- It is to be hoped that the . questions
. the. House of Commons about the Zinovieff letter and the Campbell case may be allowed to drop. It would. be, another matter if anything.were to be gained by regular inquiries, but it .as- been. stated over and -over again-as regards the Zinovieff letter that the.nature of the •GovernmenVs infor- mation cannot he made public. It is obvious why this is .so. .Every country. has-its, Secret- Service, and though' it is the fashion among some Labour men and'. Liberals to deride this-Service it is, as a matter Of fact, indispensable. :In times of crisis public_ security-against violence is.due more to the work of the Secret Service than to any other agency. We are all in its debt for our safety, and it is clear that if the names and functions of particular members of the Service were made known the whole usefulness of the work would come to an end. In the House of Commons on Thursday, December 18th, Mr. Austen Chamberlain said, in answer to Mr. Clynes, who had asked for the evidence on which the Government based their decision as to the Zinovieff letter, " It is quite impossible to produce that evidence as the Right Honourable gentleman will learn from the leader of the Opposition." Mr. MacDonald was sitting next to Mr. Clynes at the moment and he said not a word. He knows.
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