Non·Members can obtain this publication from the Hon. Secretary, post free 2/- per annum

SEPTEMBER, 1925.

Cb~ montbly R~cord of

Soutb Plac~ €tbical South Place, Moorgate, E. C.2

Oblect of tbe Such>ty • .. The Object of the Society is the cultivation of a rational religious sentiment, the study of ethical principles, and the promotion of human welfare, in harmony with advancing knowledge. "

MHMBBRSHII7. Any perSOIl iD sympathy with the Object of the Society is aordially inviW to beoome

" member. The amount of 8ubscription is optional, with a minimum of 28. Gd. ~l qu..n.rter, ar 108 peT tLnnum Any person int£>Te.sted in toe .qociety's work, but not wishing to beoomt'l 0. member, may join 8.8 nn ASSOOIA'fWB, the rninimuJ:I' subscription being 68. pH 8.IUlum. Further pnrti"ulnr. may b. obta ined in the Libr.ry before and after the undo.y 8f"rvioe, or on npplicntion to the Hon. Registrar. 1\liAS It. nAt.I.~. Soutll Plno. Institut.>. Finshury. E.O.2.

SUNDAY MORNING SERVICES. The following DISCOURSES will be delivered on Sunday mornings,

Service beginning at ELEVEN O·CLOCK.

September 6.·-R!ght Hon. J. M. ROBERTSON. - Joan of Arc. 010 (S). Air (Jennne cl'.\xo) ... ... Traiko, .• ky

Quartet alld Solo (S). Lov~ly "'ppenr Go"nod

{No. 225. PmiBt> to tho Itcroos.

Hymn. No. 1;1. 0 Mrth. thy past . orownl'd and oon raW (2nd tune).

Sep~ember IS.-JOHN A. HOBSON. M.A. The Humour of Psychology. Trio. Ha -t thou wand('rod in tll0 for" .. t Quartet Doth Dot wisdom cry aloud

Ry",,,, {No. 118. I &!loW on (>arth 'moth~ .. light (2no tune). No. 1. Be tru" to ev",y inmost thougbt.

September 20.-S. K. RATCLIFFE. Thirty Years of Fleet Street. 8010 (B). Mysclf whE'n young ... Quart"'"" A Psalm of lif (No. 79) ...

Rymno {No. 17. A dT<'nm(>r droPlxod !lo rondom thought. No. 42. All nround UIl. fair with BO"",NI.

September 27.-C. DELISLE BURNS. M.A .• D.Lit.- Whnt I saw in Poland. 1. Orl-'"n Soja. Triumpho.l lIfnrch 2. Reading. 3. PinDofort<> 80nata in F (Op. 54)

1. In t "mpo d'un minuett.o: 11. Alleg-retto. Miss TJrnL"'" BRYAN.

4. Hymn No. 231. Th .. pT ""00 of perpt-tunl chang<'. 5. Notioes and Ooll .. otion. 6. Di~QoUr9C.

C01lJrn Halcinq

L,'llmanll Kinro~

Li~zt

A Hymn Practice, to which all pcr8on. de.irou. of improvinll the hymn a;n,in6 are invited, is held in the orllan ,1allery at the Ci068 of each Service.

Organi.t: H. SlIITD WB08TER. 53. Lomine Road. N.7.

Vi8itor8 aro invited to obtain information regarding the Sooiet1/ ill tho Librar1/ on Sunda1/ mornings.

~1 Col/oction i, made at each Servicr. to enablo tho .• c pr.'.nt to contrIbute to th. r"'pon". 01 the Societ1/.

Uycli8t. deBi"ng to att.end the SrrvirOR arC inlornll'd that tho Committee havc m adl I1rrangcmrntR for hOtUlinu tlt'ir machines in the baBrmcnt.

The nulldlng i! to be let (or Mcetlnj!s, cte Applleat lOll may be made to the Cnretaker 12, Soutb Plnee, E.C.2. or to Mr. N. Lldstone. 96, Rlaekstoek Road, FlnShury Park. N.4.

The Chapel Is licensed (or Marrlaj!es. ArrulIg<ments Can be made lor tho conduct 01 FUlleral Services on application to the

Secretary.

