19 JUNE 1926

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Let us look at the facts. The Royal Commission Report

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holds the field. We have felt strongly all the time that - the Report must be used. It would be the last word in folly to throw it away after such a heavy price has been paid...

NEWS OF THE WEEK

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T HE coal crisis took a new turn on Tuesday in the House of Commons. The immediate result of the debate•was greatly increased gloom, but we think that this was accidentally...

Wages are the test by which, almost exclusively, they measure

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upward and downward movements in the con- ditions of their industry. They have frequently been wrong in doing so, and they have commonly taken no account of the differences...

We pass now to the very important announcement which was

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also made on Tuesday that the Government intend to introduce a permissive Bill allowing the miners to work eight hours a day for a certain period. The Seven Hours Act will...

. That is the course which, as Mr. Baldwin announced

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on Tuesday, the Government intend to follow. It is .true that they say nothing at present about the purchase of royalties and the legalization of the sale of coal by...

Eprronili, AND PUBLISHING OFFICES : 13 York Street, Covent Garden,..tonckni,

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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 Postage...

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We ourselves feel rather strongly on this point, as the

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doctrine of high wages is, we believe, going to mean a great deal to British industry in the immediate future, and an appreciable reduction in such an important industry as the...

The fortieth session of the Council- of the League of

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Nations ended on Thursday, June 10th, the most curious, if not the most important day, of its history.. The serious and useful work of the session has been the decisions to lift...

In France neither Parliamentary government nor the franc has prospered

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during the week. On Tuesday the franc fell to 180 to the £ and M. Peret, the Finance Minis- ter, resigned with a hint that support which he had expected from the Banque de...

These troubles are to be regretted, but still more do

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we deplore the proofs that Spain and Brazil so little realize the purposes and essential spirit of the League, and are so incapable of throwing themselves " into the common...

There is no good news from China. A fortnight ago

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we recorded the- seizure of the salt gabelle in: the South- by Marshal Sun Chuan-fang. Since then the military authorities at Tientsin, presumably men of General Chang, have...

It would be unjust to leave this important debate without

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mentioning Sir Alfred Mond's remedy for the sickness of the coal-fields—a selling agency on the German model. What Germans have done in reconstituting the finance of their mines...

It is generally known that before the debate on Tuesday

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the Government tried to induce the owners to say that if the miners chose a longer day there would be no reduc- tion at all in wages. The owners felt unable to agree. They went...

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Even so, it is not so easy to decide what

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course the Government ought to pursue as some people assume. Irishmen in America supported sedition in Ireland for many years, and we do not remember that the Govern- ment ever...

A correspondent has sent us an article in the New

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York World which twits British reviewers with not having discovered so quickly as Americans did evidence for the belief that the book Diary of a Young Lady of Fashion was not a...

We regret to record the death of Lord Dunraven, who

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has been for so many years an attractive figure in the public eye. He inherited high position in Ireland and South Wales, but the multiplicity of his interests pre- vented...

The Government will make a statement after we have gone

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to press on the Russian money sett to this country. It seems to us that contributions sent for the support of the anti-Constitutional and illegal general strike may fairly be...

It is most satisfactory that the Government have decided to

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appoint a Royal Commission to inquire into the whole subject of the London bridges. Although we greatly hope that Waterloo Bridge may be sawed we hope still more that we have at...

In the House of Commons on Thursday, June 10th, Mr.

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Churchill exhibited the remarkable strength of his position in regard to the betting tax. The State, as he pointed out, accepted no more responsibility for betting than it had...

The fiasco of the Test Match has strengthened the demand

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that the matches with Australia should not be limited to three days' play. We sympathize with the demand. There is likely to be little testing if each match —except the last,...

Bank Rate, 5 per cent., changed from 4 per cent.

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on December 3rd, 1925. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 1001 ; on Wednesday week 100 f. ; a year ago 901/. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 87 . ; on Wednesday...

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WHY SOCIALISM

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NIV E publish this week a letter from the Editor of the Daily Herald who calls the doctrines which we have urged for years and have set forth- again in the preceding article, "...

