A GRAVE situation was undoubtedly created by the withdrawal of the British naval force from the Concession at Hankow, but in our judgment the British Government hiiVe followed...

the Chinese from the Russians, but we can by such a wise policy as the Government have so far pursued prove to the Chinese that Russian supervision is not merely unnecessary but...

lesson from Japan. When Japan emerged from her hermit state and desired to place herself in free contact with the outside world she had an even longer road to travel than lies...

dilemmas of his own creation. He finds fault with Great Britain for allowing the northern militarists to collect surtaxes. He says that Great Britain is thus " financing the...

To the Directors of . 21 Ironmonger Lane. The SPECTATOR, Limited. London, E.C. 2. 13 York Street, London, W.C. 2. 21st December, 1926. Gentlemen, We have examined the Company's...

Landon, W.C. 2.--A Subscription to the SPECTATOR costs Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR is registered. as a Newspaper. The...

half-year ending December, 1926, is now ready. A copy will , be sent poet free to readers 'enclosing ls. in stamps upon application to The Publishers, 13 York Street, Covent...

Message is very like an appeal for a vote of confidence. There has been so much suspicion of the State Department owing to the rather unconvincing statements which the...

Concession at Hankow the Cantonese flag was run up on the principal buildings. It need not be doubted that Mr. Chen desires an immediate renewal of business. He has been urging...

Prime Minister should summon a conference to discuss peace in industry. He thought that the conference might consist of representatives of the Trades Union Con- gress, the...

comes in for much criticism, most of which is unfair. Nobody outside the extreme wing of Labour, however, will disagree with the opportune and courageous address which he...

French Senate were held. The result was that the seats held by the Left—various denominations of Socialists and Communists—were increased from 2 to .16. As tin Senate as a -...

confirmed the belief that he is committed to a forward policy in Nicaragua. He denied that he had any wish to intervene in the political affairs of Nicaragua or any other...

published messages from Mr. Chen. The message in the Daily Mail of Wednesday promised security to foreigners and added that if there were any failure on the part of the...

likely to happen from the Senate elections as they are conducted indirectly through comparatively small colleges. Yet it is reasonable to expect that on the whole time will be...

Chamberlain, who was notorious before and during the War as the Englishman who became a fanatical apologist for Germany. His book, Foundations of the Nineteenth Century, was...

impossible. The position of the trade unions has greatly changed ; their funds are nearly exhausted and the moderate members— probably the majority in most of the unions—are...

revision of the Prayer Book. There was an Evan- gelical . procession in the streets like that of last October to protest against " Romanizine tendencies. The Bishops will sit...

a point to help the trader. An increase of 100 per cent. over pre-War rates was per- mitted by the National Tribunal, and the companies brought that increase down gradually to...

and now that controversy haS Concentrated upon the reservation of the Sacrament. There is talk among both Evangelicals and Anglo- Catholics of seceding from the Church if they...

goods traffic by about 6} per cent. Of course any rise at this moment when everybody is looking for a revival in trade is inopportune, but there are several ex- cuses for the...

of persons being bitten by Alsatian wolf-dogs. Experts have said that these impressive looking animals are partly descended from wolves. If that is true, an occasional...

betting tax. The object of the inquiry is to find out whether the tax is doing any injury to racing or to -the breeding industry. The Racing Correspondent of the Times says that...

on December 3rd, 1925. War Loan (5 per cent.) *irs un Wednesday 100 if ; on Wednesday week 100/ ; a year ago 100f. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 86f ; on Wednesday...

I T is well known that the easiest of all Parliamentary opportunities belong to the Opposition. This is only natural, for the Opposition has the one unifying and compelling...

T HE United States are . finding out, as we found out long ago, how slippery is the slope of Imperialism —a slope on . which the very best intentions prove of little or no...

M R. MURRAY ALLISON'S article is most interesting. What an ally is the advertising expert ! We look on our hoardings and in our newspapers at those wonderfully made allurements...

I.—The Need for a Definite Policy [Our contributor, Mr. Robert Boothby, is Conservative Mem- ber of Parliament for East Aberdeenshire.—En. SPECTATOR.] T HE necessity for...

A T the stern of Turnip Top's big sampan—both ends were equally blunt, but I suspect it of having been the stern—there was a fine, long, curly sea-serpent with a scarlet tongue....

1 ROST, which makes timid birds bold and bold birds brazen, drives to the towns a set of unaccustomed isitors. Until their haunts were closed against them hey had not the...

/ 1HE deaf man is very lonely. He moves in a silent world which is silent only to him. About him there is speech, there is laughtet, the quick give and take of discussion, the...

IT is not that we do not desire the truth, but that only on rare occasions , are we allowed to look thereon. Happily, I encountered one of those occasions a few days ago, when I...