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Lending Library. The Lending Library is open tree to Membe .. of the Society on Sunday zrornings

before Rnd a.fter the Services. Associates and Xon-i\lembers of the Society may under certain conditions be granted the nse of the Library upon payment of a subscription of :!so 6d. per nnnum. The Oatalogue-, including severa.l snpplements, is on sale, price 6d. A written Catalogue, containing up-to-dote D<!ditioIlJl, is available tor thc reference of borrOWErs. Subscriptions towards the pnrchase a.nd repair of books a.re invited.

{ IVALLIS MANs.oan, "l'beOtltlook," Kingsend Avenue, Ruislip, Middlese.

Bm Librarians F. ,TA"'s, 302, Dalston Lnne, Hackney, E.8, MISS V. A. A LEXANDEa, 165, Ashmore RoD<!, Paddington, W.9.

1'reaBurBr. . MRS. STBVENB, 147&, Cla.pton Common, E.5.

Esperanto 6ircle. The Circle will meet on undaY'9, September 6 and 27, at 3.30 p.m. Light refre h­

menta.

Rambles. Sunday, September 6~h, - Kew Gardens, Oonductert by Mr. NEUrES, Train, Brond

Street" 1 p.m. Obeap return 9d,

Saturday, September 12th.-Farthing Dowu, Chaldon Church and Chipstead, Conducted by Mr. F . M, On:RY. Train, CaRnon Street. 2.~4 p.m. Oheap return COlllsiton South, 1/~.

Sunday, September 20th.-Totteridge and District, Couituctcd by Mrs. CLEMENTS Leave 8 Fincbley W~y, 3.30 p.m. Friend, wi,"in" to jotn I,he rnmhla &fter Service at South Placc, will be Conducted to Finchley hy Mr. CLE~mN1·S. Bring Lunch.

Saturday, Septemher 26th, - EpplJ1g Forest, Condllcteit by Mr, & Mrs. HIOIU.RDS, Trl\in Live"pool Street, 2.~ p.m . Fenehllrch 2 p.m. Take cheap return to Loughl,on 1/3,

fIon. SeC . .' Miss Ill. SI'fONS 20, Granvillo no~d. N.4.

League of Nations Union Branch. Thc firSTt m<l<'ting of the Autumn Soo,wn will be ru,ld early in Ocrllobea-. &mlc

membe"s urc in arreM1B with theilr ",nnua.! "ubscription.; will th<>Se to whom this applies kindly takc notice?

All who are in sympathy with the objects of th(' :r.e"'gue of No.tions and pay an annual subscription of at lenet 1&. are mc.mbe;rs of the Uni-OD . A subscription of 3 •. 6d. C'lltitles the member to .a copy of "Headway," the j"urnaJ of the League of Nations Union, endl month by post. 'l'bp,EtP who pny £1 rec.eive in addition any bookJ~t8 or leafiets which may be publi .. hed during the year. Further partiC'lll",Ts may be bod from

Hon. SecTPta1'1J, HELBN M. FAJRllALI" 8, carborough Roa.d, Fi'troud Grcen, NA

annual Reunion SOiree. TI10 Annual Reunion Soiree, to moot me.mb~rs of the London Ethica.l SociOltics, the

London Positivist Society, and the Rationalist Press _\ ssociation, will he hcld on Sun­day, September 27, from 6 p.m. to 9.30 p.m. Lt will take th." form of a <>eleb ration of the 70th year of Mr. F. J. Gould. Mr. C. ,T. l'ollaro will preside, and tbe speakers will include Mr. F. J. Gcmld, Miss E. H. White, Mr. F. S. 1>larvin, and Mr. 0., Spillrr. Music will be performed by tb<> ScoJia Folk Song Qllnrtette.

Social Section_ The SociaJ arrangement. for the half-seMon, Sept~rull<'r-December, 1925, are fiS

follows: The Olub-room (3"d fioor, A.abburton Olub, 28, Red Lion Square, W.O.) will be open

on Mo,ndaY8, W..masdnys and FTidaye from 6.30-9.30 p.m.. commencing Monday, September 28. Refr,eshments can 00 obtained at tI,e Club Restaurant up to 7 p.m.

