I am at times amazed at the daring displayed by
ordinary private Members. It may be that I have an exaggerated sense of occasion, but nothing on this earth could have in- duced me on that Friday afternoon to rise and comment upon the Prime Minister's statement. Mr. Greenwood, of course, was obliged by his position as deputy Leader of the Oppo- sition to tender a few remarks, and he did so with dignity and moderation. Mr. Gallacher and Mr. Maxton may also have felt impelled by their representative functions to inter- vene. Lord Cranborne, in making the eminently sensible suggestion that Monday's debate should be postponed, did so with the most engaging diffidence. Mr. Denman is so widely respected by the House that his short inquiry regard- ing the Dominions could not have been taken amiss. Yet the intrusion of other back-benchers upon ground which even Sir Archibald Sinclair feared to tread displayed a heroism to which I could never venture to aspire. In one case at least this heroism was justified. ' Mr. Thurtle, the Labour Member for Shoreditch, expressed in the simplest terms a thought which must be shared by all of those who criticised the Munich settlement. He said that Mr. Cham- berlain, " in view of his world reputation as a man of peace," was the best person to initiate the new policy of resistance. There can be few of us who did not share this opinion.
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