19 NOVEMBER 1927

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In the House of Lords on Wednesday Lord Cecil made

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personal explanation of his reasons for resigning from the Cabinet. We feel after reading it that he would have helped the cause of peace more by staying where he was. Did the...

* * * * The one criticism of the Government

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which is common to all Parties is that though the Government have done the right thing they ought to have explained much more carefully in advance the technical reasons for...

As opinions on the Parliamentary Commission for India gradually sort

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themselves, a great deal more support is being given to the policy of the Government. It is seen that the balance of argument is strongly in favour of a purely Parliamentary...

News of the Week

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T HE decision of the Government to postpone the laying down of two of the three cruisers included in the programme for this year is an earnest, and a most striking one, that...

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

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London, W.C. 2. — A Subscription to the SPECTATOR costs Thirty Shillings per annum, including postage, to any part of the world. The SPECTATOR i8 registered as a Newspaper. The...

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Last week Sir John Simon, the chairman of the Commission,

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sent to his constituents an admirably simple yet cogent summary of the reasons why he felt it his duty to go to India. His views about the work of the Commission ought to have...

In the House of.Commons on Thursday, November 10th, the Unemployment

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Insurance Bill was read a second time: We fear that unless the Government modify it before the Committee stage is reached the country will be committed to a quite unnecessary...

The final split between Stalin, the head of the Soviet,

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and the Opposition conducted by Trotsky, Zinovieff and others, has come sooner than was expected. A fissure had been opening for a long time, but it was not thought that Trotsky...

The Riga correspondent of the Times says that Trotsky and

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Zinovieff, as a result of expulsion from the Party, are deprived of all political rights. They must leave their privileged dwellings in the kremlin and submit to the special...

To the British observer it seems that the Government's case

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has been made so clear that it cannot be misunder- stood. Even so it is important to remember that India is not England. We wonder whether it has occurred to the Indian...

It would not matter so much if finance were the

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only matter in whit.h the Government have thrown over the Blanesburgh Committee. They have not yet even decided whether they will act on the important sugges- tion that the...

One discouraging sign is that the Hindu Liberals, led by

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Sir Tej Bahadur Sapru, have joined with the Swarajists in advocating a boycott. On Tuesday, in the House of Lords, Lord Birkenhead suggested that there should be a debate in...

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The release of Oscar Slater, after serving eighteen and a

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half years of his life sentence for murder, recalls public attention to a remarkable case of which nobody has any reason to be proud. In 1908 Slater was con- victed by a...

Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister, who is in charge of the Bill,

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met the objections of the Opposition so far as to fix a time limit of ten years for every part of the Bill. He also postponed the full restriction of advance booking. In other...

In the House of Commons on Wednesday the Labour Party

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objected to the President , of the Board of Trade being put up by the Government to answer the vote of censure on the coal-mines question. They demanded that Mr. Baldwin should...

Much turned upon the evidence of a girl who identified

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Slater as the man whom she had seen running out of Miss Gilchrist's house, but subsequent events showed that this girl's word was by no means to be trusted. It is quite true...

In the- House of Commons on Monday the debate on

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the Report stage of the Films Bill was oddly confused owing to the passion for individualistic principles which was unexpectedly revealed by Socialists. The argument by 'a...

Bank Rate, 41 per cent., changed from 5 per cent.,

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on April 21st, 1927. War Loan (5 per cent.) was on Wednesday 1001; on Wednesday week 1001; a year ago 9911. Funding Loan (4 per cent.) was on Wednesday 851; on Wednesday week...

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Peace and War

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T HE celebrations of Armistice Day have been gradually changing in manner and import. Here is a very strange and impressive example of the purposive intuitions of a nation. No...

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The Franco-Yugoslavian Treaty

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THE . first impulse of an onlooker on reading about the signature in Paris of the new Treaty between France and Yugoslavia is to wonder why there is so much fuss and excitement...

The Hill of the Lord

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T seems to be implicit in the very nature of religious controversy, that it so easily persuades those engaging in it to adopt an ever lower and more limited standpoint. Like...

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Parliament Again

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T HE equanimity of the present House of Commons is so seldom disturbed that the occasional emergence of a subject for conversation is hailed with delight. Last week, after an...

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The `1building of 12,000 Houses

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"There is one aspect of the housing question that can never be dealt with as a purely economic proposition--namely, slum clearance. This is a heritage of past neglect for which...

