Mr. Chamberlain pointed out that the unprecedented action of allowing
the mines to flood was actually disapproved of by the Parliamentary Labour Party. But Mr. Clynes had laid it down that the duty of a Labour leader was not to act as an autocrat but to follow his so-called followers. Mr. Chamberlain declared, and we heartily agree with him, that if the Labour leaders had had the courage to say that they would support the miners through thick and thin on the question of wages but that they would never consent to destruction, they could easily have had their way, and the mines would never have been flooded. One good sign, however, is that the extremists and the moderates are sorting themselves out owing to the collapse of the Triple Alliance. If a moderate or constitution- alist has not the courage now to say what is really in his heart, we fear there is not very much hope for him.
