A crowded House listened with manifest approval to Mr. Churchill's
statement on the Navy. It was said of Peel that he could play on the House of Commons as on an instrument. Since the beginning of the war the First Lord has achieved a similar mastery. His gift for being able to say obvious things without ever sinking into banality is an invaluable asset to any Minister. On this occasion everyone appreciated his felicitous tribute to the engineers and stokers, and his general survey did not fall beneath his own standard. Below the gangway Mr. Hore-Belisha listened with strained attention from the seat which Mr. Churchill used to occupy. They have changed places in more than a geographical sense. A year ago Mr. Hore-Belisha appeared to be carrying everything before him, while the present First Lord was an almost isolated figure, regarded with suspicion by the majority of the Government supporters. It would be a mistake, however, to press the analogy too far. Mr. Churchill, in the days of his exclusion, had the support of a great and growing volume of public opinion. Mr. Hore- Belisha lacks this advantage. The wave of sympathy and indignation which arose when his departure from office was announced appears to have completely subsided.
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