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Education in Switzerland

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S WITZERLAND, the home of the Lea g ue of Nations, the meetin g -place of so many peace and other conferences, the play g round of Europe, is fast becomin g the class-room as...

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Life Beyond the Grave

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[The recent articles on Reincarnation have aroused such wide- spread interest that we are glad to continue the series by publishing the views of a well-known priest and scholar...

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Peterborough's Museum

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M ANY people must stop in Peterborough for one reason or other and no doubt they go to see the cathedral. A beautiful thing it is, and blessed with a verger who is a companion...

The Most Miserable Day of My .Life

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I HAVE been frightened, bored, hurt, and once or twice in danger, but I have never been so thoroughly wretched as I was on this journey through France. Also, it was all so...

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The Cinema

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[KrsoswAv HALL CINEMA EXHIBITIONS FOR CHILDREN] A SERIES of six programmes of instructional films is being presented monthly at the Kingsway Hall. The films have not been...

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Poetry

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To a Little Maid Bly bonny queen ! Sae young an' blithe ! Sae gentle an' sae kind Fair fa' your journey—lang's the road Wi' storm ahint the wind. Can disappointment's stanc on...

Correspondence

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A LETTER ABOUT THE CANADIAN CONSERVATIVE LEADER. [TO the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sta,—Mr. R. B. Bennett, who has succeeded to the leadership of the Conservative Party, has...

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The fact that they are coming is, I think, a

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proof of their desire to get into contact with Europe again ; and this time they are not likely to run the risk of another failure. Indeed, their own people will expect them to...

It was most refreshing to hear comrade X. and comrade

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Y. at the Economic Conference explaining how we had only to take a dose of Communism to put everything right. The only drawback was that before' we could obtain a ticket of...

Moreover, France with its obligations to assist Poland and numania

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in case of attack has always insisted that Russia should set a good example before the great Powers can be expected to disarm ; while Great Britain naturally regards Russia...

The League of Nations

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The Russian Delegation to the Coming Conference So the Bolsheviks are coming to Geneva again ; this time not to settle our economic problems by helping its to get rid of the...

The Body of Experts in general charge of the White

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Slave Traffic investigation discussed by Dame Edith Lyttelton in the last issue of the Spectator has been meeting at Geneva this week, to discuss the publication of Part II. of...

On the whole it is a good thing that they

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should come ; for left to brood over their imaginary wrongs, behind the bars of their self-imposed prison, the Bolsheviks are not likely to become pleasanter people to deal...

With the completion of the publication of the material so

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far available, there will arise the question of whether the investigations of the experts should be extended to countries not so far touched. Russia, of course, has been omitted...

A Fire of Cherry Logs

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I Avn.r. burn cherry-logs thro' starry hours, Shut in this shadowed house when winds blow cold. I will burn cherry-logs, to smell like flowers, And bring back days of old. Ah,...

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By the Tithe Rent Charge Recovery Act of 1891 (when

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the liability to pay was finally transferred from the tenant to the landowner) a certain change was made whereby the average price of corn did not absolutely and in all cases...

* * *

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Immense areas of land over all these districts of England have been let from Michaelmas last at rents that are scarcely bigger than the tithe, and in some cases smaller....

ROADS or REMEMBRANCE.

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A pretty suggestion has been put forward (in a curiously obscure letter I) by the Roads of Remembrance Association (47 Victoria Street). Volunteers both young and old are asked...

A correspondent from Winscombe, in Somerset, sends some wonderful evidence

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of the attraction of the garden for wild birds. In comment on the list of birds noted in a Surrey garden, he writes :- " 1 have kept_ a careful record of those observed in my...

MONEY IN BIRDs.

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The duty and privilege of preserving birds has been raised to a national obligation by a pamphlet, published at 2d. by the R.S.P.B. from 82 Victoria Street, and written by...

Country Life

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TrrnE on No TrrnE. A legal point of the highest importance to the landowner fanner and to the Church has been raised in the Eastern Counties and is engaging the attention of...

What is the logical issue of such a state of

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things ? In a Hertfordshire parish, in days when tithe was collected in kind, and a constant warfare raged between parson and farmer, one of the fariners absolutely refused to...

NATURE'S BALANCE.

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I believe that every single special definite inquiry into the feeding habits of British land birds (certain fishing birds are perhaps an exception) has enlarged the proof of...

