5 JULY 1940

Page 1

INDEX FROM JULY 5th TO DECEMBER 27th, 1940, INCLUSIVE.

The Spectator

NEWS OF EEK A GRICAILTURE .11 Air raids, 183, 234, 235, 281, 305, 329, 354, 407, 569 Alarm and alert signals ••• 259 Albania, Italy and Greece, 158; fighting in -• -. 597. 665...

Page 5

NEWS OF THE WEEK

The Spectator

D EVELOPMENTS in France inspire nothing but mis- giving and depression. Members of the Petain Govern- ment are vying with each other in their enthusiasm for capitulation, the...

The Plight of King Carol

The Spectator

The position of King Carol of Rumania is hard indeed. First he felt compelled to bend his policy to the Nazis by restoring the Iron Guard to favour, and next he has had to yield...

Russia, Germany and Rumania

The Spectator

Russia's ultimatum to Rumania and the march of her troops into Bessarabia and Bukovina recall her action when she occu- pied eastern Poland last September. Then she was...

Page 6

Uncertainty in Syria

The Spectator

The Petain Government in France has not ceased to apply pressure to the Commanders in the French Colonial Empire, ordering them to accept the terms of the surrender. The...

When Germany Was Defeated

The Spectator

Captain Cyril Falls, the Military Correspondent of The Times, has performed an important service in preparing his excellent pamphlet, Was Germany Defeated in 1918? (Oxford...

Mr. Roosevelt and Mr. Willkie

The Spectator

Mr. Wendell Wilkie, elected Republican candidate for the Presidency at the Philadelphia Convention on the 6th ballot by an almost unanimous vote, has still to make his speech of...

Japan Extends Her Claims

The Spectator

Japan, having taken full advantage of Britain's preoccupa- tion with the war to press her demands concerning supplies to China via the Burma Road and Hong-kong, is now stating...

Mr. Chamberlain on National Unity - A fundamental misunderstanding of

The Spectator

the British attitude of mind has been revealed by a few critics in America who, observing the faint-heartedness of the Petain Government in France, have wondered whether there...

Germany and the Channel Islands

The Spectator

It has pleased the German High Command to announce the occupation of the island of Guernsey as a "daring coup de main" of the German Air Force. Why " daring " is not evident,...

Page 7

On Tuesday Mr. Geoffrey Shakespeare unfolded his policy for taking

The Spectator

children Overseas. He has worked hard to initiate his scheme and on the whole it was welcomed by the House. The Lord Privy Seal was compelled to intervene after a bitter attack...

Mr. Bevin commands even greater confidence. He intro- duced a

The Spectator

small bill, increasing benefits and contributions to keep pace with the cost of living. He made no apologies in his maiden speech. Why should he? He knows his subject inside...

Morrison and Sevin have now appeared at the despatch-box to

The Spectator

defend their departments or introduce bills. Mr. Morrison is perhaps a little too sure of himself, but he is ably supported by Mr. Harold Macmillan, who at any rate has a...

Taxation of Books

The Spectator

The text of the Purchase Tax Bill, issued last Tuesday, sets forth the operation of the Tax as already explained in Parlia- ment. It describes the articles which will be...

Subscription 30s. a year to any part of the world.

The Spectator

Postage on this issue : Inland 'id., Foreign and Imperial id., Canada id.

The Week in Parliament

The Spectator

Our Parliamentary Correspondent writes: The House of Commons is uneasy and should be uneasy. As I write we await the statement from the Prime Minister and the subsequent debate...

Equipment for the Forces

The Spectator

The Ministry of Supply has come to fill the place it deserves in the public mind since the Withdrawal from Dunkirk. Mr. Churchill has candidly admitted the severity of the...

Page 8

THE PERIL OF IRELAND

The Spectator

G REAT BRITAIN today is threatened with imminent invasion. An essential condition of its successful defence is the successful defence of Ireland. And of the successful defence...

Page 9

The fact that the Republican candidate for the United States

The Spectator

Presidency, Mr. Wendell Willkie, and the present President hold almost identical views on foreign policy means that a situation which might have paralysed the United States for...

A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK

The Spectator

C ONFUSED as the situation is internationally, it is hardly less so at home. The treatment of friendly aliens is one obvious case in point. The Home Office is urged on one side...

As an Italian paper has significantly hastened to remark, the

The Spectator

truth about Marshal Balbo's death will probably never be known. The latest version, that his aeroplane was shot down by Italian anti-aircraft guns, opening fire on an imaginary...

The demilitarisation or the Channel Islands came as some- thing

The Spectator

of a shock to British newspaper readers, who first heard of it last Saturday, June 29th. But the local Jersey papers had long since published full reports of the sittings of the...

This week has seen the absorption of the last 50

The Spectator

per cent. of the unemployed quartet of experts whose apparent super- fluity in the Government's eyes has more than once been remarked on in this column. Sir Arthur Salter was...

