THE TAVISTOCK BY-ELECTION [To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] SIR,—I
am a constant reader of the Spectator, which I consider maintains a remarkable standard of fairness. I am alarmed, therefore, to read a paragraph in the " News of the Week," dated October 13th, relating to the Tavistock by-election.
Mr. Lloyd George, speaking at Yarmouth yesterday, did " deal with . . . the possibility of either a pre-election or a post-election arrangement between the Liberal and Labour parties." To put it colloquially, he said " nothing doing." That is quite a different thing from stating the terms of an alliance. " To deal with " does not necessarily imply " to state terms." I therefore claim that the London corre- spondent of the Manchester Guardian was right, and the Conservatives at Tavistock wrong.—I am, Sir, &c.,
J. D. BATEMAN,
Prospective Liberal Candidate for Chislehurst Division. Oaklands, Fountain Road, Norwood, S.E. 19.
[Our note referred solely to an amusing contradiction— as it seemed to us—in the forecasts of Mr. Lloyd George's speech. What the Tavistock Unionists predicted—the " stating of terms " for a Liberal-Labour alliance—was denounced by Mr. Lloyd George as a " lie," and we admit that we could see no real difference between that prediction and the prediction of the London correspondent of the Manchester Guardian, who said that Mr. Lloyd George would " deal with " the proposals of Mr. Snowden and Mr. Brailsford. Mr. Snowden and Mr. Brailsford have, of course, openly advocated a working alliance between Labour and the Liberals.
We are sorry if we have hurt our correspondent's feelings, but it remains true that anyone " stating terms " may propose hard terms, or prohibitive. terms, as well as easy terms. The phrase does not necessarily imply consent. As a matter of fact, Mr. Lloyd George did not confine himself to " nothing doing." He said that there was " a vast fertile territory common to men of progressive minds in all parties which they could agree to cultivate together." The Man- chester Guardian's comment on this (Saturday, October 13th) was that Liberals cannot co-operate with Conservatives, but ought to co-operate with Labour.—En., Spectator.]
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