Mr. Ramsay MacDonald when he made his first speech in
Parliament on the Debate on Monday on the special areas was subjected to much unfair and unmannerly interruptions from the Labour Benches. But he made the mistake at the outset of his speech of taunting Dr. Hugh Dalton, who proposed the vote of censure, with the moderation with which lie had performed his task. This put the Opposition in • a resentful mood from the start, and when he followed it up with a reference, most maladroit in view of his own record, to the advantages of transfer " from where there is no prospect to where there is a prospect," the jeering was loud and prolonged. But on the whole the debate was on a higher level than is usual on these dreary occasions. Less time was spent On sterile criticism and more on constructive suggestions. For once the discussion was not wholly monopolised by Members who sit for distressed areas. Indeed, the most challenging criticism came from Lord Wolmer, who represents Aldershot. When it was all over, however, there remained the feeling that the Government had not even yet grasped the magnitude and urgency of the problem. Mr. Ernest Brown, who wound up the debate, did not appear to see the. tragedy in its real perspective. He dealt with small debating-points and minor palliatives, like special food for expectant mothers. • * .*
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