Himalayan Times (1956)

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CUE LONDON'.- LETTER

BY B. B. RAY CHAUDHURI

(Our London Correspondent)
London, March 17

There has been a
basio difference between
Britain and America on
the approach to the Mid-
dle East problem. The
United States has been
baoking Egypt and Britain
has favoured Iraq The
Cairo conference, however,
seemed to have been the
last straw. It convinced
the U.S.A. that Colonel
Nasser is associating with
the most extreme anti-
Western elements. Exactly
how this policy shift will
manifest itself, exoept for
greater stress on support
for such countries as Iraq,
Lebanon and Saudi Ara-
bia, wheie America has
her main economic and
military interests, is not
clear; but it does not
mean she is any readier
to join the Baghdad Pact.
Apart from this tactical
shift, the United States
is at a lo»8 for an effec.
tive Middle Rast Policy,
the hope that negotiations
between Israel and her
neighbours could be ini-
tiated in the near future
has been almost abandoned.

The Prime Minister,
bir Anthony Eden is show-
ing signs of nervous ten-
sion. That is not surpri
sing, for the Government

is passing through a test-
ing-time in foreign and
economic affairs, of which
last week gave a foretaste.
When the bead of the
Governmet shows obvious
signs of the intense and
inescapable strain of bis
office, a sort of psycho-
logical inquest must follow.
Is he the man for the
job ? Can he stand it ?
What's wrong with the
Government ? The Oppo-
sition rushes to the attack
with justification. When
on Wednesday night the
Prime Minister replied to
the debate on'the Middle
East there was, for a
spell, almost bedlam. Sir
Anthony Eden, said some
Conservatives and every
Labour man afterwards,-
had been out-shone, nut-
debated, on his own ground
of foreign affairs by Mr.
Gaitskell, who had been
regarded until then as
primarily an economist,
and no expert on foreign
affairs.

Messrs. Oliver St.
Boyd, Ltd., the famous
Edinburgh Publishers, have
just brought out the se
oond revised and enlarged
edition of ''the butter-
flies of the Malay Pe.
nisui.a" by Dr. A. Steven

March 25, 1956

Corbet and H. M. Pendle"
bury. The first edition
was published in 1934 in
Kuala Lumpur. Between
that date and 1946, Dr
Corbet of the British
Museum ^Natural History)
made an extensive study
of almost all the import-
ant extant collection of
Malayan butterflies. The
new edition is throughly
comprehensive and unlikely
to be superseded. No
butterfly known to be in
Malay has been omitted,
a great many are illus-
trated for the first time.
Keys are given for the
idi ntification of all the
species. The book is of
great value to 9.11 Natura-
lists. The second edition
is edited by N. I>. Wiley,
C.3 E, Keeper of Etno-
mclogv at the British
Museum (Natural History).

OPENING OF THE MATERNITY
AliO SOCIAL WELFARE CENTRE

Pankhabari Mar. 24

The opening ceremony
of the Maternity and
Social Welfare Centce,
Pankhabari was held on
17-3-56 ✓ under the presi-
dentship of U|e Deputy
Commissioner, Darjeeling

The S.D.O. Kurseong
explained the objects of
i he Centre to the public
and the D C. declared
the Centre open by cut-
■ ting a ribbon.

After the opening some
Milk was distributed among
the children of the locality.