TOPICS OF THE DAY

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A TURNING 'OF THE WAYS . T AST Saturday, when speaking at Hardenhuish Park, the Prime Minister used some words which, we trust, signify an earnest attempt to start a new way of...

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THE FRUITS OF EMPIRE*

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T HE Report of the Imperial Economic Comm ittee dealing with our fruit supply is a document of the first importance. It is sound, not only in its general suggestions, but in its...

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EGYPT AND ADLY PASHA.

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F ROM the recent crisis in Egypt Adly Pasha issues as Prime Minister with a Cabinet and Parliament overwhelmingly Wafdist ; and there is, perhaps, no man in Egypt who has less...

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THE WEEK IN PARLIAMENT

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BY NEW MEMBER. C OAL. That single word may be said to sum up the week's debates, discussions, cogitations, and anxieties : a word with which even the Russian issue is now...

CANADA AS THE FUTURE CENTRE OF THE EMPIRE

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By RICHARD DE BRISAY, Editor of The Canadian Forum. T O one who contemplates England with the detach- ment afforded by residence in another country, two things appear to be...

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SUNLIGHT RECORDS ERE is my thesis, now thirty-six years old.

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" In conclusion, as practical results of this inquiry, I would urge the following — (1) The establishment of means for having systematic and exact records of the sunshine in the...

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SWORDS AND SEARCHLIGHTS .

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IT's a camel, a camel ! " cried Aurea. " I'm not 1 sure whether we're in the Old Testament, or where." We were in Rushmoor Arena at Aldershot, as a matter of fact,- for the...

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LADY DU CANE : A LINK WITH THE PAST

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LDY A DU CANE, who died on Friday, June 11th, at the age of eighty-eight, had outlived most of her generation and too few people remember to-day not only what a remarkable link...

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The Johannesburg correspondent of the Times tells us that the

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Union Government is giving favourable consideration to the suggestion put forward by -Mr. Barlow, a leading Labour member, and strongly supported in the Pact ranks, that a...

In fine, we have the Conservative leader in Canada enunciating

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a policy very like that of General Hertzog in South Africa, that " a free nation must recognize only one authority, namely, the will of the people:" • Lawyers and authorities...

I observe that the Cunard Steamship Company has taken the

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front page of the Daily Mail to advertise its • cheap four weeks' tour of 6,000 miles to Canada and the United States and back for £.85 ; an additional sum of £2 14s. is...

Sir Robert Baden-Powell has just returned from a visit to

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several of the chief citie3 in the United States, where he spoke on the - American Scout movement. It is goOd to know that the Association of Boy Scouts Of America has presented...

SPECTABILIA

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Tan relationship of a self-governing Dominion to the Empire has formed the subject -of several important speeches in Canada. Recently Mr. Meighen, the Conservative- leader, •...

A few weeks ago I drew attention to the large

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quantities of canned fruit and vegetables imported into this country which might be grown at home. Sir Edgar Jones, the chairman of 'the newly--formed National Food Canning...

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THE THEATRE

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MRS. TANQUERAY'S NEW CLOTHES 1" EASY VIRTUE," BY NOEL COWARD. DUKE OF YORK'S • THEATRE.] MANY years ago, when Mrs. Tanqueray went to live in county society with the...

We are frequently told that city-dwellers are not required in

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the Dominions and that we must keep our townfolk at home. Doubtless the British farmer who goes overseas has an advantage at the outset, for he understands how to harness a...

ART

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THE SCULPTURE OF MR. EPSTEIN ON press day I found myself alone in the Leicester Galleries with the new works of Mr. Jacob Epstein. This experience left upon my mind an...

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CORRESPONDENCE

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A LETTER FROM SINGAPORE [To the Editor of the SPEcraTon.1 SIE,—The rainy season has just left us, and for the next nine months we may expect rain only every other day or so....

IT is not from our vanities but from our needs

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that the best functional art has arisen. When our furniture becomes a mere expression of our wealth and snobbishness, and becomes overladen with unnecessary baubles and...

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LETTERS TO THE EDITOR SPAIN AND THE LEAGUE COUNCIL

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Snt,—In your issue of June 12 I notice the following words : ` 4 : Objections were raised by three non-permanent members, Poland, Spain and...

