It would be unfair, however, to lay all the blame
on Mr. Attlee and his colleagues for their recent failure to breach the Government's defences. Times are hard for the Opposi- tion parties. Since the withdrawal of sanctions against Italy there has been no clearly-marked cleavage of opinion. Even on the subject of Spain the critics are in a difficulty. They may denounce the violation of the non-intervention agreement by the Fascist powers, but they are not themselves prepared for a complete abandonment of non-intervention. Since the Unemployment Act and the Incitement to Disaffection Act were passed in 1934 no measure has been introduced in Parliament raising a question of first principle. On recent legislation, such as the Education Act last year and the Factories Bill in the present session, there has been a difference of emphasis and nothing more. No one can rouse the country with Committee points alone. For the proper conduct of our Parliamentary system it may still be necessary, as Disraeli insisted, to preserve the line of demarcation between panics. Nowadays, however, its exact whereabouts is exceedingly difficult to detect.
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