OUR LONDON LETTER

Manawatu Times, Volume LII, Issue 3542, 25 February 1927, Page 10

OUR LONDON LETTER

LONDON, Dec. 19. Grey Liberals. I hear that Lord Grey, of Falloden, put his foot down emphatically on all suggestions that he should be regarded as standing in any 'way as a rival leader to ■ Mr Lloyd George in any section of the Liberal Party, writes our London correspondent. Between the latter and Lord Grey there is a profoundly imperfect sympathy, which includes not only their political outlook ,but their personality and temperament. But Lord Grey desires above all to secure at least a unity of political endeavour in the Liberal Party, to get all sections working to rehabilitate its fortunes, and to leave the gradual processes of time to solve the leadership question. So I do not think, as some of the London papers suggest, we shall have a distinct group of Grey Liberals. In fact, the younger and more progressive members of the party regard Lord Grey as more a Whig than a modern Radical. The Liberal War. ‘‘This is war,” was the comment of an old Liberal friend who holds a prominent position in the party counsels, after hearing Lord Grey’s speech Those who attended the Hotel Geo gathering meant it to bo war, with the possible exception of Sir John Simon, who explained in advance that his presence committed him to no more than a compliment to Mr. Vivian Phillipps. It was odd that of forty members of the party in the House of Commons only three thought it worth while to attend, or perhaps I should say expedient.. It may be assumed that Mr. Lloyd George will have the list of guests closely scrutinised for future reference, and that will not tend to the Parliamentary advantage of the many who were present and hope to return one day to the House of Commons. One thing was noted with, pleasure-that Lord Grey’s sight oa now good enough to enable him to read, although with difficulty, which is more than he could do two or three years ago. Another Peacemaker t

Sir Herbert Samuel bas definitely decided to resume active . political work again, and his decision has been followed by each of the sections of the Liberal Party claiming him for Its own. He is known to have been a follower of Mr, Asquith in the old days, but the Lloyd Georgians are asserting what is probably a fact—that his foremost thought is, peace within the party, and that he will probable be elected chairman of their party organisation, which is largely a hope. Sir Herbert had an excellent record of political work here, and his success as High Commissioner of Palestine enhanced it. His work as chairman of the Coal Commission was of outstanding merit. At present he lacks a seat in ‘ the House, and Liberals confess it will be difficult to provide him with one. Government- Sledge-Hammer.

By his speech at the close of the coal debate, Mr. Churchill has confirmed his position as the sledge-ham-mer,of the Government, to be employed for the final driving home of the attack or the strengthening of the defence. Unlike some of his Treasury bench colleagues, who make elaborate and generally unsuccessful attempts to avoid hurting the feelings of the Labour members, Mr. Churchill talks to them with the bluntness to which they are accustomed in their own gatherings, and they like him all the better for it. Even Mr Ramsay MacDonal.d was forced to laugh, which he generally does with difficulty, when the Chancellor of the Exchequer chaffed him on letting Mr. Cook go as far as Moscow before twitting him with incompetence, and suggested that only an expedition : to Siberia would produce a full flood of appropriate epithets. Mr. . Churchill was . happily giving over the habit of writing out his speeches in advance and sticking to his notes. His style has gained in freedom and vigour as the result.

Royalties In Trade. Although many of the former German Princes enjoy quite respectable pensions, granted by the various Republican Governments of the old German -Empire, they still find it no easy matter to make ends meet, and several of them have taken up trade to eke out their “official” allowance. The divorced wife of Prince Eitel Frederick is at present designing carpets for the leading houses of Potsdam. Prince Henry of Prussia has recently been travelling "for his health in Mexico, but lynx-eyed Germans residing in that disturbed country declare that he has been soliciting orders from various firms importing European goods into Mexico. It has also leaked out that the extremely cordial official reception accorded Prince Henry was not due to his former royal position, taut to the fact that he* was the accredited representative of Krupp’s of Essen, from which firm he, held authority to arrange for the opening of an arms factory at Mexico. The ex-Kaiser’s youngest son is “on the road” for a large German firm of motor-car makers arid the Crown Prince himself is also in the habit of carrying through profitable business deals whenever opportunity occurs. Mussolini’s Ambition. It is hardly a secret that more than one European Foreign Office has for many months been watching Signor Mussolini’s outward and visible portents closely and anxiously to detect perchance some hint of that remarkable statesman’s inward and invisible objective. Any daring secret agent, who could have procured an authentic key to the secret of the oratorical Roman sphinx, would have made his' ' fortune in .a night. But now there begins to be little doubt which way Mussolini means Fascist Italy to look and move, and that direction is towards the European powder-maga-zine of long date, the Balkans. Tt is iin that explosive region, where i medievalism still Ungers on the threshold of post-war Europe, Mussolini } looks to realise Italy’s new ImperialI iaau Italians saw that, since Austria’s

strong hand no longer rules them into subjection, some other Power, must play the schoolmaster to the Balkan States. These offer moreover, rich prospetcs of trade expansion. Yet even Mussolini might hesitate before disturbing once more the ghosts of Western Europe’s cradle and cockpit.