[To the Editor of the SpEcrATon.]

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SIR,—I have had an American friend staying with me. He picked up the Spectator one day, and read it through. When he put it down I asked him what he thought'f it: He shrugged...

THE GREAT INDUSTRIAL OPPORTUNITY'

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Snt,—Much energy has been expended in defining analytically what may be learnt from the recent industrial crisis, but less has been shown...

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[To the Editor of the Stx-rdvroa.] SIR,—I see that you

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entirely agree with Lord Balfour of Burleigh in thinking that Children's Allowances should be made to the miners. Where is the money to , come from for these allowances ?...

CHILDREN'S ALLOWANCES FOR THE MINERS - [To the Editor of

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the SPECTATOR.] &a—Mr. H. Smith said that " the miners are out to fight against a reduction in wages which would make it impossible for the mother to give her children the food...

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A STORY ABOUT BISMARCK

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[To the Editor of .the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—It would be interesting to know what authority Mr. St. Loe Strachey has for the story about Bismarck which he told in your issue of June...

THE LIBERAL CRISIS

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To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sni,—Will you please allow me a word of explanation in re- ference to my previous letter on this subject ? Incidentally it may help Liberals who...

THE COAL STOPPAGE

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sia,—I am not an " owner," I act for royalty owners and am brought in contact with many of the able, patient, and courageous men who manage the...

COAL IN DEMAND AND OUT OF IT

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—You refer to the " discovery that oil is cheaper and better than coal, not only for marine engines, but for the furnaces of locomotives "...

THE AUTHOR OF THE FOURTH GOSPEL

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sra,—The reviewer of Dr. Nolloth's work on the Fourth Gospel evidently inclines to the view that the " beloved' disciple " was Lazarus. It is...

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THE MIDSUMMER BALL [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] .SIR,

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—As you were so kind last year to allow me to write in your paper as to the Ball which was held in Hyde Park Hotel in aid of the Fund for the British Empire Cancer Campaign, I...

DRIVING A CAR ON WASTE WOOD [To the Editor of

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the SPECTATOR.] Sim,—On page 900 of your number dated May 29th, 1928, there is an interesting article on " Driving a Car on Waste Wood." The writer may be interested to know...

Tn1 TRADE DISPUTES ACT [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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your article, " Trade Unionism " in the Spectator, rMay 29th, you have made a mistake. Referrin g to the Labour amendment, you go on to say, " Subsequently Sir Henry...

POETRY

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A FLEET OF GEESE AT Fiddler's Island in the Thames, Just outside Oxford town, I watched a crowd of cackling geese That riverward came down. Oh how they craned and trumpeted !...

TIPS IN TRAINS [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,—"

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Rubberneck " quotes dining-car attendants' wages as being no more than 33s., basing his statement, apparently, on what individual waiters have told him. Since writing my...

CHILDREN'S COUNTRY HOLIDAYS : THE " SPECTATOR " FUND As

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we announced in our issue of June 5th, we shall be glad to receive, acknowledge in the Spectator, and forward to the Children's Country Holidays Fund any donations our readers...

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BOOKS OF THE MOMENT

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BIOGRAPHY IN LINE [COPYRIGHT IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA BY THE New York Times.] Catalogue of Oxford Portraits. By Mrs. Reginald Lane Poole. (Oxford. Clarendon Press. 2...

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The Oxford University Press send us two imposing and wholly

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delightful volumes of the Prophetic Writings of William Blake, 42. These Writings have always been a puzzle to commentators, owing to the irresponsibility of Blake's genius and...

'The Student Christian Movement publish at Is. 6d. A Handbook

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to the Drink Problem, by Mr. Will Reason, with a preface by Lord Astor, which makes out a strong case for supporting the " Ox - ford Bill," or a Local Option Bill. The book is...

The Cayme Press have published Matthew Green's The Spleen, of

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which Horace Walpole said " that it has-the wit of Butler with the ease of Prior." Here are two extracts which have charmed us : " Hunting I reckon very good To brace the...

