I am well aware that mass-observation, whether conducted by the
methods of Dr. George Gallup or by those of Mr. Tom Harrisson, does not lay claim to scientific precision. It is evident that the 53 per cent. registered by the British Institute can only represent a sample estimate of the support which the Prime Minister commands in the country. Certain property-groups and age-groups must escape the net of these investigators. On the one hand only the most defiant investigator would dare to accost the Bankers, Brokers and Baronets who form the Prime Minister's Iron Guard. On the other hand it is in the later age-groups that Mr. Chamberlain's most ardent supporters are to be found, and these again do not lend themselves to casual questioning. It is obvious, for instance, that the Prime Minister can count upon the sympathy of the great majority of women over sixty and of a phalanx of male supporters falling within the age-group 65-80. I should thus estimate that the index figure of 53 per cent, given by the British Institute should be increased to 6o per cent. or even 65 per cent. That is a formidable figure. How far can it be regarded as dependable?
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