In spite of the variety of the speeches the debate
has been confined to a few narrow issues. There has been little criticism of what was done at Munich. Mr. Attlee summed up the attitude of the Opposition parties when he compared the Prime Minister to a sea captain whose ship was driving on to the rocks ; everyone admired his courage and skill in averting the final disaster, but it was still necessary to inquire why he had brought the vessel into danger. Those who differed from the Government all believed that had an unmis- takable warning been issued a week or two earlier, or had the fleet been mobilised ten days sooner, the dismemberment of Czechoslovakia would have been avoided. Ministerialists retorted that this was pure surmise, and went on to emphasise that, in the event of war, the Czech people would have been destroyed no matter which side had ultimately been victorious. Controversy raged round the guarantee of the new Czech State ? Was it to be joint or several ? When did it begin ? In the event of a German attack, how could it be implemented ? These are all questions of the first importance and, up to the time of writing, they remain unanswered.
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