MOVING SCENES

Evening Post, Volume CXXVI, Issue 79, 30 September 1938, Page 9

MOVING SCENES

PREMIER FAREWELLED

ALL MINISTERS PRESENT

HISTORIC OCCASION

LONDON, September 29. Through a morning mist giving promise of fine weather and happier J times, Mr. Chamberlain took off from Heston at 8.35 a.m. today after a farewell unparalleled in history, the j cries of "God speed!" and the tumultuous cheering re-echoing long after the plane had disappeared over the horizon. ~ j Before leaving, Mr. Chamberlain ! said: "When I was a little boy I used to repeat: 'If at first you.don't succeed, try, try; try again.' That is | what I am doing. When I get back I hope to be able to say, like Hotspur in 'Henry the Fourth,' 'Out of \ this nettle, danger, we pluck this flower, safety.'" There were moving scenes when Mr. Chamberlain was acclaimed by a mighty burst of cheering in which the police patrolling the route to the air- j port joined spontaneously. Those present at the airport included the Italian, French, and German Ambassadors. A surprise feature of the departure was the presence of all the Cabinet Ministers, who had secretly arranged last night to assemble at the airport at 7.30 a.m. All were cheery and optimistic. •From Downing Street all the way to the airport, thousands of cheering men and women had assembled shortly after dawn, and early workers, clerks, typists, and office boys had gathered in Whitehall. "GOOD OLD CHAMBERLAIN." There were only a few police present when Mr. Chamberlain opened the door of No. 10 and emerged arm-in-arm with his wife, who was smiling and talking animatedly. A spontaneous cheer rose up and echoed all over Westminster. The Prime Minister smiled broadly, embraced his -wife, and stepped into his car to the accompaniment of renewed wild cheers and cries of "Good old Chamberlain. Keep it up, mate." As he drove, followed by three cars containing his advisers, he glanced at the Foreign Office where workmen were busy sandbagging the building. Mr. C 4 Te Water, South African High Commissioner, handed Mr. Chamberlain a telegram from General Hertfcog, Premier of South Africa, which read: "I congratulate you most heartily on your efforts to secure for humanity the blessings of peace. I wish every success to your high mission and express the greatest admiration at the greathearted and statesmanlike manner in which you have dealt with the situation." Thousands of telegrams, letters, and messages have been pouring in to No. 10 thanking Mr. Chamberlain.