Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-18

revolt. IL 0lQn :. INFORMED
sources said Chancellor Of tn,
Exchequer Reginald Msudlinl
and lain Macleod, Conserva'
tive floor leader in the Houst
of Commons. led the battle fol
Mr.. Butler.
The choice for the succession
however, is essentially that o.
the outgoing Prime Minister
and there was no budging th'
sick man in King Edward VI
Hospital.
Confident Of Unity
Mr.. Macmillan was reported
to have decided on Lord Home
because he believed he could
do more than anyone else to
restore party unity.
At 1890 am. the palace an
nounced:
THE Right Honorable Har-
old Macmillan. MP, has this
morning rendered to the Queen
his resignation as Prime Min
lister and First Lord of the
Treasury, which her majesty
has been graciously pleased to
accept"
Before the announcement,
the Queen and her private Sec
rotary, 1t. Col. Sir Michael
Adeane. went to the hospital
and talked for an hour with
Mr.. Macmillan. She smiled as
she passed to her Limousine
through the crowds outside.
Then came the call TO Lord
Home to go to Buckingham
Palace. He was with his
sovereign IS minutes.
Only after Lord Home sue
ceeds in forming a government,
as the Queen asked him to do
in selecting him, will he actu-
ally become Prime Minister.
The Macmillan administration
remains in power until this
time.
Lord Home is the 14th earl
in his line with a family his
tory going back to days of wild
raiding on the English-Scot-
fish border. He is so.
He takes over from Mr.. Mac
milan at a low ebb in Con-
sentative Party fortunes. Brit
ain must have a national cleo
ton for a new Parliament
sometime within the next year
Lord Home will select the date
Many signs indicate that the
election may bring a triumph
for the socialistic Labor Party
of Harold Wilson, out Of power
for IL years.
Butler was FavOrite
Mr.. Buffers disappointment
was magnified by the IA day.
during which the crisis drag
ged on. During most Of thai
period he had been the
favorite to succeed Mr.. Mac
milan even though the Mac
milan family and the family
of Sir winston Churchill wert
not in his corner.
Ironically Mr.. Butler anc
Lord Home are close friends.
Part of the Conservative
difficulty in finding a successor
acceptable to all ranks of thu
party arises from its lack o.
any regular machinery fol-
choosing a leader.
Traditionally, Conservative
prime ministers emerge as thu
result of back-Scenes bargain
ing among leading factions
This time an unprecedented
power struggle was played ou
in the public eye.
Mr.. Macmillan undoubtedl,
will be offered an earldom, tn
usual reward for retiring Brit
ish Prime Ministers. Sir Win
ston declined one. preferring +
stay in the House of Commons
His successor and Mr.. Macmil
lan's predecessor, Sir Anthem,
Eden, accepted a title-Lor,
Avon.
Some Of the opposition t
Mr.. Butler among the Macmil
Ian and Churchill people come
from his support Of Prim
Minister Neville Chamberlai
and his prewar appeasemer
of Hitler.
Lord Home, however, wa
personal aide to Mr.. Chamber
lain in Parliament, accom-
panied him on his fateful jour
ney to Munich in 1888. an
was with him when he re
turned to London saying h
had won 'peace in our time
in talks with Hitler an
MusSolini.
Insiders said more than ha
of Mr.. Macmillan's 20-mal
cabinet opposed Lord HON
raising speculation that SON
ministers might decline to serN
under him.
There will be a tremendol