In Vice-Admiral Muselier General de Gaulle has found a distinguished

The Spectator

collaborator, whose influence with the French fleet will not be negligible. Though his name has been little known in this country the choice in fact lay between him and Admiral...

This is vouched for as fact. An evacuee child asked

The Spectator

. an evacuee teacher how far away France was. The latter replied with laudable veracity, "I don't know." So the child tried another teacher. This time an estimate was ventured:...

Page 10

THE WAR SURVEYED: THE ENEMY PLAN

The Spectator

By STRATEGICUS I F Hitler is to retain the time table to which he has so far adhered it may be that before these words are read the invasion will be upon us. It has been...

Page 11

IL Y AVAIT LA FRANCE

The Spectator

By D. W. BROGAN T HE character of the French Government is now beginning to appear. Under the cover of two great military reputa- tions the forces of class and personal...

IF HITLER CAME TO BRITAIN

The Spectator

By ROBERT POWELL F EW things are more amazing and distressing to anyone who has lived in a country under Nazi occupation than to find the unfortunate illusion still persisting...

Page 12

CANADA'S MOMENTUM

The Spectator

By GRANT DEXTER Ottawa, lune Fr FIE Canadian people in the past month have been tested as never before. It is, perhaps, too early to assess the change which has come over this...

Page 13

THE CHILDREN SAIL

The Spectator

By KENNETH LINDSAY, M.P. A DMITTEDLY this war has taken more than one erratic turning, but for some reason best known to the hierarchy our evacuation policy has always been...

ULYSSES

The Spectator

THERE was a high ship sailed the main, Masts to the stars sailed she : Not a wraith of foam 'neath her fi3urehead shone So still was the sea. Happier the landsman with care...

Page 14

The End of the Tunnel

The Spectator

ARMOUR FOR CIVILIANS By CHARLES MORGAN I T has been said that since the collapse of France there has been a "hardening of opinion among our people "; the change would be...

Page 15

THE CINEMA

The Spectator

4. Rebecca." At the Gaumont — Behind the Guns." Generally released. IT would be a pity if Hitchcock's translation to Hollywood were to be overshadowed by a star. Let it be...

STAGE AND SCREEN

The Spectator

THE THEATRE Thunder Rock." At the Neighbourhood Theatre. (38 Harring- ton Road, S.W.7.) - IT has been said in defence of the drama that each age, be it decade or century,...

Page 16

JAPAN'S PETROL SUPPLY

The Spectator

SIR, —Japan is taking advantage of the situation in Western Europe to make more active advances against the possessions and interests of various Powers in the East. This action...

OLIVER CROMWELL

The Spectator

Sta,—Mr. Hilaire Belloc objects to my reference to Cromwell as "this Cambridgeshire farmer." He was a farmer just as Mr. Belloc is a writer and I am a lawyer. Mr. Belloc tells...

[In view of the paper shortage it is essential that

The Spectator

letters on these pages should be brief. We are anxious not to reduce the number of letters, but unless they are shorter they must be fewer. Writers are urged to study the art of...

THESE "LOS T LEADERS"

The Spectator

Stit,—W. R. M.'s epigram in your issue of June 21st impels me to ask whether there could not now be a close time for snarling at absent intellectuals. About half a dozen of...

INVASION AND TANKS

The Spectator

SIR,—I agree with the general views of Major-General Fuller expressed in his interesting article published in your issue of June 28th as to the possibility of amphibious tanks...

Page 17

THE COLLAPSE OF FRANCE

The Spectator

Snt,—A perusal during the week-end of many newspaper articles on the collapse of France makes it apparent that what I believe to be the real reason for that tragic disaster is,...

THE ALIENS PROBLEM

The Spectator

Sta,—In Czarist Russia, a regime so utterly disregardful of human suffering, the political exiles transported to Siberia were allowed to be accompanied by their wives. Not...

SIR, —A fortress having free access-to the whole outside world-would not,

The Spectator

be called "beleaguered." -England has that free access-; yet Dr. Shackleton Bailey says We are-now -living- in a beleaguerectfortress."- It is, on the contrary, Germany and the...

BRITAIN THE BESIEGER

The Spectator

Snt,—May I take exception to the heading in your correspondence columns "The Siege of Britain "? For a "fortress" to be besieged it must be surrounded by the enemy in such a way...

THE PgTAIN ADMINISTRATION

The Spectator

Sin,—You write : "there would seem to be no justification for the suggestions rather freely made in this country that the Government, (of Marshal Petain) is not constitutionally...

Sit,—Marshal Petain's contention that one of the causes of the

The Spectator

French disaster was "too few children" is literally true. On the eve of the Battle of France there were half a million less French soldiers under arms than at a corresponding...

Snt,—May I be allowed to thank you for publishing "A.

