THE NEW ELEMENT

The only feature in the aspect of Jan 1 1920 which possesses a certain relative novelty is that it is the first day of a Leap Year. We will not be antiquarian. Whether the traditional liberty of Leap Year is accorded in virtue of an agreement negotiated between St Patrick and St Bridget or of a law passed by a 13th-century Scots Parliament shall not detain us. Perhaps we had better not talk too much about the tradition, since its authentic form seems to be that if the man countered the proposal by the gift of a new silk dress the woman must retire. It seems against the interests of the commonwealth that young men should be encouraged to estimate their marital value be equal to but one silk dress. England expects every man to do his duty. This argument is open to the retort that nothing can be more disastrous to a young man’s well-being than he should be taught that young women are anxious to marry him. But the answer is, no doubt, that some young men will think so in spite of all we can do to reduce them to the lowest terms, and other young men will never think so whatever we do to raise them to the highest power. If all young women availed themselves of the Leap Year privilege it is probable that the Registrar-general would not need to add one page to the provision he has already made for the year 1920. No doubt if women were cast for the speaking part we should avoid a certain number of the mistakes which are made now, and make a good many more which now we avoid. But this is not to say that the tradition is an anachronism, useless to a world in which women rule not behind the scenes but openly. It would not be the worst of resolutions for a New Year if we all said what we meant, with the saving obligation of taking some thought to mean what we said. Whether the marriage rate would thereby rise is a question not to be answered at the end of a column.