27 MARCH 1942

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THE EBB AND FLOW OF WAR

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THE probable future direction of the Japanese offensive is discussed by our contributor " Strategicus " in another column. The events of dap past week throw no great light on...

Hitler's Jackals

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Germany's allies in South-Eastern Europe are bound to her by fear and by expectations of favours to come, but there is nothing which binds them to one another, or gives them a...

The Conversations in India

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While nothing tangible has, or could have, emerged from Sir Stafford Cripps' conversations in India as yet, it is clear that the discussions are being entered on in an...

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Agriculture in Post-war Europe

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Sir Richard Gregory, opening the conference on the post- war reconstruction of Europe arranged by the British Associa- tion last week, drew a grim picture of the condition in...

Civilians and Invasion

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Sir John Anderson's statement about the duties of civilians in the event of invasion supersedes the instructions issued by the Government about a year ago. The emphasis is now...

The Case of Mr. Casey

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The Casey affair is unfortunate, and it is impossible to feel that its handling at this end was happy. Mr. Churchill, on the strength of what appears to have been a very slight...

The T.U.C. and Family Allowances

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The General Council of the Trades Union Congress bat declared in favour of family allowances, which it has resisted hitherto on the ground that their provision would militate...

Mr. Lyttelton as Minister of Production

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Mr. Oliver Lyttelton's speech in the House of Commons on Tuesday gave the impression that he has taken the measure of the work that is waiting to be done by a Minister of...

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GOVERNMENT AND PRESS HE least important element in the Home

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Secretary's state- j ment regarding the Daily. Mirror in the House of Commons last week was that journal itself. Its defects are many and its merits few ; its eclipse would not...

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A certain liveliness within the Council of the Zoological Society

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over the dismissal—for that seems the right word--6f Dr. Julian Huxley from .the secretaryship of the Zoo may be safely pre- dicted. There is a section of the council which...

Mr. R. G. Casey's rise to the rare dignity of

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membership of the War Cabinet has been swift. From 1924 to 1931 he was in London as a civil servant, holding the important but not par- ticularly exalted post of liaison officer...

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK T HE Paper Control, which on the whole

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has tempered the wind to the shorn lambs of Fleet Street and (what was once) Paternoster Row as reasonably and amicably as possible, has, I understand, made to the...

There appears to be a prospect that the Chancellor of

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the Exchequer in his coming Budget speech may announce some small reduction in the Excess Profits Tax. It is no use being too idealistic about incentives in industry. The trade...

No one who notes the new military terms that become

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current coin almost overnight, can complain that the English language is incapable of elasticity or expansion. The pace, indeed, is some- times too breakneck. " The Chinese," I...

Facts About MacArthur " MacArthur, the deserter from the Philippines.

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. . • T hide his disgraceful flight MacArthur has been appoint Commander-in-Chief of the British and Allied troops in lb South-West Pacific."—German Home Broadcast, March 18th....

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JAPAN'S NEXT STROKE

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By STRATEGICUS T would be an immense gain if we knew Japan's plans for the I next phase of the campaign in the Far East. We are certain to fare badly if we fail to interpret...

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THE COLONIAL PROBLEM

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By LORD DAILEY These considerations apart, there are many reasons why the course of Colonial policy must be a matter of increased concern to us. There has, indeed, been of late...

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A VITAL QUESTION

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By IRENE WARD, M.P. W HEN the day comes for the vital decisions on which world reconstruction depends to be taken, no one doubts that those then in authority in this country...

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A PORTUGUESE PROPHET

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By SIR STEPHEN GASELEE T HE Portuguese statesman and writer, Jac) de Andrade Cory° (1824-1890) is probably little remembered in England now, though the attention of his...

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. HERBS OF GRACE

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By PHYLLIS GILES IT is a year now since some of the worst scars appeared on the IT face of England, an autumn for seeding, a spring for shooting, and a summer for growing. One...

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Those were the days when the Lord Lieutenant would drive

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in state to the Horse Show with the sunshine glistening upon the varnish of his wheels. Those were the days when the nobility and gentry would entertain each other with a series...