Country Life of June 12th has some remarkable articles on

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bridges, notably one by the well-known expert Mr. McColl, which is of more than ephemeral interest. The African World (Salisbury• House, E.C. 2) has published a special African...

Country Life send us a magnificent £3 3s. volume of

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English Homes, compiled and edited by Mr. Avray Tipping. This is a treasury of the architectural features of the late Georgian period. Syon House, whose stiff-tailed lion we can...

THIS WEEK'S BOOKS

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TOE British public is extraordinarily faithful to its favourites. We notice from our review copy of Mezzanine (Cassell, 7s. 6d.), Mr. Benson's latest novel, that it is already...

Mr. E. T. Brown writes wisely for The Prsctical Motor-

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Cyclist (Cassell, 2s.). Tolley's Handbook of Income Tax (Waterlow, 9d.) is a well-planned handbook. The Oxford University Press have issued a Tract on English Handwriting (10s....

Messrs. Robert Holden are offering a prize of £100, plus

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royalties, for the best novel submitted by an author who has not yet published a novel. The competition closes on June 30th, so the time is short !

A NEW COMPETITION

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The Editor offers a prize of £5 for a list of the seven greatest Victorians. Von the purposes of the competition, we confine the word " Victorians " to the British. Empire....

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THOSE' YELLOW NAUGHTY DAYS,

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The Romantic '90's. By Richard Le Gallieime. (Putnam, - les. 6d.) • " Those yellow naughty days so tame, When all do now was still to do, And ` sin '• still wore the - skiits...

LUCIFER IN THE LIMELIGHT

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The Writings and Life of George Meredith. By Mary Sturgo. Gretton. (Oxford Press. fis.) George Meredith. By J. B : Priestley. - ( Pik lish• Men of Letters • Series. Macmillan....

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HAVE WE BEEN MAD ?

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Behind the Scenes of the Great Strike. By Hamilton Fyfe. (Labour Publishing Company. Is.) THE title of this review is taken from Mr. Holt-Thomas's • pamphlet, but Sir Ernest...

WHAT IS HUMAN HISTORY ?

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As could be guessed from his title, M. Faure considers that the' Value and beauty of human expression is infinitely precarious.' The human spirit, he thinks, treads delicately...

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DAME NELLIE 'MELBA'S MEMORIES

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IT is only a strong personality who can be a Prima Donna and anything else. Melba the , spoiled child of every European capital, not to speak of New York", has remained at heart...

THE ABBEY OF ST. PETER

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Westminster Abbey and its Ancient Art. By J. G. Noppen. (Burrow and Co. 21s.) Westminster Abbey and its Ancient Art. By J. G. Noppen. (Burrow and Co. 21s.) TUE little stream of...

LIVING CHRISTIANITY

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The Church and the Sex Question. By John W. Coutts. (James Clarke and Co. 6s.) MAGEE used to say that there are sermons we can listen to, sermons we can't listen to, and...

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POPULATION PROBLEMS OF. THE AGE OF MALTHUS. BYO. Talbot Oriffith;

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(Cambridge University Poss. I 2s. aci.) Ix this careful study Mr. Griffith sets out to demonstrate that Malthus's famous- doctrine that population tends to increase more...

THE MAGAZINES

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T a rs month's magazines make interesting but somewhat confusing reading. They are all, of course, largely taken up by the coal crisis and express divergent views. In the...

CURRENT LITERATURE

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THE ENGLISH BRASS AND COPPER INDUSTRIES TO 1800. By Henry Hamilton. (Longmnans. 18s. net.) Mn. IlastuffoN's book on the brass andcopper industries, with special reference to...

LANFRANG : A Study of His Life, Work and Writing.

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By A. J. Macdonald. (Oxford University Press. 12s. 6d. net..) It is curious that Mr. Macdonald's scholarly memoir of the first Norman Archbishop of Canterbury should be the...

CONFIRMATION INSTRUCTIONS. By the Rev. Charles . Paterson Smyth, M.A.

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(Hodder and Stoughton. 2s. (id. net.) Tan Rev. Charles Paterson Smyth is not the Archdeacon of that name who has won fame and affection by How We Got Our Bible and The People's...