PROGRAMME. MONDAY, DI CU ION. Mrs. T .. angford anel Mr. Fish in oha.rge. The 9ubj"rt will

usually be the previoll9 Sunday's lecture. WEDNESDAY. OP'EN EVENING. Merr:bers ond Associates and friends """ invitocl

to mak .. u"" of th" amenitie. at tb" Olnb-room fOT soeia.! intereourae, games and reading.

FRIDAY. PLAY·READING. Under the dJrcetion of MTS. W .. tson. October 2 " Misalliance" · .... · .... .. · ..................................... Bernard Shaw.

9 "Tbe Romantic Age" .......................................... A. A, Milne 16 "The Skin Game" · .......... · .. · ........................ Jobn Gahwortby. 23 "What Every Woman Kno"'9" .............................. J. M. Barrie

The last Friday in eneh month, bt>ginning September 25, will be ""oorve<l for a D \ NCE, 7-11 p.m" iIn the, l{lrg8 bill! of tile ",.hburton Oiub. Tickets, 3s. "Mh, from Mrs. 'uTcLn'FE, or in tl1C Librnry.

\ OIRBE wlll be held "t Soll'th Place on the second 'rh nr,day of each Dlo"th, beginning October 8, from 6.30-9.30 p.m. Tiekets, 6d. enoll, from Mrs. HAWXTNS, or in tbo Library. 0CTOBER 8--Mr. R. H. Walthew will tnJk on "Pinnofort<' Progra.mm,,-Mllsic," with

illustrations fit the piano. :<O,EMBER 12-Mr. S. K. Rateliflr will talk on ".\ merionn Books in EngJnnd." DEOEMBER 10-Mr. HM'old J,ackson, of Birkb('ck CoJlege, will talk on (l, Biological

su bj ect to be announced latOT.

110 S cret 'e8 {1IIr8 . FLORENCE 111. HAWKJNS. 13, Thurlow Park RoD<!, S.E.21. n, e aT! Mrs. ANNTE SUTCLTFFE, 1, Mll.rlborougb PlaCl', N.W.8.

8 Sunday Popular eone .. rts (ebamber Mu.le).

The FORTIETH SEASON will begin on "unday, October 4, with the 956th. Oonoert. Doors open at 6.1U, commence ut (',30 p.m. A.dmi~sion. Free, with Collection. Transfera.ble lwserToo. beat. TickeL8, ~tI. tid. each, tur Hal J-~ett.bou from Octouer 4 to

De""mb.r 20, will be ro.ady on Septembel 20; Programme Subsoription, 20. Gd. extra. Application should be made to the Hun. Treo..sur~r of the Concerts, F. A. HAWlilNS . 13, Thurlow Park Road, llulwioh. S.E.2il, o.ccompnnioo by remjttnnoo and sta.ruped nd.d.ressL'<l cnvclop", and a stan,ped postcard if an acknowledgment is requil'Cd before th,. tic.kets are sent. l'iockets will al"" be on sale at SOUTH PLACE INSTITUT& on Sunday morwngs, September 20 a.nd 27, and on the latter date from 4 to 9 pm.

HOII . Trea •. : ~"lUNK A. HAWJUN8, 19, Tburlow Park Road, Dulwleh, S.E.~l HOII. S.o.: A.L>'R&Jl J. OLBMIUITS, 8, Finchley Way, :; .9. H ;1 t S . J Mrs. D. AI. OL&MI<NTS, 8, Fillchiey Wo.y, N.S.

011. IS. 608 .. I W. S. IDADM01l.E, 64, Lownde.s Square, Knightsbfldge, S.W.1.

South Place C!>rcheatra. Conauctor: RICHARD H. WALTHEW.

Parlicul&rs respeoting the Orchestra may be had from the Hon. Se.retary, F. W. OANNlNG, 6S, Kings HaJl Road, Bockenham.

eonway Mem .. rfal Lectures. fhe Oonw .. ,. ALemoria.l Leoture.a, WhICh are dehver~ annua.lly in Ma.rchJ were ma.uguru tcd

III 1908, .... n Ml>IlIorio.! to Dr Moncur. D. Oon,._y. Tbe OommittO>e is not yet in pos ... ion ot the neooaaa.ry oapital tor th<> permAnent endowm.nt of the LeoturesWp, and J.n the meantime it mo.kee an eal'll&8t "ppea,! to aiL reaMr. of the MONTIILr lUcoBn either for I1Ibacrlption. or donation., to enlure the oontinuo.no~ of the leoturee. Tb ..... should be .. nt to the Hon. Trea.rorer, Mr •. OoCXBU'U', Pern.deniy .. , 18, Nortb.o.mpton Road, Oroyd,pn .

