30 DECEMBER 1938

Page 1

NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

A MID much that is obscure in the present relationship between France and Italy one fact stands out crystal- clear, that all the trouble is of Italy's making. At every point she...

The Italians in Spain In General Franco's Christmas offensive on

The Spectator

the Catalonian front the spear-head is said to have been a special corps of four Italian or Italianised divisions under an Italian officer ; and the very outstanding part played...

Japan's Peace Terms The only ground for attaching importance to

The Spectator

"Japan's Peace Terms for China," as outlined by Prince Konoe last Thursday, is the suggestion that the visit of Mr. Wang Ching-wei, Chairman of the Chinese Political Council, to...

Page 2

The Results of Lima The deprecations of Pan-Americanism, as it

The Spectator

emerged at Lima, which are appearing in the Press of Italy and Germany have little substance. The totalitarian States have gained nothing. That at least is clear, however much...

M. Reynaud's Success The programme of French financial recovery, as

The Spectator

envisaged by M. Reynaud, has much in common with that adopted for British finance in and after 1931. The first step was drastic retrenchment and taxation ; then comes a rise in...

The Law of Libel Most people who have given thought

The Spectator

to the English law about slander and libel, as it affects journalists and authors, are agreed upon two conclusions—first, that it opens Much too wide a door to speculative or...

The party conference of the French Socialists has thrown into

The Spectator

a glaring light their fundamental schism. In a division taken as between a policy of resisting the foreign dictators and a policy of complete pacifism—the former championed by...

Lord Halifax and Geneva It is to be hoped that

The Spectator

Lord Halifax's intention to attend the League of Nations Council meeting at Geneva after his visit to Rome will be carried out. The last Assembly, and the Council meetings which...

Page 3

This tendency of the modern elector to prefer the national

The Spectator

to the local loyalty was strikingly illustrated at West Perth. Not only had the Duchess of Atholl represented the division for 15 years, but she had during the summer months...

It is strange that this increased submissiveness should have been

The Spectator

so manifest during the last six or seven weeks. The existence of an enormous Government majority might have been expected to loosen rather than draw tighter the bonds of party...

The centripetal tendency of the Conservative Party is not of

The Spectator

course so strong that all defections can be ruled out for the future. However, as the fate of the Duchess has shown, the way of the single transgressor is hard.

"The Future of the Empire" Both external influences and internal

The Spectator

developments are, as Mr. Malcolm MacDonald observed recently in a striking speech, rendering the future both of British Dominions and British Crown Colonies far more uncertain...

Our Over-centralised Ports Liverpool is making fresh efforts to supplement

The Spectator

its resources as a port by the resources of a manufacturing centre. And though some features in Liverpool's case are peculiar—the fall in cargo traffic through the cotton...

Aspects of Parliament Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes : Looking back

The Spectator

on the last three months one cannot help being struck by the amazing solidarity of the Conservative Party. There have, of course, been acute differences of opinion within its...

Mr. Harold Nicolson and "The Spectator" The Hon. Harold Nicolson,

The Spectator

M.P., whose recent series of broadcast talks, entitled "People and Things," attained wide popularity, will as from next week's issue, the first of 1939, contribute a weekly...

Page 4

AMERICA AND GERMANY

The Spectator

T HE tension between Washington and Berlin today is more acute than that between Berlin and London or Rome and Paris. Considering how little the interests of the United States...

Page 5

THE OWNERS OF THE PRESS

The Spectator

.T HE Press of this country as a whole has had con- siderable attention directed to it of late. The newspapers have been called on to rally to their own defence in face of an...

Page 6

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK "We are the victims," say the writers

The Spectator

in the English they are so rapidly acquiring, "of a time what lost the belief to humanity. If we would know and would be certain that our victim [sacrifice] has really saved the...

Page 7

HOLLAND AND THE NEXT WAR

The Spectator

By RENE MACCOLL TN a world of frantic rearmament, and with an aggressive colossus on her eastern marches, Holland is quietly pre- paring for whatever the future may hold. The...

Page 8

NUTRITION AND POVERTY

The Spectator

By JOHN INMAN T HE question of nutrition is still in the forefront of political issues, and seems likely to remain so. Nevertheless, as yet, a great deal of the discussion of...