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THE BEST SHORT - STORIES OF 1925; AMERICAN. Edited by Edward

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J. O'Brien. (Cape. 7s. 6d.) THE present collection consists almost entirely of subjective tudies of individual personalities, most of whom are far indeed in their Mental...

FICTION

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Tom Fool. By F. Tennyson Jesse. (Heinemann. 7s. 6d. net.)—Tom Fool had a genuis for life and a -genius for the sea He came of a Lancashire family of cotton operatives who had...

The Mirage of the Dawn. By Kathlyn Rhodes. (Hutchin- son.

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7s. 6d.). And Rough Passages. By Alice Perrin. (Cassell. 7s. 6d.)—In these two volumes one a full length novel, the other a collection of short stories—two well-known women...

The Charwoman's Shadow. By Lord Dunsany. (Putnam. 7s. 6d.)—She was,

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of course, no common charwoman and she suffered as did many another hero and heroine of legend from having sold her shadow to a magician. This is a romance of mediaeval Spain,...

Winnowed Wisdom. By Stephen Leacock. (Bodley Head. Ss.)—In this newest

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Leacock there are as usual many grains of hard common sense among the flying chaff of fun. In the author's " Studies of the Newer Culture," for instance, he thus paraphrases a...

The Heroes of Smokeover. By L. P. Jacks. (Hodder and

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Stoughton. 7s. 6d. net.)—Readers who enjoyed Dr. Jacks' former Legends of Smokeover wilt be delighted to have a farther opportunity of being introduced to the struggles and...

Old Wine. By Phyllis Bottome. (Collins and Co. 7s. 6d.)

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—Vienna, derelict and starving at the end of the War, is the scene of Miss Bottome's new novel. There are passages which are almost too poignant—such for instance as the...

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THE SPECTATOR.

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Before going 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 Month .. Two...

FINANCE-PUBLIC AND PRIVATE

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Ix these days of easy optimism when to emphasize the inherent common sense of the workers and our wonderful stores of reserve wealth and our recuperative powers is more popular...

FILMS WITH COBHAM TO THE CAPE (At the Marble Arch

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Pavilion).-A thrilling film of Mr. Alan Cobham's flight from London to Capetown. It gives a vivid impression of the African Dominions with its excellent photography of the...

BOOKS RECOMMENDED MISCELLANEOUS :-Mental Life. By B. Edgell. (Methuen. 7s.

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6d.)---Quaint Signs of Olde Inns. By G. J. Monson- Fitzjohn. (Jenkins. 7s. 6d.) Under the Rose. By Anatole France. Translated by J. - Lewis May. (Bodley Head. 7s. 6d.) Ice Ages....

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Whatever other industries may flag, the big oil concerns appear

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to have no difficulty in maintaining prosperity. The Royal Dutch Report for 1925 showed profits of 94,500,000 florins, as compared with 87,980,000 florins in the previous year,...

ALLIED NEWSPAPERS.

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The profits of Allied Newspapers being shown this year in the net form, comparison with the previous year is difficult. The results, however, are so good that the point is, is a...

The annual Report of the Hudson's Bay Company fully bears

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out the favourable impression created by the dividend announcement. The net profit on trading for the year was 2254,000, as compared with 2211,000 in the previous year, while...

LOBITOS.

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The Report of the Lobitos Oilfields is also a good one, showing an increase in the net profit from 2238,000 to £266,000. £50,000 is again placed to the Reserve, and a divi- dend...

FURTHER FALL IN THE FRANC.

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The French nation is now learning by experienCe how inclined and slippery becomes the path of inflation the longer it is pursued. During recent weeks we have had further large...

So long as a few leading industrial combines continue to

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declare dividends and bonuses- on the scale of those recently announced by certain of the Tobacco Companies, it is not sur- prising that the industrial group—apart from key...

FINANCIAL NOTES

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NEW CAPITAL RESULTS. To a. great number of successful fresh issues of capital has now to be added the Victorian Loan, which appears to have been covered about fourteen times,...

`Spectator' Competition,

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JUNE 19, 1926 Competitors must cut out and enclose this coupon. (See page 1045.3