The Week in Parliament Our Parliamentary correspondent writes :—The cross-
examination of Sir John Simon by the House of Commons, -when, on Tuesday. he gave the results of the conversations abroad, was an impressive affair. It showed members of Parliament at their best—well-informed, determined to Probe the truth and yet imbued with a deep sense of the restraint necessary in the public interest in these critical times. Th2re was a strong demand in all parts of the House that there should be an early debate on the whole foreign situation and plain warnings were given that there must be no extensions of Great Britain's com- mitments behind the back of the House of Commons. It was strange and very gratifying to recall that in none of the countries on the Foreign Office's recent itinerary are the Foreign Secretaries subject to any similar popular control. Disappointment at the inability of Mr. Anthony Eden, owing to his unfortunate illness, to attend the meetings at Stresa is widespread,- particularly as it means that there will be no representative there of the Conservative Party. The Prime Minister is from all accounts still an effective force in council and he and Sir John Simon have an unrivalled experience of inter- national conferences, but both of them are members of minority parties. Any proposal that our representatives bring back from Stresa would be far less likely to encounter serious opposition if the Conservative leader had taken his share in the negotiations.
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