Mr. Churchill's Charges The charge brought by Mr. Churchill against
Sir Samuel Hoare and Lord Derby, which the House of Commons has referred to the Committee of Privileges, is a serious one. It is that, as members of the Joint Select Committee on India, they brought pressure to bear on the Manchester Chamber of Commerce to with-. draw evidence it had already submitted to the Committee and to substitute new evidence. Mr. Churchill made the most of his opportunity, and drew a lurid picture of members of the Committee, sitting in a judicial capacity, tampering with witnesses, and thereby com- mitting " a high crime or misdemeanour." Sir Samuel Hoare challenges Mr. Churchill's facts, denies that he did more than his official duty when he pointed out to the Chamber of Commerce that its memorandum jeopardized good relations between Lancashire and India, and declares that the final - alteration was urged' by the very body which, according to Mr. Churchill, resented it. It is a grave charge—the graver sinee, if it could be proved, it would be magnified in India. There could be no question about its going to the Committee of Privileges, 'which has got to work• with commendable promptitude. The sooner its conclusions are published the better.
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