A SPECTATOR 'S NOTEBOOK
TIRED though he sounded through the first half of his address, the Prime Minister in his broadcast on Sunday night demon- strated as signally as ever his unique power to capture the ears and minds of his audience. His swift resume of the course of the war was necessarily less striking than other parts of his speech, but it was an essential framework, and led up effectively to the sobering dis- closures of the narrowness of the margins by which this country, and London in particular, escaped in the closing months of the war graver perils than any it has actually experienced. That the strictures on Mr. de Valera were slightly rhetoriCal, and left some loophole for a reply, did not diminish the satisfaction. they gave to the great majority of listeners, and the much more oblique and guarded reference to our principal European ally were definite enough to arrest attention, but not so definite as to cause offence (though it appears that Pravda omitted them in its report of the speech). The Prime Minister felt plainly that after the days of fit and proper rejoicing the nation should recognise the magnitude of the tasks still before it. There is every indication it appreciated the wisdom of the reminder.
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Lady Violet Bonham-Carter's suggestion that the British Delega- tion at the Peace Conference should include members of all parties is interesting, if not entirely new. (The word " all," I imagine, is not meant to include Common Wealth, I.L.P., Scottish Nationalist and Communist and any other "splinters" that a General Election may throw up. Does it include both brands of Liberals? And, if not, which?) But the real difficulty, particularly in loose talk about "a League of Peoples, not a League of Governments" is that actual agreements can only be entered into by Governments. In view of the responsibility that rests on the chief delegate at an international conference he naturally desires to have as his colleagues men (or women) of his own party, of whose support in the House of Commons he can he certain. It may be said that it is still better to be certain of the support of leaders of the Opposition or Oppositions. So it is, but suppose he is not certain of it. Suppose there are party divi- sions in the Delegation over some question of importance. Even though it is understood from the first that the head of the Delegation must have the decisive voice, the divisions would become known and lower the whole Delegation's authority. Is that risk worth taking? It may be, particularly if the principle of keeping foreign policy out of party controversy is accepted. How far it ought to be accepted is another question still. Clearly the right way to secure an all-party delegation at a conference (as at San Francisco) is to have an all-party Government in office at home.
* * * * The country is slow in settling into the peace mood. That is not altogether surprising for, except to an &terms, the change has made little difference to the average citizen's daily life. The lifting of the black-out was always looked forward to as the outstanding symbol of a return to normality, but coming at a season of the year when, under double summer-time, no question of black-out arises anyhow till ten o'clock or thereabouts, the relaxation is barely noticed. The clearing of the windows of buses and trains goes for something, but in London at any rate that is happening very slowly. Of course the end of casualty lists and of flying bombs and rockets matters far beyond everything else, but the indefinite persistence of food- ratidning and clothing-coupons damps down exhiliaration effectively. Basic petrol will change the outlook a little, but the amount so far in prospect is barely enough to tempt out laid-up cars. For me better train-services, with restaurant-cars,-will, I think, make peace seem real as much as anything, and I could lisesome foodstuffs Whose reappearance would be singularly welcome.
I am all in favour of good wages for good work, but I hope the time is near when men will no longer be in a position to ask just what they like and get it. Here is a report of a Hyde Park demon- stration of 20,000 building-trade employers on blitz repairs in London demanding—of all things in the world—a 70-hour week. For genera- tions trade unionists have fought for a 6o-hour, a 56-hour, a 48-hour, a 4o-hour, week.. Now conies a demonstration in Hyde Park against a reduction from 70 hours by the suspension of Sunday work, ordered by the Ministry of Works because the 70 hours caused excessive fatigue and a fall in production. Very well, say the men, then pay us 3s. an hour instead of 2S. zid., which would mean as much pay for six days' work as for seven—or if my arithmetic is right, more. It is true that these are men who have been brought up -from the country to work in London. But, country or London, the demand to work on Sundays for the sake of overtime rates is more than public opinion will stand.
* * * * The difficulty of following precisely what is happening at San Francisco is shown by the following semi-official quotations: Mr. Eden at a Press conference last week said : "We put in a new paragraph which makes it clear beyond doubt that the Security Council has the right not only to discuss, but also to make a definite recommendation as to how any dispute should be settled."
The United Kingdom Press Delegation later issued a state- ment designed to "clarify " Mr. Eden's remarks, intimating that " the effect of this new draft is that the Security. Council will not under this Section possess the power actually to recommend the terms of settlement for any particular dispute." - So what? • * * * *
Two protests have been made—revealing clearly more pain than ferocity—about my use of the expression " that long," referring to a twenty-years tenure of office. This raises large questions of prin- ciple, and we had better get them straight. First of all, Janus is always right, except when he spontaneously and very broad- -mindedly acknowledges himself to have been wrong. Second, Janus reserves the right to use whatever language he chooses, without in any way surrendering the right of criticising other people for using the language they choose. Thirdly, this column is of set intent written colloquially—as by an average human being to other average and tolerably friendly human beings—not in the diction of Gibbon or Porter, Dr. Johnson or Macaulay. Finally, I have no word of apology for " that long," maintaining that it is perfectly good colloquial English. Whether it is good colloquial Scottish— both my protesters come from north of Carter Bar--I cannot say
with certainty. * * * *
Justice should be done where it is due. I recently. expressed surprise in this column that the Ministry of Works should at a time like this have granted a licence -for what was plainly luxury building in connection with a private residence in a Home Counties village. I now learn with satisfaction that the Minister, on his attention being called to the facts, had them investigated and as a consequence revoked the licence.
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Mr. Hudson has announced that Land. Girls with six months' service to their credit will be allowed to keep a shirt and a pair of shoes. It sounds a little draughty.
JANUS.
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