THE NEW ESTATE
SIR,—Mr. Curran has substantiated his state- ment about the Jarrow march, clearly and beyond question, and I tender to him my most sincere and humble apologies for my hasty and very rash statement.
It seems clear that the Socialist Party officially banned the march• on the grounds of fears of Communist influence, and that the marchers' cause (and that of Socialism generally) would not be advanced and might even be harmed by the march. Nevertheless, the participation of Miss Ellen Wilkinson symbolised the amount of Socialist sympathy with the men and the cause they represented.
All this, however, does not absolve the Tory Government of the day. Even if, as Mr. Curran asserts, it was partly technological change which caused unemployment, the Tory Governments of the 1930s stand indicted by their sins of omission as well as those of coat- mission.—Yours faithfully, WILLIAM ALLAN VALISE
65 Headstone Road, Harrow
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