Sixtot'II leotu"", bo.ve been given, and copi ... of these can be purcha..o;ed at the book .t&ll.

Hon S •• • t .. ,ie, { EruosT Ona, .. Lyndall," ElsennOIl Road, Sa.nderotead, Surrey . r .ldra. O. FLI"l'cnm SlIITB, 35, Station Way, Lotcbworth.

The GENIl .. "'I. OohlMITTEE willll,oot on 'l'hul'sda,\·. Scptelllbl r 10. Oorrespon<knce dealing WIth m o.tte rs for oonsi<kratioD sbould bu tor",.rdod to F. M. OveR', Hon. Sec .. 96, " .. terho.m Rond, .uewisbo.m, S.E.1S, at the eo.rliest possible moment. All matter. relating to finance should be addI>cBsed to the TreMurer.

Searetarie. of sub·oommittee. are requested to note that a.ny matter whiob they wish to iD.l&rt in the MomIlLY RacORD should be in the handl of Mr. F. W. R .... D not later tban 16th of the month. All Hterary Jro.tter should be forwarded to the Editor, Mr O. J. POLURD, o.s early ~n the month as poaalbl •.

EDITORIAL. SEPTEMBER SOlREE.-We wish to draw pedal attention to the September

Soiree, the occasion of our Annual Reunion of the members of South Place Ethical Society, the London Ethical Societies, the London PositiviS1 Society and the Rationalist Press Association. It will be held on Sunday,

eptember 27, 6-9.30 p.m., and will take the form of a celebration of the seventieth year of Mr. F. J. Gould. These annual reunions are always well attended, and we should not be surprised if this year the attendance is even larger than usual, as we are sure our members and the members of our fellow societies will welcome this opportunity of paying a tribute to Mr. Gould for the very valuable work he has done in the ethical and free­thought movement for more than forty years. Our gratitude may also be said to include a lively sense of favours to come, for judging by the report of the" Gould Committee," quoted in our last issue, Mr. Gould's volume of work is still very far from the concluding chaplers. The old saying, those whom tIle Gods love die young, we have always interpreted in the sense that whatever their length of years such men never grow Old, and this interpretation is strikingly confirmed in the case of Mr. Gould. He may be in his seventieth year, but many much younger men must envy the industry, the intellectual vigour, and last, but not least, the moral enthusi­asm he still manifests. We have been fortunate in obtaining as speakers Miss E. M. White, Mr F. S. Marvin and Mr. Gustav Spiller, and Mr. (",ould himself win address 1he meeting. We can also look forward with pleasurable anticipation to the musical interludes which win be provided by the Scolia Folk-Song Quartette-the pianist is Mary Conan Doyle, bv whom the music has been arranged.

® ® ® SOCIAL ACTlVlTIES.-Tn preparing the present issue for publication we

ha"e had the very pleasurable task of reading the announcements of the " ocial Section," which appear in our Notices columns. V,le think that

, all Members and Associates will agree that we have good reason for the pleasure we feel in reading them. The programme is sufficiently varied to appeal, in one direction or another, to all in1erests. The frequently expressed desire to discuss the Sunday morning discourse will find opoor­tunity of fulfilment on Monday evenings and, when the discourse bas been given by Mr Delisle Burns, the discussion may sometimes bave tbe great advantage of the lecturer taking part in it. Tbose who can use tbe Club Room as a common ground for social converse will notice that Wednesday evenings.are set apart for that purpose, and it will cer tainly strengthen the Society as a whole if the members get to know one another more inti­mately and personally th an is possible if their intercourse is restricted to Sunday mornings and otber public occasions. Those of us who are inter­ested in dramatic literature and are histrionically inclined will be glad to see tbat the Play-Reading Circle conducted by Mrs . Watson last winter is to continue this winter on Friday evenings under the same able direction. The catholicity of range in the plays selected is exemplified in the October list-Shaw, Milne, Galsworthy, Barrie. While the success of the old Soutb Place Dances bids fair to be repeated under the new auspices, tbe last Friday in each month being reserved for a Dance to be held in the large hall of the Asbburton Club. Members will, we are sure, be delig-hted with the fine revival of the Monthlv Soirees. These will be held at South Place on the second Thursday of each month, and the names of those who have already consented to talk to us at these gathering-s-Mr. R. H Walthew; Mr. S. K . Ratcliffe; Mr. Harold Jackson of Birkbeck College-­are an ear nest of the pleasure and instruction we may expect.