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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Sin,—May I have the opportunity of giving your readers a little more information on fox-hunting? I would not presume to force my opinions on anybody, but happen to have made the...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—It must surely be

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very difficult for anyone who keeps a dog in the country to place much value on the assertion that the digging out of a fox that bas gone to ground is necessary for the sake of...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—May I presume to

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reply to some erroneous statements contained in your recent correspondence on hunting ? " A hunted fox Ithows that he is running for his life," &c. Until the very end, he most...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—One of your correspondents,

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while admitting, as an obvious fact, the cruelty of . fox-hunting, seems to consider such cruelty justified by the qualities of character that fox- hunting develops. I am sure...

Letters to the Editor

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FOX-HUNTING [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SrR,—I have read with great interest the correspondence under the above heading in your last issue and am glad to notice your...

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- THE - NEW PRAYER BOOK [To the Editor of the

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SPECTATOR.] Sia,—As the subject is important, I hopc . you will allow me to supplement my recent letter anticipating some of the conse- quences likely to follow the rejection of...

, [To Me Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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Sin,— Surely the many queStions raised by fox-hunting resolve themselves• eventually into one—namely, does the fox do sufficient damage to justify his extirpation, or does he...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—In your last issue

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Mr. Lancaster Smith quotes from the Western Morning News a statement that in the Scottish High- lands over four thousand stags were shot last season. That calls to mind one...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.]

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SIR,—" Whipper-In " doubts whether the humanitarian is the true friend of dumb creation. - Let him call to mind the fact that the humanitarian created public opinion this summer...

[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Those readers of the

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Spectator who hunt but have twinges of conscience will have read with interest "Whipper- In's" letter in defence of hunting. In connexion with the consideration of the matter, I...

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" THE IMPATIENCE OF A PARSON "

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] you let me recall your readers' attention to Mr. Sheppard's book ? I own that I was surprised that the Spectator, which gave the magnificent...

DR. ANNIE BESANT AND REINCARNATION

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] have read with interest Dr. Besant's article, which appeared in the Spectator of October '29th. Perhaps you - will grant me the hospitality of...

THE WEINBERG CASTING APPARATUS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —We are informed that the Executive Committee of the Board of Shechita have received from licensed carcass butchers slaughtering at...

VOTING ON THE REVISED PRAYER BOOK

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR, —As most of the Diocesan Conferences have now voted on the proposed Revision of the Prayer Book, it may interest your readers to see the...

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ADVICE TO YOUNG JOURNALISTS

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[To the Editor of the SPEcmyron.] Sin,—You kinclly invite me to say a few words in answer to Mr. Walling of the Institute of Journalists. I am familiar with the resolutions...

RASPUTIN

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR. j Sni,—In your review of Prince Youssoupoff's Rasputin i in- the issue of the 12th inst., Rasputin is consistently referred to as a.priest ; I...

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TILE BRAVE MEN OF EYAM

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] was glad to sec the bravery of the inhabitants of Eyam at the time of the Great Plague commemorated in the Spectator. Your correspondent,...

" GREAT TOM " OF OXFORD

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sut,—Can any reader of the Spectator tell me what became of this notable bell during the period (roughly• speaking a century and a half) which...

ROADSIDE SIGNS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] Sin,--Roadside advertising signs have grown to such vast proportions during the last few years that rural England is being slowly but surely...

SCOTTISH SAYINGS

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[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—Your correspondent on this subject is surely wrong in one of his Scots quotations—" A kirk or a mull." The true antithesis is " a kirk or...

Page 20

In our review of the Ormond Poets (Noel Douglas) we

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said that the series was not uniform : this was incorrect. The books are published in 2s. and is. editions. Review copies of both kinds were sent to us to show the different...

Mr. Wilson Harris _ in Geneva, 1927 (League of Nations

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Union, 9d.), gives us the pith of the last League Conference in a very clear and , compact form. Everyone interested in League matters should read this pamphlet, for nowhere...

As a scholar, jurist, linguist, not to mention as a

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patriot, Sir Frederick Pollock has proved his eminence. So we rece ive with delight some rtipcpr, attractively produced by the Cayme Press (7s. 4.) under the title of Outside...

The full presidential address recently delivered before the British Association

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by Sir Arthur Keith, which has been so widely discussed, is published by Messrs. Watson in the Forum Series, under the title of Concerning Man's Origin, at the low price of is....

