News of the Week
The Economy Discussions BY far the most important event of the past week in the domestic field has been the emergency meeting of the Cabinet Economy Committee. The Prime Minister was well advised to call his colleagues together without further delay and his action has already produced the desired impression in the City. The time for discussion is short in any case, for the Prime Minister will be deeply involved in the Round Table Conference from early in September, and Mr. Henderson, who is a vital factor in the deliberations in view not merely of his position in the Cabinet but of the influence he exercices in the country as Secretary of the Labour Party, must spend the whole of that month at Geneva. It appears to be agreed, and wisely, that the co-operation to be sought with the other parties should take the form of common action in the House of Commons, not of anything like a Coalition Government. Mr. Baldwin's unexpected return from Aix-les-Bains has, of course, a direct bearing on that. But the Prime Minister, particularly if he intends to go forward with economies in the field of unemployment insurance, will have to decide whether he is prepared in the national interest to get an economy programme through the House with the help of Conservative and Liberal votes in the face of fierce opposition, which might easily develop into a permanent split, from a large section of his own party. Such a. situation calls at once for courage and statesman- ship, and events both in Germany and Australia suggest that a Prime Minister who takes his courage in his hands need not often regret it.