THE MODERN CITIZEN. As Aristotle said, man is a social being, and, 1herefore, to tbe Greeks

all education was directed to tbe training of a complete citizen . But their idea of citizenship lay in governing; the better equipped a man was intellectuallv, morally, and aesthetically, the better able would he be to rule the State by establishing order and ;ustice, and by making laws. Pericles shows in his funeral oration that they regarded "a man who takes no interest in 1he affairs of State not as harmless, but as useless ."

Witb the Romans also civic feeling was strong, as is illustrated hy the l<,gend of Curtins; and the dignity of Roman citizenshIp is perpetuated in the proud saying, "Civic Romanus sum." In some ways the Roman conception of a citizen was narrower than the Greek, for it lacked the sense of art so strong in Greece; it emphasised law and order, an aspect seen by Justinian when he remarks that" the 1:mperial Majesty should be armed with laws as well as glorified with arms, tbat there may be good government in times of both war and peace, and the Ruler of Rome . . . ma:, not only be victorious ... but scrupulously regardful of justice."

In the Middle Ages, amid the dist11l bed settli ng of tbe nations, the sense of citizenship became more personal; and allegiance was owned to (;od or to a feudal lord rather than to tbe State, which then was a somewhat unfinished and unstable insHtution . Loyalty was there, but it was to a person ratber than to a place; the French in Joan of Arc's time, for example, were figbtin~ for their leaders, not for Fra;]ce. 'Vith the growth of towns civic prIde arose, and gradually developed into patriotism; and this happened sooner in Eng-Iand than in other countries, partly because of our insularity, and partly because of tbe practice that citizens had had in local government that prepared tbem for the wider national cltizenship, and that has made this country the foremost one in politlcal aptitude.

The modern citizen grasps more within his scope than either the ancient one or he of the Middle Ages. Just as a train is more complicated, more dangerous, and more speedy than a chariot or a coach, so are the duties of a citizen oC to-day more complicated, more needful of courage, and more far-reaching than those of the first or the fourteenth century. It IS

a somewhat elementary view that regards a citizen merely as a ratepayer, a voter, a member of committees, or a Poor Law Guardian; and for him to accept this view is an easy way of avoiding his complete duties. A

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citizen is a more comprehensive being than a politician, and his vision extends over fields of beauty as well as courts of law.

In the twentieth (entury the State includes far more activities than formerly, when fighting, and levying taxeR, and punishing criminals were its chlef function. 'Ve have only to mention Sanitation, Trade Union Act~, Contmuation Schools and Internationali,m to see that it is now concerned with the health, employm~nt, and education of its citizens, and in England it has a vast commonwealth of nations outlying the insular interests. Wi1.h thi s widening of the State's sphere of activity the citizen's sympathies have widened so 1hat they spread over. prac~ically every depart­ment of life and to all members of the populatlon-m effect to all that affects the community. And volur..tary effort extends to what is no1 reached by the State; the leader of a Boys' Club is working for citizenship to as great effect, if nCYt greater, tban a Member of Parliament. Personal matters, such as religious beliefs, and love, some aspects of art, and certain domains of ethics and philosophy, ate outside the sphere of civics, but there is little else that does not concern the modern citizen. His duties may be summed up in what the Persian poet, !'adi, called religion, which he considered consisted "only in the service of the people." There is no limit to the scope or possibilitie's here; and by the mae-ic of "service of the people" the process of evolution may become the progress of civilisation.

E. M. WHITE.

(Author of "The Philosophy of Citizenship," etc.)

RATIONALISM IN THE PROVINCES. II.-The Influence of Sunday.

