hosts by...

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STAGE AND SCREEN

The Spectator

THE THEATRE Hamlet. By William Shakespeare. At Elsinore. THE second English Hamlet at Kronborg was a triumphant success. The Lyceum company, headed by John Gielgud and...

THE CINEMA

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• , The Hound of the Baskervilles." At the Gaumont.— Man of Conquest." At the Regal THE cinema has never yet done justice to Sherlock Holmes. The latest attempt is by no means...

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AUTOUR D'UN ANNIVERSAIRE

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[D'un correspondant parisien] Nous approchons du point culminant des ceremonies organisees pour le cent-cinquantieme anniversaire de la Revolution francaise. Selon les...

OPERA AND BALLET

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The Parisian Theatres Lan. week three nights in Paris afforded the opportunity of a visit to each of the three national theatres to see what, in the ordinary course of the...

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* *

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Doubly Sure Another oddity of bird habit was observed in the same beautiful garden. Two cuckoos' eggs were laid in one nest, if that phrase is permitted by the impassioned...

Electrified Flowers The growing contact between farmers and electricians has

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some curious details. Some of the flower-growers to whom it is important to hurry forward their blooms and vegetables to a particular date are now using underground electric...

COUNTRY LIFE

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The Royal as Index It was impossible to visit the Royal Show—the best and much the biggest ever held—without feeling that British agri- culture was vital, as well as great,...

A Cobwebbed Kingfisher In what queer, unlikely places birds, especially

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young birds, will appear! The other day, in a garden famous for its population of birds, a young kingfisher was found in an outhouse, gagged and bound with cobwebs. The theory...

New Fruits A small but very real advance in the

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nice art of the hybridisation of plants has been made in the matter of straw- berries. The secret lay in the use of the wild strawberry as one ancestor. The Paxton, already a...

In the Garden At the really wonderful display of flowers

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at the Royal Show in Windsor Great Park no single blooms were more admired than a group of Stuart Low's orchids. They looked like tropical butterflies. Yet such apparently...

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WHAT IS EMPIRE ?

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—Towards the end of his arresting article, " What Is Empire? " in your issue of July 7th, Sir Wyndham Deedes touches on the long-run...

' LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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[Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a pseudonym, and the latter must...

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A. R. P.

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, —Since I wrote the letter which you published last week (July 7th), Public Information Leaflet Number I has been issued. May I make some...

THE HEALTH OF THE MILITIA

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Sm,—With reference to Mr. Titmuss's and Mr. Brunner's letters in The Spectator of July 7th, commenting on my comparison between the medical...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]

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Sra,—Mr. Titmuss must, I feel sure, express the doubts and misgivings of most of those whose work brings them into close contact with the youth of the working classes. These...

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR]

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Sm,—In the last two issues of The Spectator there have been letters from your correspondents casting some doubts on the results of the medical examinations of the militiamen—in...

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CIVILIAN DEFENCE

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Sta,—Sir Ralph Wedgwood's article in your last issue calla attention to the difficult position of the householder with an income over £250. I...

HOOP OR CAR ?

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, — If a mere reader may intervene in the intercolumnar controversy between the writers of " A Spectator's Notebook and " People and Things,"...

RELIGION IN EDUCATION

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[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—I hope it is not too late to refer to the article in your issue of June 23rd headed " The Teaching of Religion." My excuse is the...

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BOOKS OF THE DAY

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Book Market (Graham Greene) Philosopher's Holiday (C. E. M. Joad) World Economy in Transition (Honor Croome A Critique of Russian Statistics (Ian Bowen) Two Great Englishmen (A....

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POLITICAL ECONOMY

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THIS is a book whos‘scope;and sweep might easily have be- trayed its author i14- empty- generalisations, into ill-judged flounderings far ouide the scope of his expertise, or,...

HOW CHARMING IS THE PHILOSOPHER

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Philosopher's Holiday. By Irwin Edman. (Constable. ros.) Fort once a wholly delightful book, witty, urbane, amusing and at the same time cultivated, learned, wise. Dr. Edman is...

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THE NEW STEAM-ROLLER

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THE progress of the Russian experiment has long been con- sidered of almost decisive importance in the debate between reformers and defenders of capitalism ; upon Russia's...

