"Serve Peace"

In the House of Commons last week the Prime Minister, after many urgings to disclose the foreign policy of His Majesty's Government, said: "I believe today as I have believed hitherto, that we shall best serve peace, we shall best serve the cause of freedom, if we keep out of Spain and maintain a policy of nonintervention, if we don't attempt to burn our fingers as other nations may well do." After this the temper of the House was shown by a vote of 317-to-141 favorable to the Prime Minister.

Strenuous efforts were made by foes of the Government last week to suggest with screaming headlines that the Cabinet was "splitting." On the theory that the oppression of Jews in German-Austria must have deeply moved Britain's Jewish War Secretary, Mr. Leslie Hore-Belisha, dispatches left London and made world-wide news to the effect that Mr. Hore-Belisha had "threatened to resign" from the Cabinet, taking with him Malcolm MacDonald (Dominions), W. G. A. Ormsby-Gore (Colonies), W. S. Morrison (Agriculture) and Walter E. Elliott (Scotland).

Mr. David Lloyd George contributed to the sensation by leaving for the south of France, vowing: "The British Empire and France have been maneuvered into the worst possible strategic position. . . ." Much was made of the fact that also in the south of France last week were Lord Baldwin, his original protege, Mr. Eden, and his pet aversion, Winston Churchill. It was suggested in the Leftist press that this galaxy of big British names might suddenly join with "the Hore-Belisha Young Turks" and it was said that Hore-Belisha had given Neville Chamberlain a "48-hour ultimatum." The 48 hours expired, and nothing happened. For a member of the Cabinet to hand the P.M. an ultimatum is something which in London simply isn't done--but nervous Britons were willing to admit that, if it ever is, Hore-Belisha is the sort of man to do it.

There were said to be among the Conservative Party's 377 M.P.'s some 60 who secretly oppose the Prime Minister, but as his 69th birthday approached last week notes of congratulation to Neville Chamberlain poured into No. 10 Downing Street from virtually the entire Conservative Party contingent in both Houses.

Through diplomatic channels the Chamberlain-Hitler-Blum-Mussolini negotiations continued last week with the secrecy already publicly announced by His Majesty's Government. The London corps of correspondents, about as well informed last week as a group of orphan puppies, came tail-wagging to the Prime Minister, tendered him a birthday party. In high good humor, hawk-faced Neville Chamberlain, who at close range can be a very clubable man, shyly compared himself to a camel, citing a proverb which he said he thinks is Chinese: "One decrepit camel still bears the burden of many asses!"

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