25 FEBRUARY 1938, Page 3

There is never any ambiguity about the Prime Minister's speeches,

and on Tuesday his meaning was beyond any possible doubt. He was hammering the nails into the coffin of collective security. After him came Mr. Kingsley Griffith, who emphasised that the continuity of British foreign policy had been rudely broken. The traditional League policy, built up over a period of years by Conservative Prime Ministers amongst others, had been tied up neatly in a parcel and delivered to Mr. Attlee, who in future could claim it as his own. Mr. Churchill opened with a reference to the ex-Foreign Secretary as " one of the very few men on that bench whose name is widely known throughout this island." With devastating effect he underlined the fact that this resignation will be regarded in many parts of the world as the complete triumph of the Italian dictator at the moment when he was desperately in need of a success. The conflict between Signor Mussolini and Mr. Eden had been a long one ; there could be no doubt who had won. * * * *