It was. unfortunate that Mr. MacDonald felt that discretion required
him to consent to M. Herriot's proposal that the question of evacuation should not be mentioned at the Conference. Thus there is the undoubted paradox that the French may remain in the occupied district for another year, although everybody except the French and Belgians felt that they ought to go, and although the matter was in everybody's mind from the beginning to the end of the Conference yet was never mentioned. The consolation is that a very great deal has been gained, though by no means everything, and we are chary of criticizing Mr. MacDonald file a concession that may have been quite necessary. His mere tactical skill was remarkable. We learn, however, that he has by no means come out of the affair unscathed by criticism from his colleagues. We take it that the letter which he' sent to M. Hcrriot after the Conference, and which was published in the papers of Tuesday, was written in satisfaction of the claim by some of those colleagues that more should be said about the continued occupation.