[" LOST PROPERTY,.' HY BEN LANDECK, AT THE EVERYMAN THEATRE.] IN discussions about play-making, dramatists often assert that " anybody can write a good first act." Why is it,...

• [Fr.Enusti Ater AT THE ROYAL ACADEMY.] LOANS from five foreign governments, many churches, and private owners (American and English especially), have resulted in a triumphant...

notify The SPECTATOR Office BEFORE MIDDAY ON MONDAY OF EACH WEEK. The previous address to which the paper has been sent and receipt number should be quoted.

Rose and Gold FROM my low window I behold No skies but just a golden wood, A spread of golden grass, and gold Sheep in the golden solitude. Somewhere the sunset turns to...

SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Last summer I came across a book entitled Concerning Corsica, by Madame Rene Juta. This was responsible for my two visits to this island, this ".heavily-loaded...

A LETTER FROM THE RIVIERA. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Nowhere are the perplexities resulting from the erratic behaviour of the franc more acutely felt than on the...

It is a liberal education to read some of the garden catalogue that descend at this date upon the country resident. They are very gorgeoUSly illustrated, often in colotir ; and...

THE VORACIOUS PIKE. A second enquirer desires to know how to clear a loch of the pike that eat all his trout. The query coincides with the publication of a number of recent...

Colour, indeed, may almost be called a new invention. One catalogue told me last year of the evolution of all the jewelled varieties of the nemesia, daintiest of all annuals,...

of the same railway toward the intensive farmers who depend on its punctuality. A dossier has been collected and sent to me by some of the most expert farmers in England, giving...

Every countryman noticed how during the coal strike the countryside was raided for wood. Never was such a tidying up of fallen trifles. The fashion set at that crisis has not at...

AN OLD BRADSHAW. In the course of watching wild, birds in the Cambridgeshire Fens some years ago, I stopped for a night at a remote farm- house. On enquiry about trains at the...

Something was said in this place last week of she wisdom and humanity of not shooting partridges after they have begun to pair. I see with pleasure that in a very exhaustive...

spawn. They do not breed nearly so freely es most of their victims, but their longevity makes up for this deficiency. What age they may have achieved I do not know. My oldest...

THE LEAGUE AND PUBLICITY [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra—Mr. J. Murray Allison's very interesting article, " World-Wide Publicity for the League of Nations," provides...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—May I be permitted to congratulate Sir Frank Fox on his pmposal-.; for a limited tariff to help our farmers, for without it there can he...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In the Spectator of December 25th Miss Rout puts for ward a theory that the gigantic statues in Easter Island may have been modelled from...

a better means of making public the aim and achievements of the League of Nations than by advertisement in the newspapers ? Government now controls broadcasting by wireless ;...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. Mackenzie asks the question, " How far is the decline in the birthrate voluntary ? " Surely the decline is entirely voluntary just as...

Hercules Read's queries, may I explain that the evidence I referred to as to the casting of statues, &c., and carving of molten material, has been detailed by me in a report...

• [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia—The vagaries of the Rent Restriction Acts have been exposed in your columns again and again both by myself and other correspondents ; but...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Mr. Amory's letter suggests a change which is, as far as my experience (nine years of O.T.C. and five of Scouting) goes, unfortunately...

SIR,—Twenty years ago I read in the Spectator " that it was as incorrect to speak of the Tyrol' as, say, `.the Scotland.' " Yet in to-day's issue (p. 35) I fmd the former...

• - [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR :] Sin,—Apropos of your admirable article on a new Covent Garden, in your issue of December 11th, and your further remarks a week later, I...

of the SPECTATOR.] SI11,--The strength of the Socialist appeal lies mainly in the widespread and pathetic ignorance which prevails, particularly among workpeople, in regard to...

SIR, -- Mr. Warre Bradley's letter in your issue of January 1st, advocating a " Peace in Industry " week of conferences and discussions by all the leaders of Capital and Labour...

gratefully acknowledge an anonymous donation of 2s. 6d. from a Belfast reader and we wish to thank all those readers of the Spectator who generously responded to the appeal of...

the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] think that many others besides myself will have read with astonishment the statement that the SPectator regards Queen Mab as a much greater work...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In his article No. VII. on "How to Make British Farming Pay" the author refers to an amendment of Patent Laws as " Protection." That was...

. [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—I am glad to see you ventilate this matter of charges made on coupons for literary and other competitions. Just before the War; there...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIE,—The future development of the Surrey bank at West- minster is again under discussion, and it seems as if we are now in measurable reach...

• [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] • SIR, —A recent number of the Spectator made mention of swallows seen in December in England. Has any successful attempt been made there to...

