BOOKS OF THE WEEK
A Great Foreign Secretary
Ernest Bevin. By Francis Williams. (Hutchinson. 21s.) A NATION'S foreign policy seldom owes much to the character of its Foreign Secretary. Especially is this true of nations whose economic and military power is declining, and which are increasingly bound up, by choice or necessity, with the affairs of other countries. It is a measure of Ernest Bevin's greatness that, during six difficult years, his personality should have had a decisive impact not only on Britain's foreign policy but on the most important developments in world affairs. How this phenomenon was possible is well explained in Mr. Francis Williams' biography. He makes the central feature of the book Mr. Bevin's understanding of the mechanics of power gained in his trade-union work. The picture of Mr. Bevin which results may in consequence be a little unkind, but it does explain how his extraordinary achievements were possible. Bevin was, of course, an immensely strong man, purposeful, aggressive, shrewd, hard to persuade; and almost impossible to deceive. At the Foreign Office his decisions were invariably his own. He seldom failed to get his policies accepted by the Cabinet. In the House of Commons, though no parliamentarian, he won the support of the vast majority of members. It was not that he lacked able opponents, either in the Cabinet, the Parliamentary Labour Party or in Parliament. But he knew how to dominate opposition, and used his power without scruple where policies he believed in were at stake. Mr. Williams does not attempt a detailed or profound assessment of Mr. Bevin's foreign policy, and indeed in one or two places—notably in his treatment of the German problem, which occupied so much of Mr. Bevin's time and attention—his account is decidedly sketchy ; but the policy and personality of the Foreign Secretary were so closely linked that his book, With its intimate account of Mr. Bevin's early career and the factors which helped to form his character, is indis- pensable to an understanding of his work at the Foreign Office. Written with an insider's knowledge—Mr. Williams is not only a former Editor of the Daily Herald, but was also public-relations adviser to Mr. Attlee at No. 10 Downing Street for some years—the author's descriptions of the tougher side of British Labour politics during the inter-war years make one of the best parts of the book. Particularly successful are his descriptions of Mr. Bevin's perform- ances at pre-war Labour Party conferences :— " When he was done, having spoken, as like as not, well beyond
the time allowed, for he treated the rules with contempt, regarding them as without any possible application to himself, he would look round the hall with obvious satisfaction and then with great delibera- tion climb slowly down from the rostrum and march back to his seat, each solid step seeming to say with due emphasis Well, that's settled that.'
All who knew Mr. Bevin will recognise, with affection, the truth of this picture. Not all Mr. Williams' writing is as good as this, but he tells the story plainly and convincingly. He rightly praises Mr. Bevin's shrewdness, as a trade unionist, in appraising the balance of power of two opposing sides. More questionably, he gives him similar credit as Foreign Secretary for a correct assessment of Britain's power in the post-war years. It is at least arguable that in his first years of office Mr. Sevin overrated British power, and was conse- quently too sanguine of success in his negotiations with Soviet Russia, and in his effort to construct a settlement in the Middle East. Contrary to general belief, Mr. Bevin went on hoping for a settlement with Stalin and Molotov long after reasonable hope had disappeared. No part of this book is more interesting than the account of Mr. Bevin's relations with his senior Labour colleagues. Notably, no reference is made in this respect to Mr. Aneurin Bevan, but Mr. Williams has some acute comments on Mr. Bevin's unfortunate and unnecessary feud with Mr. Morrison (in which he was unques- tionably the aggressor) ; his deep respect for Sir Stafford Cripps ; his loyalty and affection for Mr. Attlee, which saved the Labour Government from foundering in its later stages. More than once Mr. Bevin turned down suggestions from senior colleagues, which could have been made effective, that he should replace Mr. Attlee as Prime Minister. " I told them I never done a man out of his job before," he said, after one of these propositionings. " It's all this intriguing. I won't do it. Clem holds the team together. Take Clem away, and where are you ? "
Mr. Williams has written an honest, convincing portrait, which will serve as a useful introduction to the studies of Mr. Bevin's foreign policy that will doubtless emerge in due course:
CHRISTOPHER MAYHEW.
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