A Spectator's Notebook
THERE HAS BEEN a certain amount of optimism in retentionist quarters lately that the Silverman Bill is doomed. I do not think it is justified. The basic political fact is that in the Commons there is a firm majority for abolition. To retain, or rather to bring back, hanging, the Government must do two things—introduce a 'compromise' measure and refuse time for the Silverman Bill. This Government is unpredictable, but such a manoeuvre seems to me beyond it. The Tory abolitionists would only vote for a Government Bill if they Were assured that the abolition Bill was also going to be reintroduced—i.e., they agree that the law of murder should certainly be reformed, but that is a quite separate issue from abolition. The Government can hardly put on the whips for its Bill. Not one new argument for retention has been pro- duced, and the Government has no excuse for changing its mind about allowing a free vote. After all if the Lords were allowed one, the Commons can surely not be treated differently. For the Government to deny a free vote would be to make monkeys of its abolitionist supporters and to be thoroughly dishonest itself. Lastly, there is now no possible logical or sensible compromise, as the Royal Commission conclusively showed. I do not see therefore how the Government can avoid allowing time and a free vote for the Silverman Bill.
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