In my remarks last month I indicated how the Puritan Sunday still dominated the provincial outlook. I now intend to enlarge on that theme. The Sunday games proposal has been hurled out. A Sunday evening meeting was held in the market.place, wherein our atheistic councillor promoted the cause of the free Sunday, backing up his arguments with quotations from the "Freethinker." There was little opposition, as the meetlOg was held during church service hours, but as soon as it had closed a serious looking young man appeared from nowhere and started tf' harangue the crowd in the usual revivalistic style, warning it of the penalties which were to come, while further along I found a man parading the main street with a banner marked with lurid texts.

As soon as the ubject, backed by a petition bearing several hundred signatures, came up for discussion before the council, there was a chorus of shrieking protests in the local press. At the count all voted against the proposal but three. What are several hundred voters in a town of J 30,ono. Again the clO\'en hoof of puritanism has descended on innocent

unday amusements. The gist of the opposition was, "What will become of our Sunday

schools?" and "Beware the Continental Sunday." The former reason can easily be understood but the latter is a mere bogey. My experience may not be representatiye and there may be an area somewhere which on Sundays appears like the traditional Hampstead Heath on a Bank Holiday, but my Own recollections of the French Sunday, outside the Paris area. are of people going quietly to church in the morning (for Roman Catholic influence i~ po.werful) and spending the afternoon in sports. Let us compare t1us wlth the English Sunday.

It was said of Eastbourne before the war that dogs must not bark on the front on Sunday. Nowadays the Salvation Army u~es the promenade '; for pantomimic appeals for money, and a band is allowed, but carefully removed to the pierhead so 1hat the shame of it may be as far removed from the town as possible. Many other towns in the provinces are com- , ~. pl.etely dead on Sundays. Of opponents of the" Continental Sunday," I wlsh them no worse than to be landed in a country district with a bicycle late on Sunday evening and to have to look for a night's lodging and helter from the rain. More ghastly inhospitality cannot be found any-

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where. I have myself been told, "No, we are full up," to the strainS of a harmonium groaning out a hymn. This situation, 1 expect, will greatly lmprove during the next few years owing to the huge increase of motor traffic during the week-ends. 1 stood last Sunday evening on a bridge in what was probably twenty-five years ago a quiet country road with no traffic to be seen, and watched motor follow motor-cycle in one continuous. stream from the countryside to the large manufacturing towns. The demand thus created will open many a tightly-closed door.

In this town no trams run before 2 p.m. on Sundays. The railway 1S a main line junction with arms radiating to the six biggest towns in the British Isles. No passenger trains go out of it between ten o'clock and one, although four trains are allowed to arrive from (presumably) mOl e ungodly districts. The recreation grounds may not be used except as thoroughfares, and there one may see the swings pulled up out of reach of the children and padlocked. Some day I will have a photograph 'taken of these padlocked swings; the matter seems worth recording. On the other hand, inside the borough boundary there are open at the appointed hours 63 churches and chapels and several times this number of public houses. (These figures exclude 25 to 30 mission halls and meeting-houses of Spiritualists, Christian Scientists, Theosophists, Christedelphians and so on.) 1 was informed by a cynical Yorkshireman that when he first came to the tOWD' each church was flanked on either side by a public house, but that now many of the latter have been closed. Every action produces its reaction, and there is a very strong temperance party; that there is not a strong rationalist group speaks for our lack of power of combination. In the evening there are no cinemas and few restaurants open, but the Salvation Army and a few propagandists perform in the market place and the main street is thronged with young people who wander up and down without knowing what bet1er to do.

1 find I have exhausted my space without exhausting my subject. have made no mention of the crowds who, in the fine weather, go oft on cycle and on foot to worship in the country lanes and on the mounta n tops rather than in cold stone buildings, nor of the furtner crowds who rush to worship Mercury rather than Nature in cars and motor-cycles , These exist and are very obvious during the summer months (1 hear the ceaseless din as 1 write), but what becomes of them during the winter I know not. In a further article 1 hope to deal with some of the reaction~ of Sunday on week-days and to try to trace the influences which are now at work t ransforming this aspect of onr social life. P. S

CORRESPONDENCE Responsibility fo" the opinions e"p,.eued under this heading .-ests solely

with the w,.~ters,

SOUTH PLACE AND WIDER SUPPORT.

