NEWS OF THE WEEK T HE Conservative Party can hardly derive
unlimited satisfaction from Mr. Robert Boothby's gift for candour. His speech at Banstead last week, in • which he proclaimed in relation to the Labour Pday in Parliament that " we shall harry the life out of them ; we shall keep them up day and .night ; we will make life absolutely intolerable for them," and a little more of the same, did in fact describe with all reasonable accuracy the methods the COnservative Party in the House has been employ- ing in the last week. It is safe to say that the country as a whole views them with complete disgust. Parliament as the great inquest of the nation is one thing, Parliament as an.arena, not merely for party argument, but for the subordination of national interests to imagined party advantage, is quite another, and if the Conservatives confuse the two they will find their brightening prospects at the poll grow suddenly and sharply dim. Of course it is the business of an Opposition to oppose ; that is an essential and valuable part of our constitutional practice. But the House Of Commons has its traditions and its dignity. It is perfectly possible no doubt to cause obstruction by constitutional means, as the Irish, who were far more adept at that than the-Conserva- tives are likely to be, demonstrated conclusively a couple of generations ago. The tactics outlined by Mr. Boothby might conceivably secure a Government defeat. That would be dearly bought at the cost of alienating thousands of electors who were thinking-of voting Conservative at the subsequent poll. Another Conservative back-bencher, Mr. Christopher Hollis, speaking at Marlborough on Saturday, firmly deprecated the new party procedure ; Mr. Hollis habitually speaks sound sense. Mean- while, Mr. Harold Wilson, endeavouring to be much too bright, has devised the idea of penalising hard-pressed traders in retalia- tion for something in Parliament with which they had nothing conceivable to do, and decided to suspend all talk of price- increases on the hollow ground that they may be prayed against in the House. That, he semed to be satisfied, would soon cool the passion of the Conservatives for praying against price-control orders. However, Mr. Ede. when these tactics were characterised br Mr. Churchill as they should be, undertook to talk to Mr. Wilson. There is little doubt that he will talk to some purpose Mr. Ede has been a schoolmaster.
