MEMOIRS AND POLITICS.

Evening Star, Issue 18048, 16 August 1922, Page 6

MEMOIRS AND POLITICS.

“ Behold my desire Is . . . that mine adversary had written a book,” said a wise man of old. Mr Lloyd George intends to write one, telling what he did in the Great War, to confute his adversaries. The explanation as his own, but since Mr Lloyd George is far from simple, and the record which ho achieved in war time is not the one which most urgently needs to bo vindicated, admiration as well as malice will suggest other motives. There is no reason why he should feci impatient to ‘‘reply to ill-informed criticisms of his policy and actions ” in such matters as his ousting of Mr Asquith from the Prime Ministership or the precise share of credit that was properly due to him for establishing first a really efficient munitions system and then unity of command. The criticisms have gone unanswered up to this stage; posterity will be interested doubtless in his replies to them; but this generation, satiated with .war controversies, will be content to take Mr Lloyd George’s war record as a whole, and be grateful that the crisis brought the right man. Any book he may write will be worth reading, since, apart from the ‘authority which it will have, the rare faculty of expression which he enjoys roust protect it from dullness. Hot a journalist has come near him in his genius for phrasemaking. He may feel the itch of writing. And a financial return which is expected to run into six figures for this war story may well bo something of an inducement by itself, oven to a Prime Minister. Half the European war statesmen and most of the generals and admirals have written •rr.j> ,Why should not a British

Tho reason may bo suggested by a statement of his publishers. “ Tim book may ho written in retirement after all,” they have been allowed to state, as “Mr Lloyd George has had enough of complaints by tho Conservatives that they are entitled to more Cabinet posts. If' much more is heard of this they will lose Mr Lloyd George. There are reasons why he would welcome relief from office just now.” Tim threat contained in those few words might imply as naturally that he will leave no stone unturned to ensure his continuance in it. Things have gone hard with the much-harassed Prime Minister. His prestige was nob helped by the Genoa Conference. The difficulties which he is finding in making any agreement with France on tho reparations issue make another blow to him. And a General Election looms ahead. Its data has been set down vaguely for the autumn. Since tho publication of the war hook is announced for the spring, the possibility is certain to be suggested of its being postponed till then. Tim Conservatives no doubt have been unreasonable. One Liberal Minister alter another, resigning from the Cabinet, has been succeeded by a Unionist till that party greatly preponderates in tho Government. It has a majority also, including tho “Die Hards,” who are Mr Lloyd George’s most remorseless foes, over all other parties combined in tho House of Commons —a majority which is made greater by tho fact that seventy-three Sinn Fein members, who were returned four years ago for Irish constituencies, find it contrary to their principles to sit there. Yet Mr Lloyd George is by tradition a Liberal. If the main Conservative Party, which supports and coerces him, would only repudiate the wild Die Hards, as tho National Liberals and Independent Liberals have renounced any dealings with each other, tho way might be clear for the formation of a Centre Party—the production of a Fusion out of the Coalition — which Die Premier could command with more security. Tho main body of Conservatism, however, refuses to expel its Dio Hards, because it believes that tho party as a -whole may still have a great future before it, and because it prefers a future for Conservatism to tho loss of all identity in a fusion. It becomes more clear that any regrouping of parties can only take place after the elections, and that means, for Mr Lloyd George, that the elections must bo won first. Possibly he thinks that, in an election contest, his war services, if the memory of those can be revived, will stand discussion better than some later phases of his administration, which would naturally be more pertinent to the issue. It may be, of course, that no such ideas have possessed his mind; that he is tired to death, as ho has reason to be, with both domestic and international political wranglings, and has ceased to care, for the moment at least, how the next election goes, or who bears his burdens after it. But if he has reached that stage the time would seem strangely chosen for making new work for himself by writing a war book.

Premier follow suit? Tim difference is that most of tho others were retired men when they set up as author, and tho British Premier must bo almost tho busiest man in tho world to-day. Ho can make a good beginning, it has been said, in the next few weeks; but if the little leisure ho can expect to have in a parliamentary vacation is to bo given •to tho labor of writing—or dictating—war memories, for which a future time might bo expected to serve as well, some other reason will bo looked for in his allocation of it.