To the Editor of THE MONTHLY RECORD.

SIR,-The writer of the letter on this topic in the August RECORD, Mr. S. J. Smith, is a member of the Committee of the Society, and if he thinks our aims are too nebulous, the retort is obvious that he is in a position to attempt to reduce the nebulosity to some sort of definiteness. If he call' convert the other members of the Committee, the ta~k of converting the members of the Society w1ll be considerably simplified.

If he makes a start with tbe aim of making the Society a corporate member of the League of Nations Union, he will find it impossible to secure unanimity in the Committee, and that chiefly from the circumstance tbat the temper of the Society from the days of Elhanan Winchester until now has rested on the sentiment of the dissidence of dissent; constructive effort is heJd to be a matter of individual voluntary adhesion. There are some excellent practical reasons for ihis attitude, not the least of which in, this connection is that the corporate membership of the Society would not

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'help the Union, whilst it might hamper the Society. It is quite possible for any and every member to join the Branch, those who do not wish to do so might fllirly object to inclusion in an effor~ with which tbey were not ln sympathy.

If Mr. Smith passes on to tbe ownership of coal and other property, and to the definition of a legal standard of life, his difficulties will increase. For he will have to ask an Ethical Society to enter into an dtmosphere where the coal problem is conceived to be envisaged by the inscription OD

a banner at a recent demonstration: " To hell with bisbops and deans; we want a living wage." And when he ascert.ains where the demand for a living wage is most insistent he will find it not amongst the worst paid, but amongst the better paid workers; .to snme critics it appear~ like the rry of the daughters of tbe borseleech.

If our object is indefinite it is due tt.' our lack of imagination. We stand for a continuance of the Nonconformist tradition, which, in 5pite of some lmp<'rfections, is yet a noble ·heri t.age. :The ~sk of translating it into concrete form is doubtless one of pecuhar dIfficulty, but we shall not solve it by going into tbe market-place t? collect tbe current shibboleths of popular politics, wbicb in too many lIlstances are but fine names for self-regarding instincts.-Your obedient servant,

143, Higbbury Hill. July 31, 1925. A. S. TOMS.

"CHINA AND BRITISH CAPITAL." To thl! Editor of THE MON::"HLY Rf.CORD.

Sm,-Anyone holding Mr. Scudamore's view3. as expounded in your August number, on the sanctity of capital in private hands would differ from Mr. Burns.

Those who can read the signs of tbe times, and above all, students of sociology, understand that everything tends to the State assuming responsibi lity for the exploitation of the great means of production, dis­tribution and exchange. The private monopoly of the same constitutes a danger to the rest of the community everywhere and anywhere-witness the coal crisis.

To make the British investor the bugbear for the trouble in China is taking a ooe-sided view: Japan, the grabber of Corea, is much more at fault, and, of course, the Chinese merchant princes at the treaty ports take part in the thieves' supper . Uocle Sam, a more disinterested onlooker, can afford to urge giving up extra territoriality, the same as has been effected in Turkey. To be potted at by one's {'wn countrymen, at tbe instance of warring War Lords, may come to the same, but is certainly less jarring.

With all these races in Africa, India, Cbina <C rightly struggling to be free," any concessions tegarding self-governm~nt will have to be granted speedily and on a vaster scale or our shrewd rulers will have a rude awakening . The same as re\'olutions have been successfully staved off by piece-meal measures in the past, a timely yielding by tbe colonising nations may have it.; quietening effect for the time being.

Anyone studying the Report of the Child Labour Commission appointed b~ th.e hangha_i Municipal Council, submitted July, t924, cannot con­scleutlously contmue to receive substance from that tainted source-unle~s he constitutes him~lf an admirer of the factory conditions of a century ago, regret1ing tbat the Earl of Shaftesbury eyer existed .

In sup:>rt of my arguments I refer to the .pamphlets enclosed.-Yours faithfully, C. DVRENFORTH .

•• <C The Pr~sent Situation in China," published by tbe Chinese In­formation Bureau.

