4 NOVEMBER 1972

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Colonial Ulster

The Spectator

The Government's decision to abolish Stormont to introduce Direct Rule into Northern Ireland, and to reassert the sovereignty of the Westminster Parliament, was, and remains,...

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Freedom the first casualty

The Spectator

There are two specific criticisms to be made of the Chequers and Downing Street negotiations. The first is that they are an attempt to assault reality. At one end of a seesaw...

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Political Commentary

The Spectator

Power and demoralisation Patrick Cosgrave On the way to his celebrated epigram about power and its tendency to corrupt Lord Acton made a number of false starts. He often, as...

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Corridors . . .

The Spectator

PUZZLE HEARS THAT the great reshuffle is coming this weekend. It was planned for two weeks ago, and then again for last week; now it seems definitely on. The Prime Minister no...

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Another Spectator's Notebook

The Spectator

The shameless gutlessness of the West German government in the face of the latest hijacking spree must surely give new impetus to various plans which have been mooted for an...

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Ireland

The Spectator

Beginning 'the middle game' Ronati—r arming Mr Whitelaw's Green Paper on the future of Northern Ireland is the most shattering reverse suffered by Ulster Unionism since the...

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Unions

The Spectator

Militants and moderates Terry Pitt Whenever trouble faces the British economy—whether it be industrial ineffici ency (1961), international finance (1967) or pure pig-headed...

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The American Scene

The Spectator

Towards a friendless victory Henry Fairlie Washington It is rather an embarrassment to have both the end of a war and the end of an election to write about in one week, even...

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Account gamble

The Spectator

Two punts John Bull To me nothing epitomises the broker's dilemma more than for him to develop close relations with a particular company, recommend its shares, but then, alert...

Portfolio

The Spectator

Steel appeal Nephew Wilde Alas! Had I heeded Aunt Maud's frequent tirades about our neighbours across the Channel I might not now be nursing a loss of £100 on my holding in...

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Skinflint's City Diary

The Spectator

It is only during a period of raging inflation that a serious effort may be made ' to deflate. At times of approximate , equilibrium the enrichment of lenders at the expense of...

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Insignificance and irrelevance

The Spectator

From Dr F. R. Leavis Sir: The practice of calling attention to my insignificance by dragging in my name gratuitously is one with which readers of reviews are familiar: there are...

Museum charges

The Spectator

Sir: I read with interest in your number of October 14 the article by Andrew Faulds on museum admission charges. This is a matter which cannot leave foreign visitors to England...

Sir: The recent increase in the Price of my evening

The Spectator

newspaper from 3p to 4p was a further illustration of the fact that decimalisation in its present form aggravated inflation, already bad enough when it was introduced last year,...

Double standards

The Spectator

Sir: May I ask why the Government is so persistent in pressing sanctions against Rhodesia, but is so pusillanimous over the protection of our own fishermen off the coast of...

Morality and legality

The Spectator

Sir: The Government, and The Spectator, put morality before strict legality in dealing with the unfortunate Ugandan Asians. Would it be unreasonable to ask the Government to...

Boys weeklies

The Spectator

Sir: Benny Green's version of his own half-remembered parody of what he thought George Orwell wrote about boys' weeklies and P. G. Wodehouse (October 23) appears to have strayed...

A grave story

The Spectator

Sir; Mr Cameron's description of a Scottish burial and re-burial puts me in mind of the old Warrington story of Grandfather Clayton's Funeral. According to this, old Mr Clayton,...

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Inside Number 10

The Spectator

Sir: I enjoyed 'Two Views on Marcia Williams', but I want to protest that while you told us what Terry Pitt is, you did not tell us what Peregrine Worsthorne is. Eric T. Speer...

Sir: I strongly resent Terry Pitt's reference (in his review

The Spectator

of Inside Number 10) to me as one whose " private " advice to Harold Wilson Transport House officials found difficult to counter. I did everything I could to improve...

Waugh bash

The Spectator

Sir: Much as I enjoy Auberon Waugh's reviews, I cannot escape the impression that his criticism of Come Like Shadows (October 28) is a trifle partisan. Passing over the...

Scooped

The Spectator

Sir: If Clive Gammon (October 14) were really as literate as he wants all his readers to be, he would remember that Miss Boot's name was not Patricia but Priscilla, and that the...

