Very possibly the whole thing is only "a poisonous de-
lusion," but the way to combat such delusions is not to refuse information or to find technical grounds for preventing inquiry, but to welcome the most ample investigation. A propos of this matter, Friday's Daily Telegraph contains a significant statement from " a political correspondent," who says very justly that " sooner or later the truth will certainly be forth- coming, whether it confirms or denies the statements which are now being made, and it is in the interest of the good repute of political life that a complete exposure should be made at once." Quite apart from any question of conceal- ment or of political purity, it is obviously to the true interest of the Government to court, not to burke, investigation. When things have reached the pitch they have now reached, as was shown again and again in the Marconi Committee, suppression is never successful. When, however, suppression is tried and fails, a fact which is really perfectly innocent may come to wear a most ugly look. A tooth extracted after a scrimmage hurts far more than one taken from a passive patient.
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