.[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sut,—Surely it would be impossible to remedy this grievance against bachelors by means of penalizing and meddlesome legislation. The majority...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I think the following few links deserve to be recorded. I may mention, to give due weight to the record, that the names of all five...

title, Flotsam. of My 11 earl, by Miss Montgomery (Arthur H. Stockwell, 2s.), shows a lyrical quality that is quite rare enough to be attractive. Here, at least, are none of...

The Practical Book of Decorative Wall Treatments. By Nancy McClelland. (J. B. Lippincott and Co. 42s.) NErrimn of these books could in any way be considered as practical in...

A NEW contemporary, The London Weekly, publishes its third number to-day. Last week's issue contained a sound and appreciative notice of • Mr. Vachell Lindsay's poems (we...

sixty centuries of Human Evolution . . . we will find that violent sub- jugation of race by race, or class by class has always been the deepest cause of the decline and death of...

with an interesting retrospect of its fifty years of life. The Editor recalls the famous libel actions of the past in which his journal appeared, and says of more' recent...

the time of the Pharaohs to the end of the eighteenth century, dismisses Hindu medicine in a brief twenty pages of amusing stories. Islamic medicine is also very briefly touched...

Oun next competition is a very simple one and will be judged strictly by popular vote. We ask our readers to give us the names of the ten most popular characters in fiction of...

Mind and Personality. By William Brown, M.D., D.Sc. (Uni- versity of London Press. 12s. lid. net.) Tins is an important book for all those who watch with interest that gradual...

Tins is a very disappointing book. That sounds a harsh judgment, but it is one I feel bound to make, or be dishonest. When we bear in mind the greatness of Gissing's literary...

The Approach Towards a System of Imperial Air Com- munications. (H.M. Stationery Office. 5s.) HERE is a lively and interesting Government publication of a kind of which we hope...

MESSES. ROBERT ...OLDEN are to be congratulated on their enterprise in bringing out a " Library of Impostors." For, as the Editor says in his introduction, most of us find a...

Mn. GosSoP makes it clear at the outset that he limits his consideration of advertising strictly to that section of it described by his title. He explores no new fields,...

Before going abroad or on their holidays readers are advised to place an order for the SPECTATOR. The journal will be forwarded to any address at the following rates :- One...

Duke of Merioneth marry for reasons of convenience, Lucinda being ambitious and the Duke desiring, for political purposes, a beautiful Society favourite. Neither loves the...

Hester Viney. (Lewis. Os.)—It must be premised that this valuable little work is intended as a text-book for teachers, and therefore, unfor- tunately, it is not in language and...

of this novel is just seventeen years old we are told. Sere Leverel, a " rover and conqueror " with mingled Russian and Latin blood in his veins, goes North to explore Arctic...

CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY. By Arthur Gray. (Cam- bridge. Heifer and Sons. 15s. net.)—We welcome a new edition of the Master of Jesus's book, which has been for some time out of...

reader will agree with almost everything the author has written, except the title, which remains a mystery to the end. " Commonsense Ideas about Health " or " Per- sonal Hygiene...

AND THEN-FACE TO FACE AND OTHER STORIES. By Susan - Eiti. (T. Fisher Unwin. 7s. 6d.)—Miss Susan Erti has--a-fine sense:of the dramatic. In fact, the success of these stories is...

damnation men have _further damned women : to drag a creature into hell by its love . . . it is funny and damned, isn't it ? " Such is the familiar theme around which this new...

(Frederick Warne. 10s. 6d.)—Mr. T. A. Coward has given us a welcome addition to his two previous volumes. He opens with a most illuminating chapter on migration, by the light of...

THE continuation of. NC \ ilk Brand's Narrow Seas is Cloud- burst (John Lane, 78. 6(1.), which, - though said not to be a sequel, will not be particularly interesting to people...

Railways and National Prosperity Dt'RING the past week there has been just a slight recovery in market quotations of English Railway stocks. For many months—it might be said...

BANKING RESULTS. BANKING results for the past half-year and, indeed, for the whole of 1926, are panning outjust about as anticipated in these columns some weeks ago. With one...

At the time of writing, the balaicce-sheets of most of the banks have still to be published, but I have no doubt whatever that in strength and liquidity they will equal, if they...

of shareholders of the British American Tobacco Company were ,the statements made by the Chairman, Sir Hugo Cunliffe- Owen, setting out the general nature of the company's...

The Stock Exchange has begun the year quite well and both as regards existing securities and new capital issues there has already been a considerable amount of activity....

Not by any means for the first time, a feature of the annual balance sheet of Glyn, Mills and Co. which has been published during the past week, is the very Co., proportion of...