Wheatley, the Minister of Health, has become one of the most popular Ministers in the house, but his famed personal charm cuts lit-Ue ice with the myriads of unfortunate who are still waiting in vain for the promised houses. By bribing the building employers and the operative builders he has got the promise of millions of house. The Labour "Daily Horal that building them will ployment on a vast sei Wheatley would only persuade the builders to accept a larger ratio of apprentices to journeyman and has been conspicuously unsuccessful in getting through any dilution scheme would be interesting to know where all this employment is com-from. Mr. Wheatley was much blanco to Mr. Baldwin's famous feabinet of titled nonentities.
Other claims made by Labour's supporters are that the Goverament for old age pensions, and the gap in unemployment benefits. That they have through their Prevention of Evictions? Act mitigated some extent the extreme hardships working class tenants of houses have been subject to since the passing of the previous Government's Rent Act. And that they have passed an Apricultural Act which has greatly benefited rural workers. The best comment tary on the last claim is that i mediately after the passing of the Act Labour lost the first seat at 2 by-election in a rural constituency.
The Recognit Labour's recogni a has been approved by the moderate element in. both the Liberal and Conservative parties. Mr. Garvin has blessed it in the "Observer and the "Daily News'? and "Manchester Guardian" have also expressed their agreement. The Government have also surprised their opponents by the strong Imperial standpoint they have adopt-fed in Eastern affairs. This has been the greatest surprise of all, Naturally "agitators ang! sedition mongers must be greatly concerned At the metamorphosis of their old-ime sympathizers Even the docile "Daily Herald" has been moved to denounce poor Pacifist Mr. Leach's apologia for. dropping high explosives on rebellious tribesmen in Traq.
As was to be expected the rift between the Left and Right wings foot, to their enemies. Not a princi: ple has been upheld—not a promise fulfilled—not a Minister has proven trustworthy. Their press calls on the downtrodden proletariat to rise in their wrath and sweep away this monstrous Prankenstein, that their political blindness has created.
From these frantic outeries at each political extreme it is not ficult. to discern the truth, session has been neither exceptionally rich in good work nor exceptionally poor. Mr Ramsay. MacDonald, on assuming office, clared that he would do his to carry out the reforms promised!
the last King's speech Mr. Baldwin had the privilege of reading in the House. He has fulfilled that promise to the best of his ability. No attempt has been made to oust the private manufacturer more successful in dealing with the|of the Party is steadily widening paltry minded enemies of a. more As Socialiem recedes into the back-humane treatment of the destitute ground and "practical polities" takes poor in Popular and elsewhere. He its place. The Government is nor was expected to prove the most Red much concerned at the venomous member of the Cabinet but office has attacks made on it in the Com-toned down his revolutionary arden munist "Workers') Weekly." This and he is now about as pink as his weekly outpouring of abuse defeats more orthodox colleagues. its own ends. Labour's supporters still intelligent enough to be Mr. Henderson has proven to be what able to discriminate between stupid commonly called a "strong" ity and treachery. The most Few murderers: dreaded periodical is the "Labour been caped hanging since he has Monthly" edited with great ability Power and no inister by Mr. Palme Dutt. This Left conspicuously ignored the lelamour of members of his own Wing organ has an uncanny knack {party. of exposing the weak points of the Further extensions of Fac-Government and its ministers, and tory Act legislation are promised although its circulation is not large by him during the next session but \the more oF less unanswerable come! the; are not of a Very drastic ments it makes on the disparity be-characte His. prestige, like tween Labour's promises and per-Snowilen's, has increased with the or capitalist. A mild reformist potiey has' been pursued. The de-Privations of society's bottom dogs have eon timidly alleviated by. additional burdens on industry and the more afuent classes. Bold schemes of national work have! eon strictly tabooed. No remedy haw been found for unemployment Gespite the very definite election promises. No more houses have been built than In the days of the cfunet Unionist Government.
Mr. MacDonald is generally mitted to be a great success in his dual role of Premier and Foreign Secretary, Even his enemies admit that he has been a not unworthy ornament of these great offices. He lands out head and shoulders above all his followers. His out-
Took is by no means proletarian, but accords more with that of the more cultured upper middle classes, and skill don the cate negotiations with the retatives of other countries isting his frst form of office. His leadership of the Party is unshaken, Any other leader would be unthinkable, Mr. Philip Snowden, the Chaneel-Jor of the Exchequer, has lost ground with Labour and acquired it in the eyes of its political opponents, His Civil Service training has borne fruit in the caution with which he spends money and this commends him to economists of the older school. But the ease with which he has abandoned his fervent. fife-long advocacy of Socialism, and readiness to bow the knee to a Capitalist Baal has saddened the zealots of the Independent Labour Party and it will not be their votes that will put him back in Parliament if there should be another General Election soon. The steady vise in the cost of living has lone ago cooled the warm enthusiasm which greeted his celebrated "free breakfast table" Budget. Some of the tax remissions. never reached the public. We have yet to find a picture house in an industrial neighbourhood that passed on the reduced entertainment tax to its other political parties. With the rank and file of Labour he has lost ground to a certain extent although Labour workers admit his honesty ot, purwoe and the absence of any demagogic elements in his character. Henderson never waved the Red Flag or pretended to be anything but a modera trade union Labour member.
"The Honourable Jimmy."
Mr. J. H. Thomas was never a ery popular Labour man with the Socialist element in the Party. The jzest with which he has worn Court dress on every possible occasion some impossible ones, apout his chances of getting from many moderate Labour any future elects The jon" is unhappily overreaching itself. He has many times told the story of his early difficulty in persuading the porter at the Colonial Office that he was the Colonial Minister.
After six months in his illustrious position the nation's sympathy with the discriminating but mistaken porter is more genuine than ever.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.