The announcement of the Military Training Bill on Wednesday took
no one by surprise. The House was more crowded than for Budget Day, but when it became known that there would be a debate on Thursday, it was realised that the real hostility to the proposals would be postponed until then. One of the chief causes of the Opposition's bitterness to the Prime Minister personally in the matter is, as Sir Archibald Sinclair suggested, that they were not con- sulted. It is believed that Mr. Chamberlain gave a definite undertaking to the Opposition leaders to consult them before a final decision was taken. His explanation as to why this was not done, and his rather unnecessary remark that wealth was largely conscripted already, were generally regarded by those who are not out-and-out opponents of the proposals as the only blemishes in his statement.
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