Mr. Lansbury's motion on world fears on Wednesday afternoon gave
the opportunity to Mr. Lloyd George to make his first speech since the election. In manner and form it was one of his best, but as a reasoned argument as to what should be done in the growing international crisis it was regarded in nearly every quarter in the House as deplorable. He appeared to have. no grasp of the realities of the German situation. and his suggestion that the speeches of Goering and Hitler need not be taken unduly seriously was greeted with incredulous laughter. There was clearly no disposition in any party to look with favour upon his proposal that Great Britain should sum- mon an international Conference and, as the first item in the agenda, place the mandated territories in the pool. There is a general feeling that this would be a most unfor- tunate moment to give any impression of weakness to- wards the aggressor nations. I fancy that even in the ranks. of the Labour Party the opposition to the new esti- mates for the defence services will be fairly half-hearted.* *
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