It was interesting to observe the gradations of pleasure or
of pain occasioned to different people by this White Paper capitulation. At one end of the scale were those whose respect for the party machine enables them to turn right or left or right-about in a determined search for the line of least resistance. Such people found solace in the McMahon letters, in the phrase "under suitable conditions," in the reference to "the ambiguity of certain expressions in the Mandate "; and they welcomed with delighted surprise Mr. MacDonald's resurrection of Dr. Hogarth in the semblance of a Commander. It was with skill and eloquence that they dwelt upon the intolerable sufferings of the upper dog. In the centre of the scale were those who, while hardly denying that a breach of faith had been committed, argued that in times of national peril self-preservation must be the deter- minant factor. Such people contended that by this new gesture of appeasement further bloodshed might, for a time, be avoided. They were both glad and sad.
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