30 NOVEMBER 1934, Page 3

This week in Parliament has been the most interesting since

the recess. First of all there was the recantation of Sir John Simon. It must be quite unprecedented for a Foreign Secretary to describe his last speech as a " most unfortunate oration," but he did it with great skill and courage. Sir John Simon, like the fine Par- liamentarian that he is, realized that if a withdrawal is to be made, it must be complete and there were no qualifications in his apologia. It will be many months before the effects of his original speech will he wiped away in the country, but so far as the House of Commons is concerned, his position is far less weak now than it was before his retreat.