The Spectator

B. C.'s " letter in your issue of June 8th regarding the Aliens Problem? The attitude adopted by the authorities is indeed one of intolerance, even cruelty. Indiscriminately,...

Sra,—It is ungenerous and unjust to gibe at the faults

The Spectator

of French leadership without also remembering that the war effort of the French people has been immensely greater than our own. Fair-minded British opinion recognises the...

TOO FEW CHILDREN"

The Spectator

Sia,—While it is evidently true that the immediate cause of the collapse in France is "too few tanks and too many traitors," it is also true that there have for several...

Page 18

FANNY BURNEY

The Spectator

Stn,—Your reviewer says Macaulay did not explain how the style of the author of Evelina degenerated into "the worst ever known among men," or how, as a Court official, Miss...

In the Garden

The Spectator

The most beautiful of the mallows, Abutilon vitifolium, was cut down but not killed by frost. It is an aristocrat among wall-shrubs. The soft green leaves are vine-shaped, the...

ANNIVERSARY OF WATERLOO

The Spectator

Sta,—I was surprised to see that Mr. Morgan in his article in last week's Spectator should make such an error as to write: "Sunday, June r6th, the day after the anniversary of...

COUNTRY LIFE

The Spectator

Idle Land Between the war of 1914 and that of 1940 the acreage of land lost to cultivation in this country was very great. Much of this loss is also irreparable ; gravel pits,...

AN INDISCREET SOLDIER

The Spectator

Sta,—Under the above heading Mr. H. E. Bates tells us, in your last issue, how he allowed a private soldier for three minutes to indulge In "casual blabbing of highly important...

Hawk and Cuckoo

The Spectator

My recent note on the pursuit of the cuckoo by smaller birds has brought the usual explanation: that the adult cuckoo so much resembles the sparrow-hawk that small birds attack...

GEORGE LANSBURY

The Spectator

stit,--It is hoped that in quieter times an authoritative life will be published of my father-in-law, the late George Lansbury. No date can be fixed for this, but if material is...

PRESCRIPTION FOR VICTORY

The Spectator

SIR,—Apropos of " Strategicus's " comments on Marshal Petain's apology, it is worth recalling a story told by Julien Benda in Un Regulier dans le Siècle. Someone asked General...

COMMISSIONS FROM THE RANKS Sta,—I had the misfortune to receive

The Spectator

my education at a public school when the peace ballot, disarmament and the League of Nations were the dominant topics. Consequently 0.T.C.s were the exception rather than the...

Rural Defence In the more remote country districts—and probably in

The Spectator

all—there seems little need for three separate defence services—i.e. A.R.P., the special constabulary and L.D.V., whose members are l argely drawn from what is virtually a...

Page 20

Agriculture and the State

The Spectator

Food Production in Western Europe. By P. Lamartine Yates. (Longmans. Is.) THE recurring depressions in agriculture have prompted Mr. Lamartine Yates, working in association with...

Books of the Day

The Spectator

Devonshire House in Regency Days READERS of Lord David Cecil's The Young Melbourne will remember his brilliant portrait of the Whig society which centred upon Devonshire...

Page 22

Prophets of Freedom

The Spectator

The Pattern of Freedom. Chosen by Bruce L. Richmond. (Faber. 7s. 6d.) AN anthology cannot be reviewed. What underlies it is the compiler's method and the compiler's taste, and...

A Query on Burke

The Spectator

Miss OSBORN'S book, though not very long, would have been better if it had been shorter. The academic pressure which compels so many students in these days to inflate an essay...

French Background

The Spectator

The Development of Modern France : 1870-1939. By D. W. Brogan. (Hamish Hamilton. 21s.) THERE is a certain tragic appositeness in the appearance at the present juncture of this...

Page 24

Fiction

The Spectator

AT a moment when brutality, cynicism and corruption bestride the world more arrogantly than ever in human history, it is well, and refreshing, to find time to read in those...

Page 26

Shorter Notices

The Spectator

John Gay. By William Henry Irving. (Duke University Press. $3.50.) IT is doubtful whethei Gay is a figure important enough, or even substantial enough, to be the subject of a...

FINANCE AND INVESTMENT

The Spectator

By CUSTOS EVEN in these critical days markets have not lost their capacity for quick recovery. Not only has it been possible to stop the rot in equities which threatened the...

The Banks for the People. By John Strachey. (Gollancz. is.

The Spectator

6d.) MR. STRACHEY has been unlucky ; this lively little manifesto is Sitzkrieg, not Blitzkrieg, literature ; and events both at home and abroad over the last few weeks have put...

Page 28

SOLUTION TO CROSSWORD No. 69

The Spectator

nnonnAommil ku nonno mono HMO mono ornonon UMMEMOM manna nn nomno ummounon minion raMMO IIMUOUM unnnamowa o nmon on moon woonwomon n m moon!' unammonnin monnn u mnommmu...

"THE SPECTATOR" CROSSWORD No. 70

The Spectator

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