T H E TABLET, N ovem ber 20th, 1954 VOL. 204, N o . 5974

THE TABLET

A WEEKLY NEWSPAPER & REVIEW

FOUNDED IN 1840

Pro Ecclesia Dei, Pro Regina et Patria

NOVEMBER 20th, 1954

N INEPENCE

B e liev in g : Religion on the Television Screen

Seeing and Pensions and P o l i t ic s : Tuesday’s Debate in the Commons Reform ing th e United N a t io n s : Political Proposals : I. By David Johnson

The Anger o f Senor Peron: Three Bishops Denounced in Argentina Faith and Freedom: Miss Barbara Ward’s New Book. By Christopher Hollis, M.P. Professor Toynbee’s H istory : III : In Two Dimensions. By T. S. Gregory B enedict XV : 1854"1954 : P°Pe ° f the First World War. By Humphrey J. T. Johnson B o o k s R e v i e w e d : Essays with a Purpose, by Salvador de Madariaga ; The Phantom Caravan,

by Sir Owen O’Malley ; The Memoirs o f James Stephen, edited by Merle Bevington ; The Music o f Ralph Vaughan Williams, by Frank Howes ; Kobbe's Complete Opera Book, edited by the Earl of Harewood ; Through the Wine Glass, by H. Warner Allen ; The Perfection o f Man by Charity, by Reginald Buckler, O.P. ; Christ-Consciousness, by A. Gardeil, O.P. ; and Italian Food, by Elizabeth David. Reviewed by Colin Clark, John Biggs-Davison, Sir Arnold Lunn, Rosemary Hughes, Bruno S. James and

Timothy Matthews.

NO DEFLECTION

T HE response which the latest Soviet note has met in the European capitals and in Washington shows that it has been recognized for what it is, a'last determined effort to jeopardize the European treaties in the form which they received in London and Paris. The language used by the British Foreign Secretary in rejecting the Note is very reminiscent of Dr. Adenauer’s reaction to previous Notes of this kind in the past three or four years, when he repeatedly said that there should be no negotiations with the Soviet Union before the ratification of what were then the European Army and German treaties. It is a credit to the German Chancellor’s statesmanship that his attitude has been accepted as the basis of Western policy in regard to Germany and Soviet Russia, even if the European character of that policy is very much less marked than he would like. It is only from a position of Western unity and strength that negotiations with the Soviet Union can be effective.

The text of the Soviet Note, calling for a Conference of twenty-four European States with China as an “observer,” suggested that it was hardly a serious diplomatic proposal, but was intended for the Communist and neutralist European “gallery,” as well as for the Soviet Union’s satellites, anxious to convince their own populations of “peaceful intentions.” As in previous Notes, however, the country chiefly addressed was France. Those most inclined to listen to the Russian siren songs and threats are the former members of General de Gaulle’s RPF. General de Gaulle himself may not now accept the invitation extended to him to go to Moscow, but M. Gaston Palewski, his spokesman in foreign affairs, seems more likely to do so. He is fighting for a postponement of the ratification debate, fixed for the first half of December, on the ground that France must test all chances of bringing about an understanding with the Soviet Union. But M. Palewski is hardly able to gain the support of more than about twenty-five Republican votes in the National Assembly.

The visit of the French Premier to Canada and the United States at this juncture is evidence that M. Mendes-France is not willing to listen to those who are deceived by this latest Soviet Note. His American visit, and the fact that “co-existence” will be discussed there against the background of the chaotic conditions in Viet Nam, should help M. MendesFrance to regain his Government’s prestige as well as that of France, which have been very low in the United States. Accusations of neutralism have been levelled against him in America. Writing on the crisis in French foreign policy in the current number of the American Review o f Politics, Professor J. B. Duroselle gives what is probably a correct intepretation of M. Mendes-France’s view when he writes :

“France has finally ‘emptied the abscess’ which infected her foreign and domestic policy almost as much as the war in Indo-China. It is possible to deplore the fact that the solution was that of rejection of the EDC, but in the long run anything is better than the uncertainty regarding French policy which prevailed under the previous Governments. By his energetic methods, he obliges the deputies to assume their responsibilities ; in this way he may succeed in carrying out in the realm of parliamentary habits, the reform which is more and more regarded as essential by French public opinion : the reinforcement of the executive power in France, this being an essential condition for rebuilding the power of the nation.” But we think that M. Mendes-France may be surprised as well as flattered by what he can read about himself in much of the London Press.