Lord Cecil, who thought they knew, as yet, very little of the underlying causes of the disagreement between the Prime Minister and Mr. Eden, which had come to a head in the latter's resignation, protested in particular against the argument used by the supporters of the Government, which implied that the League policy meant an attitude of negation to the just claims of any power, It was utterly untrue, he said, to suggest that the League was against the negotiations. On the contrary, the whole conception of it was that there should be full negotiations wherever there was a difference of opinion, He declared that they would never get union or peace in Europe except by establishing the supremacy of law based on justice. He thought that there had been a complete change in the attitude of the Government to the League of Nations since 1935, Lord Brocket felt that Mr. Eden's resignation would make Italy take an entirely different view of Great Britain, and he welcomed the change, Lord Teynham and other Lords spoke in favour of a four-Power Pact in Europe.
Lord Strabolgi thought the Government had made a radical and serio change in the British Foreign Polic; which the Opposition must denounce, although they had ao desire to see a quarrel with Italy pursued.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.