1956-01-21 — Page 13

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THE CHINA

MAIL, SATURDAY, JANUARY 27 MAY

1956.

The Painful Truth Behind Gaitskell's Victory THE HOUSE LAUGHED

T

AT MORRISON

HE last time I anw

ог would lis weight bear heavily upon his temples? The

1610 and was content to wait upon the unpredictability of

Hugh Gaitskell was By SIR BEVERLEY BAXTER, MP w Welshman had forced the

just before the

Christmas Rocess H++++++++++++++++refefefe

when he wound up for the

Opposition in the

final and wanted to go.

That

H

The Socialists are senti- debute on Butler's Supple. was not merely common mentalist-unlike the Torien, mentary Budget. Clement gossip, but an accepted fact. who are realists and Attlee had resigned the

Morrison had been Leadership of the Socialist Party and bad gone to the Lords. The vote to choose his SUCCESSOT would be taken next day.

WRS

nol

al and

But the puzzling thing Was Unt Attlee behaving at all liko an en- peror about to divest him- self of the royal robes. He attended each day's con- Gaitskell WILA in such ference, and remained on high spirits that he could the platform from the in or beginning to the end. hardly keep his mind such mundane things as addition, he turned up putting a purchase tax every social function dust bins and tin pans.

was still on the dance floor when the orchestra played In fact he was not only "God Save the Queen," high spirited but brilliant,

Nu wonder as he planted the darts of

BS derision into the breast of Morrison, the fired

Prince, Tory Chancellor. frown Obviously Gaitskell had no puzzled, He may not have doubt concerning

de exported Attlee to announce cision of the Parlamentary his resignation during the Labour Party on the mors conference, but there would

rertainly

public

row.

the

It is true that Nye Beyan had attempted a fast-minute coup to outwit fan. With a artnanimity that would not have dereived a stage sletective, Boynn offered to withdraw from the cutest, if Gaitskell would do the sume, so as to give a short term perical of leadership to

the

aging Herbert Morri son, who had been Deputy Leader for so long and had served the Party with such distinction.

JUSTIFIED

Herbert the aging looked

Some

hint that the moment decision was close at hand

DESTINY

But Attlee just went caneing by night and down ling by day. No wonder Morrison's famous rockatoo hotirde buson to will. As for Nye Bevan, he looked like Napoleon wondering how be could wvoid Waterloo. Everything had gone wrong For the brilliant ampredel able Welshman.

CENTR

eventa.

Meanwhile, that

great little man, Clement Altleo, had ac- cepted an earidom as Stanley Baldwin did when he resigned It seemed the from the Commons.

strangely out of place for Attice architect of the electoral who had devoted his life to victory in 1945. Would he, improving the lot of the under- with his Cockney wit. his privileged, and he must have deft touches of sentiment recalled with some embarrass= ment that Ramsay MacDonald, and his genuine gifts of in the same circumstances, re- statesmanship, snatch the fused to accept crown from the fager lin gers of Gaitskell?

OPENING

Deerage.

un

A

But since we have no elected senale in Britain and because the Socialist Party has only tiny

representation in the Up- per House, I think it was act of

COUTALE

Attlee's part. None will be surprised if The base was packs

whin Allee, un lender of the Op- Mutigen

118 lateful position in the res Leses 1218 day, nor was there wry lacking uence to make the Chamber a fijenile e ver 15 me duas parte

andro representative Then it is Gallskell, filing on The Front Bench, for hi

receding sign of nerves a walker to the cup oken despatch Tex

la notes and a huged

with

were

F RAZINA crown Mor Platan

1

The

of

not

apainst Stadtulent bankrupt

pening semarks KAl quality. Frit » xperienced orntor 4043 rast his pearls at the begining.

Now for the painful

truth. and if gives me no pleasure to

tel down Buse words have hever attended a bullfight, fat could not be more cruel than That day in the

now.

11

But Sange these antes hove been based upon the spectacu lar rise of Hugh Gall might seem less than courteous if we did not draw a picture of what he is like as a politician and a personality

IDEALISTIC

171 49

did The

2015 young an years to have achieved so high a positioit British polities, being only years of age In fuel, he but enter Parlament until Socialist sweep in 1845. when grateful electorate Threw Churchill. and his wor-winning adininistrators into the discard.

{ As it boy, Gatskell went

which meis Cast he

Cummings

"Romote island? Er-no. For this we'd like a remote PLANET."