Mr. S. C. Roberts, in his preface to The Charm

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of Cambridge (Black, 21s.), modestly declares that the justification of his book lies in Mr. Blackall's drawings—which are certainly charming. But the truth is that Mr. Roberts,...

A New Competition

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WE have pleasure in announcing a new and somewhat diffiCult competition for those of our readers who have a literary turn of mind. The Editor offers a prize of twenty guineas...

There is a very distinct timeliness about the appearance of

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Mr. C. F. Rey's In the Country of the Blue Nile (Duckworth, illustrated, 25s.), for the mediaeval and feudal Empire of Abyssinia - stands at this moment, so far as regards her...

The Waverley Children's Dictionary, issued by the Amal- gamated Press

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in fortnightly parts at is. 8d. each, is a great enterprise which, we trust, will have the success it thoroughly deserves. The first number takes us as far as " air," with an...

Some Books of the Week

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Jim as Mr. Cyril Maude says in his preface that it is " a real joy to me to review my past," so it is equally a joy to write this short notice of his autobiographical Behind the...

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A Glance Round Europe

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Peace in Europe. By "Augur." (Selwyn and Blount. 3s. 6d.) So many people become dull when they write about inter- national relations, but not the author of Peace in Europe....

Mr. Huxley on Democracy

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Proper Studies. By Aldous Huxley. (Chatto & Windus. 7s. 6d.) A REALIST with no axe to grind (it is already sharpened for the slaughter of Socialism), Mr. Aldous Huxley views our...

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Outward and Inward

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THESE two books admirably represent what are perhaps the dominant interests in current religious thought. Those who are acquainted with Canon Quick's work on Liberalism,...

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Untrodden Ways

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Comments and Queries. By Eleanor M. Brougham. (Jelin Lane: 5s.) Miss ELEANOR Baounnut is a distinguished performer on one of the most difficult of literary instruments, for the...

"Private T. E. Shaw"

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Lawrence and the Arabs. By Robert Graves. (Jonathan Cape. . 7s. Gd.) , ROBERT GRAVES has given us a very interesting book. It is a penetrating character study of Col. T. E....

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Fiction

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The Germanic and the Latin Traditions The Ugly Duchess. By Lion Feuchtwanger. Translated by Willa and Edwin Muir. (Martin Becker. 7s. 6d.) Tats translation of Feuchtwanger's "...

Pre-War Diplomacy

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Tim decision of Mr. MacDonald, in. which Sir Austen Chamberlain afterwards concurred, to publish a selection from the Foreign Office papers bearing on the origins of the War was...

Some New Sixpennies

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The English Novel. By J. B. Priestley ; Protestantism. By Dean Inge ; The Races of Mankind. By H. J. Fleure ; A History of India. By Edward Thompson. (Ernest Benn, Ltd. 6d....

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THE STEPSON. By Martin Armstrong. (Cape. '7s. 6d) —Mr. Armstrong's

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quiet dignity and restraint give added poignancy to the ultimate tragedy of young Kate Patten, who becomes the third wife of old Squire Humphrey and falls in love with his...

SOLDIER BORN. By COnal O'Riordaii. (Collins. 7s. 6d.) —Mr. Conal

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O'Riordan needs no introduction as a writer of historical fiction. Soldier Born is a worthy successor to Adam of Dublin and will be enjoyed by all who like a straight- forward...

BY REQUEST. By Ethel M. Dell. (Fisher Unwin. 7s. 6d.)—Written

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" by request " of some of her readers, Miss Dell's new novel describes the love romance of Peggy Musgrave and Noel Wyndham, who figured in a previous story. " Noel the Wonderful...

THE STORY. OF. IVY.: .13y Mrs. Belloc LoWndes. (Heine- mann;

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7s. 6d.)----" She's., a : -.perfect -little minx." . Such., is Lady Dale's opinion of Lexton, after she has seen her for but a few minutes. : But, eXCeiit for Lady Dale, Ivy...

THE MOONLADY. By Upton Close. (Putnam. S2.00.)— This novel, the

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scene of which is - laid in Peking, with its modern political unrest, is at once exciting and beautiful. Helen Langdon, the daughter of a British official, falls in love with...

WILD OATS MEADOW. By Myfanwy Pryce. (Faber and Gwyer. 7s.

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6d.)—Miss Pryce writes with such com- plete understanding of the point of view of present-day youth that the reader will come to the conclusion that she herself is well under...