Page 9

CHURCH AND COMMUNITY: III. THE PEOPLE

The Spectator

By W. E. PURCELL and G. W. LAMPE O NE frequently hears it said that the Post-War age of destructive " rationalism " is over, that the modern man craves for a secure and...

Page 10

THE GOVERNMENT AND THE PRESS

The Spectator

By FELIX FRIES D EMOCRACY today is on the defensive. Sympathy may therefore be felt with any attempt to resist infringe- ments of the freedom and independence of the Press,...

Page 11

THOSE RUSSIANS

The Spectator

By NICHOLAS SISSERMANN T HE other day in Manchukuo I met a hunter from the Yablonja-station, which the Japanese call Yapuloni. He was a man of about forty, a broad-shouldered...

Page 12

EDUCATING FOR DEMOCRACY

The Spectator

By DR. T. K. DERRY [Headmaster of Mill Hill) T HE Mayor of a London Borough was heard to remark recently, in an address on Citizenship, that hardly one of his constituents knew...

Page 13

A MODEL CITIZEN

The Spectator

By H. W. FOX H ENRY FOTHERINGHAM was a very ordinary person, colourless alike in complexion and character. If you passed him in the street or sat opposite to him in the Tube,...

Page 14

CAN JAPAN STAND THE STRAIN?

The Spectator

Commonwealth and Foreign By MARC T. GREENE As the Sino-Japanese undeclared war continues on well into its second year it is clear that Japanese internal economy, if not the...

Page 15

STAGE AND SCREEN

The Spectator

PANTOMIME "Babes in Hood." Lyceum IN all three of the pantomimes the Principal Boy bursts into a medley of old songs, and in at least two out of the three the medley includes...

THE CINEMA

The Spectator

Retrospect "WHERE be your gibes now ? your gambols ? your songs ? your flashes of merriment ? " Chap-fallen indeed must the Cinema appear each New Year's Eve before such an...

Page 16

BALLET AND OPERA

The Spectator

Christmas Cheer WHEN that I was and a little tiny boy, my entertainment at Christmas consisted, as to its theatrical element, of a visit to Drury Lane Theatre, where there was...

LA QUESTION DES COLONIES

The Spectator

[D'un correspondant parisien] jAMAIS on n'avait tant parle de nos colonies. C'est rev ene. ment du jour. Naguere nous traitions ici-meme de l'Empire frangais, en soulignant que...

Page 17

COUNTRY LIFE

The Spectator

Zero Hour Our forbears have told us how on Christmas Eve, 1860, the thermometer fell to zero and the river Ouse bore on Christmas morning. The experience has not been repeated...

Page 18

Sm,—Since the cliaspora there has always been a Jewish problem

The Spectator

of greater or less acuteness in all parts of the world—directly, through the anti-Semitic propaganda of National Socialism hitherto unknown in history ; indirectly, by the...

AIDING REFUGEES

The Spectator

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR [Correspondents are requested to keep their letters as brief as is reasonably possible. Signed letters are given a preference over those bearing a...

Page 19

MAHATMA GANDHI

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—I have just read in the excellent Christmas number of The Spectator, an interesting article by Mr. Richard Freund on Mahatma Gandhi. The...

THE CASE FOR THE RAILWAYS

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Snt,—In your issue of December 23rd, Sir James Milne does me the honour of commeating upon my article on "The Railways and the Roads." I do...

Page 20

A NEW DEAL FOR AFRICA

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] Elspeth Huxley is usually so accurate that I am surprised at some of the points in her letter in reply to My criticism of Mr. Michael Huxley's...

THE BOY SCOUT'S PROMISE

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, — It is announced in the Press that the Deputy Chief Scout has issued a notice drawing attention to the binding nature of the first...

Page 21

STANDARD PRICES FOR AGRICULTURE [To the Editor of TIIE SPECTATOR]

The Spectator

STANDARD PRICES FOR AGRICULTURE [To the Editor of TIIE SPECTATOR] Sir,—Under this heading in your Weekly Notes you discus'; this question with much less than the fairness...

THE NATIONAL LIBRARIES

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR, —In order that the annual income may be more adequate to the demands made upon it, the Friends of the National Libraries are anxious to...

