An examination of the dates in this affair causes strange
reflections. Mr. MacDonald received the Zinovieff letter on October 16th, but for a whole week afterwards he was speaking publicly of Russia as a country worthy of trust. On Friday, October 24th, he said, " I have no doubt that Russia will carry out the Treaty." His actions have been consistently unbalanced. They have been such as to inspire deep forebodings in everyone who is concerned that our leading statesmen should be men capable of cool and steady judgment. If the feelings of most people correspond to our own there is a real regret at this collapse of Mr. MacDonald, which seems to be a collapse of both character and mind. Up to a point as Prime Minister he did remarkably well, and the Govern- ment were treated by the whole nation with marked fairness and tolerance. When, however, the Government were guilty of blunders that simply could not be over- looked, Mr. MacDonald lost his coolness and dropped all his distinction and dignity ; he turned to violent invec- tive ; he attributed dishonesty and unfairness to all parties but his own, rounded on the officials whom he had formerly praised to the skies, and hysterically called attention to the piteous spectacle of a just statesman being maligned by dishonest and cruel men.
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