THE FIRES OF YOUTH. By May Wynne. (Alston Rivers. 7s.

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6d.)—Miss Wynne's characters are puppets. But she manipulates them with skill and gets some true observatiOn of human nature into this melodramatic tale of the adventures in...

THE EXILE. By Mary Johnston. (Thornton Butter- worth. 7s. 6d.)—The

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action of Miss Johnston's mystical novel takes place some decades hence in the imaginary island of Eldorado, a part of the British Empire. The interest does not lie in the...

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MONOPOLIES, CARTELS AND TRUSTS IN BRITISH INDUSTRY. By Hermann Levy.

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(Macmillan. 14s.)- Professor Levy of Charlottenburg has done well to produce a new edition of his thoughtful study of monopolies and trusts in England from Tudor days to the...

Current Literature

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DESERT WINDS. By Hafsa. (Century Company, New York and London. :3.50)-This is a distinctly original book. The style is exotic, diffuse, rather irritating ; the writer, who is an...

A Library List

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HISTORY AND BIOGRAPHY :-The Ltfe of Rachel McMillan. By Margaret McMillan. (Dent. 6s.)-My Motley Life. By Keble Howard. (T. Fisher Unwin. 18s.)-Hatcorth Parsonage. By Isabel C....

THE STUDY OF LOCAL HISTORY. By Hubert Ord. (Blackheath Press.

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6d.)-Mr. Ord's interesting pamphlet gives a concise account of the Greenwich Antiquarian Society to show what can be done by concerted effort for the study of local history. The...

GREAT STORMS. By Carr Laughton and V. Heddon. Illustrated by

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Cecil King. (Philip Allan. 10s. 6d.)-Messrs. Carr Laughton and V. Heddon have embedded in an extremely readable narrative a scientific exposition of the law of storms. It is...

CASTLES IN SPAIN. By John Galsworthy. (Heinemann. 7s. 6d.)-In the

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little volume called Castles in Spain are collected some papers by Mr. Galsworthy.. Most of them have not been published before. Some are meditations on the present state of...

A GREEK - ENGLISH LEXICON COMPTLF,D BY HENRY GEORGE LIDDELL

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AND ROBERT SCOTT : A New Edition revised and augmented throughout by Henry Stuart Jones, with the assistance of Roderick McKenzie. Part III.. (Clarendon Press. 10s. 6d.)--The...

Page 34

Financial Notes

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MR. NORMAN'S NINTH YEAR. A FEW years ago, when Mr. Norman, the Governor of the Bank of England, was nominated for his fifth year of office, some in the City, while holding the...

WHY THE STRAIN IS GREAT.

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In plain language, this simply means that in Australia i and in this country there has been during recent years much financing of inthistrial activities which, in their turn,...

A SOURCE 017 EMBARRASSMENT.

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There were two points, however, with which neither Mr: Hyde nor Sir. Alfred Lewis, nor, indeed (very directly), Mr. Andrew Williamson dealt in their speeches, namely, certain...

* * * * POST-WAR PROBLEMS.

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With the passing of time, however, and a clearer perception of the extent and complexity of the post-War problems, the City has come to recognize the wisdom of the Bank Court in...

A DOUBLE DEMAND.

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In the discussion at the Bankers' Institute Mr. Frederick Hyde made an excellent survey of the conditions under which the banks were working to-day in the matter of their loans....

SIR A. LEWIS'S VIEWS.

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Mr. Hyde_ very properly pointed out that such . a situation calls for a conservation of banking resources in the sense of the curtailment of any unnecessary holdings of cash by...

Finance Public and Private

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Bankers and the Financing of Trade . DURING the past ten days two speeches have been delivered, the one by Mr. Frederick Hyde of the Midland Bank, to the London Bankers'...

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Loma KYLSANT ON THE GOLD STANDARD.

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It is often difficult in any academic controversy concerning the merits or demerits of the Gold Standard for the ordinary man to arrive at a clear conclusion, for the reasoning...

CONFIDENCE IN BRITISH POLICY.

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Moreover, just as, previous to the War, London was the financial centre of the world, so to-day, even if handicapped by the loss of gold and unfavourable trade balances, London,...

A PROSPEROUS UNDERTAKING.

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In another column I have referred to certain passages in the speech of Mr. Andrew Williamson, the chairman of the English, Scottish and Australian Bank, dealing with Australian...