THE LONDON MUSIC FESTIVAL

The Spectator

[To the Editor of THE SPECTATOR] SIR,—I ask the hospitality of your columns because I fear that many people may form the opinion, after reading Mr. Dyneley Hussey's article...

"PILGRIM TO THE LEFT"

The Spectator

[To the Eator of THE SPECTATOR] Stit,—In her charming review (December 9th) of my book, Pilgrim to the Left, Honor Croome charges me with ignoring certain criticisms of the...

Page 22

WHAT EDUCATED INDIANS READ

The Spectator

BOOKS OF THE DAY By RANJEE G. SHAHAN' To know what books educated Indians read, I went, first, to my old college. I was well-acquainted with the librarian. Indeed, I had been...

Page 23

HOLY ROMAN EMPERORS DR. BROOICE has written a sensible and

The Spectator

well-balanced book, a book of cautious and temperate judgement, on a period which in certain respects is one of the most formative in European history. It is the age of...

A DEFENCE OF NORTH

The Spectator

Lord North. By W. Baring Pemberton. (Longmans. 2 1s.) GEORGE THE THIRD had great good fortune in two respects. Twice, when he had a difficult job, he found ideal agents. In...

Page 24

The Maturing Mind. By T. H. Pear.

The Spectator

DISCUSSION BOOKS National Self-Sufficiency. By P. H. Asher. Drama and Life. By Roger Dataller. What About India ? By L. F. Rushbrook Williams. Physical Education. By M. L....

Page 25

MAKERS OF LAW

The Spectator

THE length of Lord Maugham's foot, though, doubtless. a subject of personal pride and satisfaction to its owner, is not a matter of importance to litigants of the present day....

IN DEFENCE OF A PATRIOT

The Spectator

Demosthenes. The Origin and Growth of His Policy. By Werner Jaeger. Translated by Edward Schouten Robinson. (Cambridge University Press. los. 6d.) THIS series of lectures,...

Page 26

A WELSH PRIMATE

The Spectator

THE fiery instability of the Welsh character, with all its dark frustrated genius, has appeared often in the pages of history and of romantic fable. It is at once a positive and...

A SOVIET BIRTHDAY BOOK

The Spectator

Tins volume, introduced in accordance with the now established tradition by Mr. and Mrs. Sidney Webb, is described as " not a propaganda book," but "a record of the first...

Page 27

NEW LIGHT ON NEW LAMPS

The Spectator

Tins kind of book is rather difficult to review. Owing to its being a "slim volume of essays" it is likely to get overlooked ; so I should say at once that it is extraordinarily...

THE FREEDOM OF THE PRESS Fascism, Democracy and the Press.

The Spectator

By Kingsley Martin. (New Statesman and Nation. 6d.) MR. KINGSLEY MARTIN'S pamphlet is an able statement of the views of those who hold (with, as some may think, undue...

Page 28

NEW CRIME FICTION

The Spectator

Death from a Top Hat. By Clayton Rawson. (The Crime Club. 7s. 6d.) Antidote to Venom. By Freeman Wills Crofts. (Hodder and Stoughton. 7s. 6d.) Death of a Friend. By Margaret...

Page 29

MOTORING

The Spectator

A Sign of Better Tithes During the past fifteen months or so I have had more letters from Spectator readers asking for information about various sorts of cars than ever before...

Page 30

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT THE best that can be said of

The Spectator

stock markets just now is that they are revealing certain powers of resistance. In the speculative sections _there is still no sign of any broad buying movement—nor do I...

Page 32

FINANCIAL NOTES

The Spectator

IMPROVING RUBBER FIGURES THOSE rubber shareholders and directors who feel that the International Rubber Regulation Committee was gambling when it decided upon an increase in...

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 326 SOLUTION NEXT WEEK

The Spectator

The winner of Crossword No. 326 in N. E. F. Corbett, Orchard Cottage, Fetcham, Leatherhead.

"THE SPECTATOR" CROSSWORD No. 327

The Spectator

BY Z4No [A prize of a Book Token for one guinea will be given to the sender of the first correct solution of this week's crossword puzzle to be opened. Envelopes should be...