MARGINAL COMMENT

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By HAROLD NICOLSON T HE Englishman who visits Eire today is liable to false impressions. Unless he has had long experience of Irish ways, or unless some rivulet of Celtic blood...

It is more than forty years since I stayed for

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any time in Dublin. Much of my childhood was passed in the atmosphere of Irish controversy, whether in County Wicklow or in County Down. The echo of the animosities aroused...

It is not by candle-light or in terms of Adam

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ceilings that one should examine, and seek sympathetically to understand, the mood of Eire. It must be irritating for Irishmen to notice with what readiness the visiting...

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THE CINEMA

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" H. M. Pulham, Esq." At the Empire. H. M. Pulham, Esq., is a film about people. More than that, it is a film about ordinary people. There is in it no one very brave, wicked,...

THE THEATRE

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"School for Slavery." At the Westminster.—" Why Not Tonight ? " At the Ambassadors. School for Slavery reminds us once again pf the sad truism that Sincerity in playwriting is...

MUSIC Blossom Time." At the Lyric Theatre.

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SOME years ago Mr. Clutsam, who had up till then achieved a respectable, if not ou:standing, success as a composer of light opera, suddenly acquired worldwide fame with a...

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Sta,—I hope very much that your interesting correspondence on the

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subject of British public morale is not yet closed. For it is only by discovering the true causes and nature of our low state of morale that we can begin to consider any remedy...

Sin,—In your last issue, as was to be expected, the

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hunt was up and we saw a good field of braced and compact citizens in full cry after Mrs. Tarn. Surely, Sir, hers was a most courageous confession of unfaith, and you, for your...

SIR,—The letter from Mrs. Tarn in your issue of March

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13th, which has aroused criticism, most of it adverse, contains much tha' is, unfortunately, only too true. She complains of " man " being a " brainless idiot "; I maintain...

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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BRACED AND COMPACT ? " Sts,—In view of the outburst of indignation provoked by Mrs. Tarn's remarkable letter printed in your issue of March 13th, I wish I had carried out my...

Snt,—As the result of my letter in reply to your

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article "Braced and Compact? " I have received numerous letters from both men and women, and with one exception they expressed their thanks for having seen in print feelings...

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" THE LAST TWENTY YEARS "

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SIR,—In the review of Professor Carr's book by Mr. Harold Butler in your number for March zoth we read of " the lack of moral purpose, the crude materialism, the cynicism and...

MRS. WALFORD

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SIR,—In your issue of March loth an enquirer asks " Who was Mrs. Walford ? " and his reason for doing so is that Mr. Edmund Blunden, in his book on Thomas Hardy, states that...

SIR,—Mr. Walter Legge's enumeration of the musical activities of E.N.S.A.

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is certainly imposing. But one camp, at least, in the London district has hitherto been unvisited by his musical pilgrims. " Six parties giving programmes of good music every...

THE TRAGEDY OF THE STRUMA'

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SIR,—Much has been said, in Parliament and elsewhere, during the last few days, about an unfortunate cartoon published in an illus- trated daily paper ; but it is innocuous...

ENTERTAINING THE FORCES

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sa.--1 can assure Mr. Walter Legge that the results obtained by EN.S.A. in their efforts to provide good music for the Forces have been negligible. Since the beginning of the...

SIR,—" Private Soldier's " letter makes sad but true reading.

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If the B.B.C. would give the forces broadcasts of a similar nature to those it gives the children of the country in its school broadcasts it would be using to good effect the...

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EIRE AND NEUTRALITY

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Sut,—Mr. Fintan Lalor, of Dublin, in his letter, states that Mr. James Dillon, T.D., is the only elected member of the Dail (Chamber of Deputies) who is against Eire's policy of...

COUNTRY LIFE .

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YEARS ago in Queensland I saw the leaf of a prickly pear (hung up on a wire fence) which had produced and sent down roots into the ground some two feet below. No English plant...

THE REAL VICTORIANS

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SIR,- Of course, as Miss M. E. Durham indicates, Robert Browning, like other poets and dramatists, puts words into the mouths of his characters to express their belief, which...

