29 AUGUST 1931, Page 1

Thus, Mr. MacDonald has, with the King's encourage- ment, gallantly

picked up again the heavy burden which he laid down for one moment only. The temptation to a tired man to run away, or to cling to his old supporters, must have been immense. He exerted a constitutional right in demanding the resignation of dissenting colleagues, and by resigning himself and -taking a fresh commission from the King the change is marked between the old and new Governments as it might have been if an appeal to the country had been possible. The Government is expected to meet Parliament on September 8th with its proposals for legislation to deal with the emergency. When that is passed, presumably we shall have to endure a General Election. We may add here that the first sign of the sinking of party politics for the time being has been the creditable withdrawal of the Liberal candidate for the vacant Guildford division, Mr. Stopford Brooke. Mr. Charles Rhys, formerly member for Romford, is returned unopposed in the place of Sir Henry Buckingham.

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