11 JUNE 1932, Page 3

So Lord Strickland has been to Canossa. There is something

almost mediaeval about the language in which a Prime Minister of Malta "humbly and unreservedly asks pardon " for clashing with the Church and her authority, as result of which "the Holy Father, being always ready to welcome strayed children who show they are sincerely penitent, has accepted the apology of Lord Strickland." The pastoral letter of the Bishops of Malta and GOZO, urging electors not to vote for Lord Strickland under pain of mortal sin, is consequently withdrawn, and elections in a British colony will be permitted to proceed normally. It has not been a satisfactory episode at any point, nor does Lord Strickland come with distinction

out of it. * * * *