If the large body of opinion in this country stirred
to profound concern and indignation by the apparent im- potence of the Council wants explanations of what has been happening or not happening, there is only one quarter from which to seek it. It is proper, and necessary, to ask what policy Sir John Simon, as one of the two leading members of the Council, has been pressing on it: Has he been urging that the plain implications of the Covenant be followed, and if so in what quarter has he met with resistance ? Or has he been working merely for some compromise formula that would save Japan's face and deprive China of the support she had a right to expect from her fellow-signatories of the Covenant and the Kellogg Pact ? Mr. Lansbury did, in fact, ask that in a wise and restrained speech on Wednesday night. The Foreign Secretary in reply expressed his firm resolve to see the Government vindicated and begged for more time yet to secure unanimous action by the Council. That would be a more reasonable plea in the second week than in the third month of the Council's deliberations. * * *
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