DAY NURSERIES

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Sta,—.Could not the Ministry of Health encourage war factories to open nurseries where women workers might leave their children for the day? Of the hundreds of day nurseries...

In the Garden

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Our arctic winter fell at such a date and was so continuous that its relaxation allowed a number of plants a second season. Iris stylosa, Viburnum fragrans, yellow jasmine and...

THE " DAILY WORKER "

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SIR,—We are told that the present crisis is second to none in our history ; that nothing should be spared to assure that the maximum war effort is made. Yet one daily paper...

BY AND LARGE

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Sta,—In the article headed " Coupons and Conscience " which appeared in your issue of March 13th, Mr. Williamson Williams describes By and large as " that meaningless phrase."...

Disobeying Spring

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Even the presence of spring, the nesting of the thrushes, blackbirds and robins, the arrival of the migrants from overseas, have not yet persuaded our sea-birds- and some other...

£3,000 an Acre The writer quoted above also gives some

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fantastic examples of the value in money that one acre can theoretically produce. His taller figures reach three and four thousand pounds! The evidence par- ticularly interests...

Postage on this issue : Inland and Overseas, rd.

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BOOKS OF THE DAY

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Symbols in Poetry READERS of Professor Wilson Knight's previous books will know, more or less, what to expect of his latest study of poetic imagery. His combination of industry...

How to Do It

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A Book of Farmcraft. By Michael Greenhill and Evelyn Dunbar With a Foreword by A. G. Street. (Longmans. 5s.) I Made It Myself. By Arthur B. North. (Botsford. 6s.) BOTH these...

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Fruits of Appeasement

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The Royal Air Force in the World War. Vol. I. By Captain Norman Macmillan. (Harrap. los. 6d.) THIS, the first volume of a series, covers the history of the R.A.F. from 1919 to...

Prussian Mentality

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Treitschke's Origins of Prussianistit. Translated by Eden and Cedar Paul. (Allen and Unwin. 7s. 6d.) THE German historian Treitschke is perfect example of what are called "...

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Fiction

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" He was no longer married, as they say, to nis job, no longer identified with the disciplined organisation of a liner, no longer in possession of a unique place in the...

Shorter Notices

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Florence Farr, Bernard Shaw and W. B. Yeats. Edited bl Clifford Bax. (Cuala Press. x8s.) Three Tales. By Frank O'Connor. (Cuala Press. its. 6d.) IT is a pleasure to find that,...

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COMPANY MEETING

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BRITISH INSULATED CABLES NEED FOR POST-WAR FAIR DEAL THE annual general meeting of British Insulated Cables. Limited, will be held on April 1st at Excnange Station Buildings,...

. , THE SPECTATOR" CROSSWORD No. 159 [A Book Token for one

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guinea will be awarded to the sender of the first correct solurton of this week's crossword to be opened after noon on Tuesday week. Entetopes should be received not later than...

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 157

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;MAU L '0 E Law. E V I C Ili I I n E N _ v N 0 ri•L A %.■ SOLUTION ON APRIL 10th The winner of Crossword No. 157 is Mr. H. H. GRUNING, 26 Heene Way, W. Worthing.

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COMPANY MEETING

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LANCASHIRE STEEL CORPORATION DIVIOEND OF / PER CENT. THE twelfth ordinary general meeting of the Lancashire Steel Corpora- tion, Limited, was held on March 25th at...

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT By CUSTOS WARSHIP Week has both helped

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and hindered the stock markets. Resounding daily totals from the savings front cannot be other than inspiring to investors, but they also imply a considerable diversion of...

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COMPANY MEETING

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THE BANK OF AUSTRALASIA STATEMENT by the chairman, Mr. David J. Robarts, on the report of directors and balance-sheet for the year to October 13th, 1941. It has been decided...

COMPANY MEETING

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UNITED KINGDOM PROVIDENT INSTITUTION SIR ERNEST BENN'S STATEMENT THE annual general meeting of the members of the United Kingdom Temperance and General Provident Institution...