Incidentally, this was the first speech which Sir Arthur has
delivered on the international situation. He seemed less confident than usual, but nevertheless made the best- informed contribution of the afternoon. He has visited China twice during the past six years, and spoke with authority on the theme that the reconstruction of China would un- doubtedly have succeeded but for interference from outside. The wanton destruction of this remarkable effort by Japan was one of the major tragedies of modern times. What mattered was the illegal invasion of China and not the incidents that had accompanied it. There must be some special magic in .being an independent member ; when Sir Arthur went on to argue that " somehow or other it is necessary to reassert the authority of law and collective action," he was not once interrupted with the shout of " You m an war " which habitually greets the expression of such a sentiment from the Opposition benches.
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