On Tuesday the Labour Party Conference reaffirmed its desire to
send delegates to the International Socialist Conference at Stockholm, but by a very small majority. At the former meeting, when Mr. Henderson explained his reasons for supporting the Stockholm policy, the recommendation of the Executive was adopted by a card-vote majority of 1,296,000. On Tuesday this majority fell to 3,000. We cannot follow the long and complicated controversy which has taken place during the week on the question whether M. Kerensky's views were justly interpreted by the Govern. went when they threw over Mr. Henderson. Numerous interviews
with M. Kerensky, and statements attributed to him, acorn to show that he is personally in favour of a Stockholm Conference and not opposed to it, as Mr. Lloyd George said. On the other hand, the Government seem to have acted on the authority of the Russian Embassy, which after all is the accredited interpreter in this country of the views of the Russian Government. The chief point, however, is that the British Government, and no one else, must decide what British policy is to be. The refusal to grant passports for Stockholm is clear and firm, and not in the least likely to be reversed. It is the part of all patriotic men to accept that decision, and we have expressed elsewhere our grateful sense of the goodwill and reason- ableness with which Labour is behaving in the admittedly difficult circumstances.
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