2110-7-8-6

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7, AUDLEY SQUARE , W.1.

15th January 1936.

Dear John,

Very many thanks for your letter of the 2nd., what a revolution has taken place since then. How has Canada felt during this League of Nations crisis? We have now had a month of conflicting emotions, beginning with stupefaction at the Hoare-Laval proposals, followed by intense alarm, then by an acute sense of shame. Afterwards we felt stunned during the Ministerial crisis, and now there is a certain dull benumbed sense of revival, though not yet of recovery. It has been the most damnable month of my political life - so far as I am concerned, the scheme for partitioning Abyssinia gave me a mental & moral shock far worse than any I experienced during the War. For our honour seemed to be impugned, which was never the case between ' 14 & ' 18. We were assaulted by Finland, belaboured by Chile, lectured by Russia, mocked by Hitler,- and not even a word of thanks from Mussolini, who in fact made a rhetorical speech at Pontina about the Peace proposals, which for a change produced a spirited protest from Laval.

The general opinion was that that crafty little peasant from Auvergne over-reached Sam Hoare, by working on his fears of an Italian coup de main, Hoare being a thoroughly tired man - worn out, one might say, and on his way to a Swiss holiday. As always, it was an error of judgment to negociate en route for recreation. He was bustled and distracted. But to do him justice, he never expressed remorse for the proposals themselves. His resignation speech in the House of Commons was

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polished and much admired, though too lachrymose. He never admitted error, while Baldwin frankly acknowledged that he could no longer defend the scheme - hence the justification for his continuing in office after Sam ' s resignation. Baldwin's speech was poor in substance and meagre in form - loose tags and repetitions,- all very disappointing, as shewing how closely the quotable speeches one has so long admired must have been prepared. There is a reaction in Parliament against these orations which are read or committed to memory. Baldwin himself has no intention whatever of resigning office. Some of our friends wanted Austen to be recalled to the Foreign Office, which would have been a mistake, as he is now much too talkative: but there was a general feeling that a strong, steadying influence was needed. Brother Neville was also talked about, and not unfavourably, as being unlikely to be influenced by anything but British interests. For a moment or two Londonderry was not unfavourably canvassed. People are not dissatisfied that Eden should hold the post, though inclined to think him too supple,- too liable, like Tyrrell, to tackle the foreigner with foreign weapons of finesse et transaction, in which the Frenchman will always get the better of us. You will remember how Derby, at Paris, being unfamiliar with the usages of diplomacy as well as the language , settled that his only defence was the truth - to which he made a point of honour of adhering - to the manifest and continuing dismay of the Quai d'Orsay, who from beginning to end of that Embassy were completely

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bamboozled.

Things have now reached a lull, a dangerous and suspect lull. We are nursing our wounds, wondering if our enemies have forgotten and if our friends can forgive. We extricated ourselves from the domestic and Parliamentary dilemma with success, owing to the clumsiness of the Socialists, whose attack was mean in itself and comtemptible in its ineptitude. It is lucky that both Churchill and Lloyd George were sunning themselves on either side of the Pillars of Hercules. Rothermere too is registered in those parts, and the trio will have talked a lot of mischief. They would certainly have stimulated our anxieties at home. The youthful Churchill has just arrived to fight Macdonald in the Ross by-election - not very ingratiating on his part, having recently split the National vote in Liverpool. He has a bitter grievance against the Central Office here for supporting a Socialist in the constituency now called BOSS & CROMARTY! Churchill père is perhaps not sorry to be absent, in view of his claims to a post during the next few weeks, when sundry changes of office may be expected. Rothermere and Beaverbrook, at one moment - though equally hostile to the League of Nations and anxious for a deal with Italy - shewed signs of reviving the vendetta against Baldwin. But the movement died out, and it was noticed how inbroadly effective was the support given to the Laval-Hoare proposals, which commended themselves to the Daily Mail-Express point of view. The leading articles were badly written and curiously unconvincing - invective, in

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which these people excel , was no longer available as the constructional basis of an article.

At the very end of December, Drummond left Italy for a holiday, which we looked upon as a sign of a detente, but Mussolini cann ot be left alone very long. There have been many stories about,- one that he appeared at a Reception of Ambassadors dressed up in an Augustan toga. Alas , this cannot be true. Anyhow, his speeches , though full of high-falutin rhetoric and fury, have at least been delivered with coolness, and without any signs of personal excitement. He remains the most dangerous man in the world, and if things go badly in Abyssinia, he may well grow desperate. Events of the las tfortnight have been far from favourable at the front. The so-called "little rains" of February seem to have begun early in January. Johnny Baird, who knows Abyssinia well, says we should not bother about oil - no embargoes or prohibitions - it will suffice if we trust to the other liquid called rain-water, which he says is incredible in density - torrents of it for 16 weeks in succession, and more than enough to damp the ardours of the pluckiest Fascist. What will the Italians do during the rainy season?- withdraw behind the rivers, or else set the troops into tents for four months, with the Africans sniping at night and the roads being washed away by the floods? It is a vile, horrible situation, for which Italy to a man holds us responsible. Some day there will be a reaction in our favour, but it is g oing to be slow in maturing, since Italy is far more ignorant today of world opinion & world action than was Germany during the height of

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her war-time censorship. Italy is tricked and bewildered beyond all belief. They may be frightened of Ethiopia, but we are the real enemy.

Though this Italian affair still absorbs our close and anxious attention, the papers are giving less prominence to the actual war. The fact is, we have been so often deceived by fictitious victories and defeats, that telegrams from both camps are discredited. The Correspondent send home wonderfully dull stuff. Never has one read more lifeless descriptions of a country and campaign, and the Times heads the press in drabness - practically no news from Italy itself, and no pushing young journalist has got on to an Italian troop-ship in the Suez Canal, disguised as a pilot, no ingenious Levantine has visited the hospitals in the Dodecanese - nobody has scooped an interview with the Pope or the King, or even with poor De Bono - " NO D BONO ", as somebody called the little fellow. Altogether the lack of newspaper enterprise is notable. I tackled Geoffrey Dawson about it. He made me laugh by saying that he is already in touch with a German spy who is just about to be deported after an inglorious failure in Kent.

Now , I wonder what Canada has really felt about it all. We were rather surprised by the alacrity in disclaiming any responsibility f or the proposed oil embargo. We supposed this repudiation must be in response to pressure of public opinion. We thought the Canadian initiative creditable rather than otherwise - at least the policy was straightforward and appealed to the majority of the League of Nations.