3 MAY 1924, Page 3

At Briton Ferry on Monday the Prime Minister made one

of those reflective and spiritually-minded speeches which excite the fury of Bolsheviks and are described in Moscow as being inspired by a hideous bourgeois pietism. Mr. MacDonald spoke of the need of culti- vating things of the spirit, and of devoting one's body to work and one's soul to service. Fortunately, the average Englishman is not perturbed by what perturbs fanatical Moscow. He is quieted and reassured and his respect is evoked. He feels, however much he may disagree with Mr. MacDonald's politics, that we have here a man with a reverent mind who does not want to pluck the fires down from heaven in the manner of the true Red Revolutionary. Incidentally in his speech Mr. MacDonald paid a tribute to the " helpfulness " and " generosity " of Mr. Baldwin—for which tribute readers of the article called " Some- Thoughts on the Session " from a Political Correspondent, which we published last week, will not have been unprepared.

* * * *