T HE Easter recess finds the Government in reduced circumstances, both
materially and psychologically, but no less powerful politically,, because the Labour Party has chosen this of all moments to embark once more upon a fierce internecine war. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald's struggle to enforce some semblance of discipline in the ranks on his movement is interesting and instructive. Curiously enough it is the extreme Left which talks so savagely about " intolerable dictatorships," and which has throughout taken up an intransigeant attitude of complete illogicality.
In the meantime the I.L.P. continues to disburse masses of " policies " on any and every subject, and to challenge parliamentary leadership at every turn. No wonder the Communists laugh, and continue to treat the Labour Party with a comprehensive scorn and derision. Were they to attain power there would be none of this nonsense at any rate, and Mr. Jowett would not long be permitted to cavil at dictatorships. The plain fact is that unless and until the Labour Party finally makes up its mind whether it wants to proceed by constitutional or revolutionary Means, it cannot make further headway.: If it-decides in favour of the former, it must also decide in favour of the " inevitability of gradualness " as far as Socialism is concerned, In any case it must submit either to Parliamentary leadership or to the dictatorship of a Soviet, for -there is no via media between these two.
I have dwelt upon the travail of the Labour Party because its reaction upon Unionism is great,- and mot altogether salutary. There is a lack of cohesion on the Government benches due in part to the absence of effective Parliamentary • Opposition. Emboldened by the appar- ently impregnable position of 'their party, Unionist " industrialists have combined with a sprinkling of the now almost obsolete " die-hards " in opposition to the Electricity Bill. This in itself would be of little consequence, but it has been accompanied- by one of the periodic outbursts against " Socialism." In their wild search for a creed to counter " Socialism " (with which is incorporated both Communism and Bolshevism) numbers of Unionists have turned in desperation to the Radical economic dogmas of the 'eighties. If this is allowed to continue unchecked, the break-up of the party is inevitable. If we let ourselves be stampeded out of our traditional policy of economic opportunism by the speeches of Mr. Cook, we shall very soon cease to command the confidence of the country. The danger is serious, and Unionist members who are being con- verted to the doctrine of laissez-faire would be well advised to take a stiff course of Shaftesbury, Disraeli, Randolph Churchill, and Joseph Chamberlain, and then decide whether they would not do better to attempt a revival of the Liberal Party.
Finally, there have been• some lamentable -mistakes on the part of individual members of the Government. Sir Austen- Chamberlain triumphantly acquitted himself last week of - the charge of duplicity. But our previous experiences of simple and straightforward Foreign Secretaries have not been very happy.
The British Empire went to Geneva without a policy and emerged without credit. While the League con. sumed itself, Sir Austen fumbled—a - fact • which is sufficiently faced in private. There has been a noticeable improvement of late in the demeanour of the Home Secretary, who allowed himself to be influenced by moderate opinion in the Factory Bill debate. Only the Prime Minister goes steadily on. And he is so good that so long as he is there the chances of considerable disaster are almost negligible.
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