<C Hours of Work, Hates of Pay and Conditions of Chinese Workers." -Extracted from the Report of Child Labour Commiss;on, appointed by Shanghai Municipal Council, June, 1923-

s H6N6RaRY l!>FFleBRS •

... C. E. LISTER, 21, Abbotts Park Road, Leyton, E.m.

{ Mns. C. FL>OTCITER SMITH. 35, tation Way. Letchworth.

S.or.taru, ... F. M. OV.OR)" 36, Caterbam Hoad, Lewisham, S.E.13.

Sunday Lecture Secreta,'Y F. W. RaAD, 65, Rarley RoMi, Harteoden, N.W.10.

Minute S8cretarll .. , Registrar of Memberl and} Mls. R. fi .. LLS 21 El.tcourt Road Fulbam S.W 6 A"otaate, • , ., .. • ditor Of MOJrrRLY RaCORD O. J. POLLAUD, .. Sbanklin," The Annue. Ohingford, E .•.

LtbrClrion. rWALLIS MANSFORD," The Outlook," Kingsend Avenue, Rulslip

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t MISS V. A. ALBXANDER, 165, A.hmore Rond, PMidington, W.9.

Secretaries of Sub.(!ommittee ••

BUOdlnc Concert

F. HsnOEBT MursJ'oRD, U W~lden," Kingsend Avenue, RUlslip

ALFRED J . at.MENTS, 8, Finchley Way, Fin.hley, N.S.

Conway Memorial Discussions Esperanto Members ... Music Publica ttona Rambles

Social

E. OARR, 6, Essendon Road, Sanderatead, Surrey.

J. J. MURPHY, 41, Southwood Avenue, Higbgate, N.6.

S. J. MI1~Il, 43, Horn,*,y R,Ge OilMen., N.IO.

Miss F. J. SIMONS, 20, Grnnvllle Hoad, NA, E. SNBr,LING, 8, Amberl.y Roa.d, I.eyton, E.10.

MISS E. SnroNs, 20, Grnnvme Road, N .•.

{Mr • . F. M. HAWKI"S, 13, Thnrlow Pn.rk Roa.d, S.E.21. Mr •. J. Iil, SUTCLIFl'lt, 1, .Marlborough Place, N.W.B.

el!>MMITTEE.

A. J. OLBllaNTS JI. Oul<ll'INGHUl E. F. ERRINGTO" .r. FISnER

MRS. LIDSTONl! MRS. LISTER

MISS F. J. SUIONS S. J . SMl'rrr. E. SNl!LLING J. J . MunPH),

O. J. POLLARD MRS. RICHARDS F. A. RICHARD! MISS El. S!)[ONS

MRS. S UTOLIFFE

F. JAMES )IRS. J.HfES M[~s. LA.NC;FORD

J. E . SUTCLIFFE Mns. W .. TSON A. E. WA.TSON

New Members: Miss NYDIA ALU1II, Ada. T.ewis House, 172, New Kent Roa.d, S.E. Miss F. P. REIWE, 172, Mina.rd Roa.d, Ontford, S.E.6. Mr. a.nd Mrs. W. M. FAuLxmR, Wood Oott.ge, Bea.consfield, Bucks.

New Associates: Mr. GEO. H. FI:NN, 6052, Ha.rper Avenue, Ohicago, Illinois. Mr •. 11. REeVE, 172, Minard Itoad, Orutford, S.E.G.

Change of Address: Mr. O. R. BRAoa, 95, Sta.tion Wa.y, Letcltworth.

====================================== DiaRY FeR SBVTBMBBR.

6 Service Il a.m. 20 Service II a.m. 6 Esperanto Circle ... 3.30 p.m. 20 Ramble 0 Totteridge (see page 2)

6 Ramble: Kew Gardens (see 25 Dance at Club ... 7 p.m. page 2) 26 Ramble 0 Epping Forest (see

10 General Committee meets 6.30 p.m . page 2) 12 Rambles: Farthing Down, etc. 27 Service ... 11 a.m .

(see page 2) 27 Esperanto Circle 3.30 p.m.

13 Service rr a .m. 27 Annllal Re union Soire.e 6 p.m

PMJl~ a.n4 Publi.h"d by 'rH! UTOPU P!W!s llrD. 44, Worship Street, E.O.2.