Since then, the childish suspicions of my French friend have
buzzed around me like mosquitoes. There was some- thing else that he said. He said, " The British people will endure anything except discomfort." That was another mosquito. I travelled up to my constituency, knowing that there at least I should find sound Midland comfort. I found it. But after one of my meetings a man arose and told a story. It was quite a short story and I shall repeat it here. " A friend of mine," he said, " has had staying with him a young German of twenty years of age. This young German told him That if the British Government intro- duced compulsory service, the Fiihrer would face us with a declaration of war." I was glad to have this story, since it adds to my documents in the case. But I was not com- forted by the manner in which the story was received. The audience accepted it as an interesting piece of information : in no apparent sense did they resent it as an outrage upon our (I quote Mr. Chamberlain) " Liberties." When I was a young man, no British audience would have accepted in so calm a manner a statement that the ruler of a foreign nation could dictate to us what we should do, or should not do, in a matter of domestic legislation. I may be exag- gerating this incident. Perhaps they had not fully under- stood the implication of menace : perhaps they had not heard.
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