A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
THE Prime Minister's stock goes up and down curiously. At the moment it is undoubtedly down. There are no striking military achievements to foster faith in his leadership, and the feeling that Russia is bearing the brunt of the conflict and winning the war for us is inevitable. At the same time, the conviction that Mr. Churchill is still putting too much strain on himself prevails, and he will be wise to take account of it, as he did in the end of the general demand for a reconstruction of his Cabinet. But there is something to be said on the other side. Only very superficial observers will tend to underrate the magnitude of this country's war-effort—what the navy is doing to keep the seas, what supplies we are sending regularly to Russia in consonance with our agree- ments, how many thousands of German aeroplanes we are diverting from the Russian front by the need of them to meet our sweeps in France, or to resist attacks in Germany itself or in Libya, or for fruitless assaults on the indomitable Malta. As Mr. A. P. Herbert said in Wednesday's debate, if the Prime Minister is to be criticised
for our disasters he must be given credit for our achievements. And while it is essential that discussion in Parliament should be free some of the attacks on Mr. Churchill are calculated to have a deplorable effect on our Allies, who see in the Prime Minister the embodiment of British resolution and Allied hopes.
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