Evening star., 1942-01-23
Churchill Engaging
Parliament in First
Rea! Contest Of Wits
Prime Minister Fucinq
Rough Selling in
Row Over Criticism
BY WILLIAM H. sToNEMAN,

BY WILLIAM H. STONEMAN.
Foreign Correspondent of The Star and
Chicaso Daily News.
LONDON, Jan. Winston
Churchill and Parliament are now
locked in the first real contest Of
wits and temperament which the
Prime Minister has had to face
since he assumed power in 1910.
With all the stubbornness Of q
brilliant and seh-assured national
favorite, Mr.. Churchill has made the
mistake of baking at the criticism
which he encountered in such plen-
tiful doses on his return from the
United States. Now he has come
dangerously near to exposing him
self to the charge of trying to gag
legitimate parliamentary criticism
and the air around Westminster Is
thick with resentment.
The trouble started the minute
the Prime Minister arrived In Lon
don and has been intensified every
day since. The first sign that he
was not going to have easy sailing
came when his proposal for the re-
cording OF his wartime speeches In
the House Of Commons was given
the cold shoulder by so many indi-
vidual members Of Parliament that
he was forced to abandon 1t.
Then on Wednesday the powerful
1922 Committee, which forms the
unoincial policy committee OF the
Conservative party, held a meeting
at which insistent demands were
voiced for changes in the cabinet.
It thus became evident that the
three-day debate In the House next
week would be a torrid affair and
that the Prime Minister'S oratory
would have to be supplemented by
some very solid and reassuring facts.
Prepared for Showdown.
The Prime Minister'S reaction to
this was to announce that he was
prepared to have a showdown with
his critics and that II they were toe
violent he would call for a vote of
confidence. Many M. P.s on both
sides Of the House regard this as
little short Of an order to hold their
tongues, since, on a vote of conf
dence, 1t stands to reason that vir-
tually everybody would have to vote
with the government. 1t Is init
mated at the same time that If the
Prime Minister does implement his
threat number of M. Ps will table
an amendment pledging support OF
the Prime Minister personally but
expressing concern at his unwilling
ness to remedy the weakness of his
administration.
The biggest arrow in the Prime
Minister'S quiver Is the fact that he
Is stronger In the affections and
confidence Of his own countrymer
and Americans than all the mem.
bers OF Parliament put together
Nobody thinks seriously of his DO
litical defeat; as long as he Is alive
and well, it is practically inconceiv-
able that he could lose his position
Another definite factor in his favor
Is that much Of the present turmoil
arises from the Australian criticism
OF the way Far Eastern affairs have
been handled. The ordinary citizen
Of this country resents such criti-
cism on the natural, If somewhat
insular ground, that the "Austral-
ians have got their wind up because
the Japs are only 1000 miles away
More Basic CHARGES.
Aside from tho oonoro1 por1io
mentary criticism that the PRIME
Minister Is being autocratic about
the present affair, there are more
basic and at the same time less well.
defined charges to be faced. Thes,
are summed up by Hannen Swaffel
in the London Daily Herald tods!
as follows, under the headline
winston Faces Crisis:
1. In the estimation o. many con.