Penguin pedagogy

The Spectator

From Professor Antony Flew Sir: Professor Rex was good enough to send me a copy of his response to my comments on his contribution to Race, Culture and Intelligence. I think the...

My mistake

The Spectator

Sir: My attention has just been drawn to Mr Montgomery Hyde's review of a book of mine, Aubrey and the Dying Lady: A Beardsley Riddle (September 30). I should be most grateful...

Treating crime

The Spectator

Sir: Is it possible to allow me space to reply to Mr Douglas Curtis (Letters, October 28) on my "errors and unfounded assumptions"? I agree that the number of criminals does...

Juliette's Weekly Frolic

The Spectator

The entire betting population of Britain, and Ireland, appear to be ' on ' Abergwaun for Saturday's Vernons Sprint, and as I have failed to dream up any alternative that's both...

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Philip Ziegler on the Duke of Wellington in politics

The Spectator

Soldiers have often taken over the government of their country by force of arms. Most of them made a mess of it but at least they have sometimes brought with them a measure of...

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Keeping the faith

The Spectator

Auberon Waugh Catholics Brian Moore (Cape £1.25) The Holiday Friend Pamela Hansford Johnson (Macmillan £2.25) The great Christmas rush of novels is now well under way, which...

Granite and rainbow

The Spectator

Barbara Hardy Virginia Woolf: A Biography, Volume II, Mrs Woolf Quentin Bell (Hogarth Press £3.00) Virginia Woolf compared the biographer to the miner's canary, going ahead to...

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House upon sand

The Spectator

John Casey A House for the Truth John Wain (Macmillan £3.75) According to the blurb, Mr Wain sees literature as a broad and central human activity. Hence his literary criticism...

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Orwell at Eton

The Spectator

Christopher Hollis The Unknown Orwell Peter Stansky and William Abrahams (Constable £3) This is to me a wholly fascinating book. The text, and still more, the dust cover. with...

Underground warfare

The Spectator

Joseph Lee The Shadow War: Resistance in Europe 1939-45 Henri Michel (Andre Deutsch £3.50) Helmuth von Moltke: A Leader against Hitler Michael Balfour and Julian Frisby...

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Wexford Festival

The Spectator

Stormy weather Rodney Milnes Wexford has celebrated its twenty-first festival with a nice new Wimpy Bar, the inimitably graceful fascia of which has added immeasurably to the...

Cinema

The Spectator

Pilgrim's regress Christopher Hudson In its desperate search to find out what the public wants and then give it to them, the film industry scrambles after bestselling novels...

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Television

The Spectator

Penalty Clive Gammon When Heritage (BBC 2, to be repeated this Friday) trumpeted itself on to the box at teatime on Saturday I was still numb with the trauma of watching the...

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Art

The Spectator

Carve up Evan Anthony Suddenly: an outbreak of sculpture in the London galleries. Any poor soul who has been brought up to believe that a sculptor is one who paints himself...

Will Waspe

The Spectator

My general view of the artists who are exhibited at the Drian Gallery in Porchester Place is that they have more money than talent, and I had not thought that the present show...

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Poet Laureates

The Spectator

Poet and peasant Benny Green This may come as a rude surprise to those who have any conception of the vast ramifications of my social experience, but I never actually met...

The Good Life

The Spectator

Scoff as she is noshed Pamela Vandyke Price Animals tend to go slightly bonkers in the spring for obvious animal reasons, but humans, privileged (or handicapped as some might...

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Breaking the camel's back

The Spectator

Frank Field One of the eight members of the Supplementary Benefits Commission was reported as saying recently that their 48,000 employees, both clerks and executive officers,...

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Science

The Spectator

Screening drugs Bernard Dixon About twice a week I groan and grimace at the yawning innocence of those who believe that absolute, black-and-white answers are possible in...

Socialities

The Spectator

Fuel bills custos With the winter approaching an increasing number of families will be faced with fuel bills they are unable to meet. Last year, over 140,000 consumers were...

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Travel

The Spectator

Out of school Carol Wright The first and only school party holiday I went on was strictly educational. Paris and a series of lectures at the Sorbonne on French literature —...