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TWO GREAT ENGLISHMEN

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AT a time like this, when we need all the memories of our past to console us for present discouragements and defeats, it is pleasant to turn to this admirable series of " Great...

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OUR MOTHERS AND THEIR DAUGHTERS

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The English Miss Today and Yesterday. Alicia M. Percival. (Harrap. los. 6d.) MISS PERCIVAL has produced an exceedingly readable book. It is, in fact, a serious history of...

HE SPEAKS THE LANGUAGE

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Australian Journey. By Paul McGuire. (Heinemann. 12s. 6d.) ONCE upon a time English publishers shook their heads when Australia was mentioned. This attitude was due not to lack...

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TRAVELS WITH A DONKEY IN DISCOMFORT

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The Island of Zeus : Wanderings in Crete. By Ralph Brewster. (Duckworth. 15s.) " RALPH BREWSTER'S first succes de scandale, The 6,000 Beards of Athos," we read on the dust-cover...

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FICTION

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By FORREST REID The Priory. By Dorothy Whipple. (Murray. 8s. 6d.) I HAVE no prejudice against a happy ending to a novel when . both theme and characters make it the probable...

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UNITED DOMINIONS TRUST

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There seems to be no limit to the expansion of turnover which has been a feature of the history of the United Dominions Trust, the bank of which Mr. J. Gibson Jarvie is...

INTERNATIONAL TEA RECOVERY

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The latest accounts of International Tea Stores will please the majority of shareholders, even if they disappoint the market optimists. Revenue has risen by £61,000 to £687,042,...

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

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WITH the August holiday season fast approaching nobody would expect the stock markets to generate much steam. It is, in fact, all too apparent that they are performing really...

WELLMAN SMITH OWEN PROGRESS

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Having written hopefully of the prospects of the Wellman Smith Owen Engineering Corporation I am glad to find the excellent impression created by the recent report fully...

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BANK AND INSURANCE YIELDS I have been examining recently the

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records of different types of investments during the last few months of political disturbances, and some of the facts are very reassuring. On the whole equity shares come out...

Venturers' Corner Earnings figures issued by the Francois Cementation Company

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are even better than my forecast made a few months ago. For the year ended March 31st profits, before charging interest and taxation, have amounted to £63,463, which not merely...

COMPANY MEETING

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ANGLO-DUTCH PLANTATIONS OF JAVA STRONG POSITION THE twenty-ninth ordinary general meeting of the Anglo-Dutch Plantations of Java, Limited, was held on July 14th at 19...

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COMPANY MEETING

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WELLMAN SMITH OWEN ENGINEERING THE Twentieth Ordinary General Meeting of the Wellman Smith Owen Engineering Corporation Limited was held on July i ith at the registered offices...

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AFRICAN AND EASTERN SHARE DEAL

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One of the few features which have aroused interest and even controversy in the markets has been the offer made by Lever Brothers and Unilever to acquire the whole share capital...

FINANCIAL NOTES

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STEEL OUTPUT'S HIGH LEVEL FURTHER evidence of the high level of industrial activity which has been reached in this country is provided by the June figures of iron and steel...

GOLD MINES OF KALGOORLIE

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Gold Mines of Kalgoorlie is a progressive Australian mining company which last year raised its total distribution from 5 per cent. to per cent., so that it caused no surprise...

MILLER ON FLOUR STORAGE

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Mr. A. H. Dence, the chairman of Hovis, had no difficulty in showing the shareholders at last week's meeting that the company has faced a sharply falling wheat-market with...

HOVIS, LIMITED

The Spectator

THE 41st ordinary general meeting of Hovis, Limited, was held, on the 6th instant, at the Caxton Hall, London, S.W. Mr. A. H. Dence, J.P. (the Chairman), dealing with the...

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BRITISH GLUES AND CHEMICALS

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The bone and fat industry is not among that large number of industries into which new activity has been infused this year. At the meeting of British Glues and Chemicals last...

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 18 SOLUTION NEXT WEEK The winner

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of Crossword No. 18 is Mr. Sydney Cubitt, Effingham Road, Surbiton.

" THE SPECTATOR " CROSSWORD SECOND SERIES-No. 19

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[A prize of a Book Token for one guinea will be given to the sender of the first correct solution of this week's crossword puzzle to be opened. Envelopes should be marked...