A SPECTATOR'S NOTEBOOK
THE dark horse of the Joint Committee was Sir Austen Chamberlain—dark because with his scrupulous correctitude he has kept his own counsel on the whole question so religiously. But he is much more than a dark horse ; he may very well prove a decisive factor. The Diehards never quite lost hope that he might come down on their side. If he had, Mr. Baldwin would have had to face the Conservative Conference under an immense handicap. But Sir Austen on the last day of the Committee's sittings— which, antiquarians may be interested to note, is described in the official proceedings as die Vencris 12° Octobris 1934 (I submit as amendment A.U.O. 2687)— voted steadily with the majority and• will no doubt be the most effective defender of the Report in the House of Commons. His quixotic resignation of the Secretary- ship of India in 1917 after the exposure of the Meso- potamia muddle, for which he bore no direct personal responsibility, is one of many public acts which will always be remembered to his credit. The fact that Sir Austen is prepared for steps like the transfer of responsibility for law and order to the Cabinets of the provincial governments will dispel the misgivings of many doubtful Conservatives. With its Right and Left wings dissenting on different grounds, the Joint Com- mittee as a whole very faithfully reflected the general standpoint of the National Government. I pass on, by the way, for what it is worth (in my opinion little) a current rumour that Mr. Lloyd George intends to Attack the Report from the same standpoint as Mr Churchill.
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