25 OCTOBER 1963, Page 11

A Spectator's Notebook

BED was, I suppose, as good a place as any from which to observe the Conservatives in the throes of parturition, and a high temperature merely added its own touches of drama and fan- tasy to the scene. Brooding on the whole affair, accounts of which in the press have seemed re- markably confused (or perhaps it is just me), one moral at any rate stood out. Those who have pursued Mr. Butler in a vendetta that seems to date from before the war would have been wiser to show a little magnanimity. As it is, some of their rancour has rubbed off on to their party, while the object of their enmity now enjoys more national .respect and influence than he has ever done. Mr. Butler's behaviour has been that of a man selflessly devoted to the service of his coun- try and party. What should one say about that of his enemies?