For the debate itself the House was crowded from floor
to gallery as. if for a Budget day. Yet, as so often happens in the House .of Commons when a debate is heralded beforehand as, ",momentous. and historic," it was, in reality rather a dull affair. Sir Samuel Hoare is not, on ordinary occasions, anexeiting speaker, and this time he was clearly .at ,pains to key down the debate to the lowest possible level. • He read for over an hour from typewritten sheets in a slow monotonous voice that had the 'effect of producing. a general drowsiness. But the speech won 'general approval. Government sup- porters not unnaturally had their eyes on their con- stituencies as well as on Abyssinia, . and they felt that Sir Samuel had. said nothing that would either justify the accusation. that the Government was weakening in its support of the ,Covenene, or •• expose them to. the charge that they were war-mongering. It is this latter line of attack that 'the Government candidates most dread. Mr. Herbert Morrison's recent statement that a " vote for a Tory, is a vote for war " is regarded as an alarming indication that , the infamous tactics of the Fulham by-election may be repeated at the General Election. Major- Attlee; however, made no attempt to raise the issue, but contented himself with a knockabout attack on the dilatoriness of the Government, which, though not particularly impressive, was quite legitimate,
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