Temporarily, at least, there will be aching gaps. Mr. Richard
Law will not be there to still a restless House by the utter truthfulness of his demeanour and the sedative qualities of his calm slow way. Mr. Hore Belisha will not be there to show the amateurs how the pro-
fessional, even when out of office, can stroke or thump the box. Mr. William Mebane will not be there, with his alert courtesy, his fluent provision of detail, to indicate the exact manner which a junior Minister, rapidly qualifying for Cabinet rank, should without diffi- dence and without jactitation adopt. No longer will Colonel Walter Elliot be able, in a few deft phrases, to rescue even the dullest debate from irrelevance: no longer will Sir Archibald Sinclair follow the middle way with almost Gladstonian elocution ; no longer will Sir Percy Harris beam kindlily over the appropriate or Sir Richard Acland give to the inappropriate such passionate fervour. How much the new House will miss the energy and eloquence of Captain Peter Thorneycroft, who lost his seat at Stafford by less than eight hundred votes! How strange and sad it is that the trenchant moderation which Sir William Beveridge displayed during his short passage through Parliament should no longer be available in the debates on social betterment! Many fresh and perhaps admirable figures will emerge. I doubt, however, whether the new House will be com- pensated for the loss of a man of Mr. Henry Strauss' lucidity and conviction, or provide so arresting an example of astringent com- petence as Sir James Grigg has offered during all these exacting years. There are, however, some welcome compensations. Readers of The Spectator will be glad indeed that our respected Editor, Mr. Wilson Harris, has been elected for Cambridge University.
Previous page
