SIR,—I did not say that working-class members were given no
encourage- ment to speak at Blackpool ; what I said was that they were given no encouragement to stand for Parliament in the Tory interest. Hence .the Conseivative Party is represented in the House of Commons exclusively
by members of the upper classes, which is essentially undemocratic. I did not apply the. epithet " disreputable " to either Mf. Winston Churchill or Mr. Amery, for both of whom I have the highest personal regard ; what I said was that they represent the ideals of the last genera- tion. I do not agree with William James that the average man is fossilised at twenty-five, or even that all M.P.s should be pole-axed at sixty. But I think the latter age is an appropriate one for translation to the Senate (using the word in its Latin sense, for it is high time that the present effete House of Lords is replaced by a Second Chamber composed of elder statesmen). The future is for the young, and what is done now will affect them rather than us. Tory Members of Parliament must sever their connection with big business ; this is having the same debasing effect upon the party as similar influences have exerted in the United States. If we are to keep what is left of our Empire, Tories must show a more liberal attitude than they displayed at Blackpool towards India. The references to India have already had disastrous repercussions, and have further complicated the Viceroy's onerous task at a moment when
he required all our support —Yours, &c., H. G. RAWLINSON. 32 Queen's Gate Terrace, S.W. 7.
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