A day or two ago I came across a curious
sentence in a letter written by Mr. Neville Chamberlain to his brother Sir Austen and reproduced in Sir Charles Petrie's life of the latter. It was at the time when Sir Austen had been con- spicuously passed over by Mr. Baldwin in the composition of th Conservative Cabinet of 1923. "I have had my time Of scorching humiliation," wrote the younger brother, in offer- 1g ympathy and counsel, "and don't need to be told what It means." There is no indication of what the reference is, and it has set me wondering. "Scorching humiliation" is a strong phrase for any known experience in Neville Chamberlain's Political career. The nearest to such an experience, I suppose, was tenure of the Director-Generalship of National Service, into which Mr. Chamberlain was jumped in 1917 and when there left to fend for himself as best he could. Perhaps some- one can suggest a better explanation.
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