Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1963-10-12
BRITISH
Continued From Page Al

loII puDllc po1JlCdl Donly-
brook.
And among the Tories at
that. One may make allow
Iances for what goes on at Labor
Party conferences. where they
stoop to the vulgarity Of voting
for their leaders. The Tories
are supposed to manage their
affairs in a gentlemanly way.
In the past many Prime Min
lister has been made by the
wel-timed waggle of an eye
brow.
But not this time. The flap
that Mac made started Tues
day night with the announce
ment that the Prime Minister
was entering the hospital for
prostate surgery. He would be
out of circulation for several
weeks" In the interim r. A
Butler the deputy premier
would mind the shop and make
the speech which Mr.. Mac
milan himself was supposed to
deliver at the windup session o
the Blackpool conference.
Temperatures Soar
Immediately political tenn
peratures scared among the
1000 assembled ministers, par
ty leaders and assorted rank
and-file constituency workers,
most of whom had expected
Mr.. Macmillan to stay on and
lead the party in the coming
election. Excited gossip provid-
ed something close to a consen-
sus. Mr.. Macmillan after his re-
covery would announce his res
ignation. Mr.. Butler was the
: heir-apparent, as good as des-
ignated by Mr.. Macmillan as
his successor.
The next bombshell ca m e
Thursday night when Lord
i Home read Mr.. Macmillan's
letter to the conference an
, nouncing the Prime Minister'S
, intention to resign,
In the announcement, which
followed on the heels of word
of his successful operation, the
, 69-year-old Macmillan said he
: would mot be able to face all
; that is involved in a prolonged
electoral campaign"
Nor could I hope" Mr.. Mac
milan wrote, Ito fulfill the
tasks of Prime Minister for any
extended period and I have so
. informed the Queen"
Galvanized Others
If Mr.. Macmillan by this sur
! prise announcement hoped to
, clinch the appointment for Mr..
: Butler, he erred sadly. What
the announcement accom-
! plished was to galvanize other
: candidates into action, with the
result that Mr.. Butler is now
involved in a fight to the finish
for the job that seemingly had
l been handed to HIM on a silver
platter.
, Within a few hours of read
ing of the Prime Minister'S let
} ter, Lord Hailsham, minister of
science, rose to address the an
nual meeting of the Conserva-
: tive political center, made up of
some $500 Blackpool delegates.
AT the end of his speech he an
nounced dramatically that MY
intention is after deep thought
to disclaim my peerage." The
rest Of his slater ent was
drowned out by cheering, but
there was no doubt in anyone's
mind that Lord Hailsham, for
merly known as Quintin Hogg,
MP. had thrown his h a t
squarely into the middle of the
ring.
=. 1t was a shrewd move by a
politician known for his flair
for Showmanship rather than
the steadiness of his political
: judgment. From the outset of
the conference it has been
quite clear that Lord Hailsham,
Sc, was the d darling of the
rank-a n d-file constituent
workers at Blackpool. They
have cheered tn e ms elves
hoarse at his well-timed en-
frances. They have lobbied tire
leSSly for him in the back halls
of the conference.
Not Dearly Beloved
Lord Hailsham, however, Is
not dearly beloved by Mr.. Mac
milan or the top brass in Par
lament and the party HER
archy. Clearly if he stands any
chance at all of getting the nod
as leader it lies in generating
an irresistible pressure while
the meeting is still under way.
Ironically, the timing of
Mr.. Macmillan'S announcement
gave Lord HailSham a Heaven
sent opportunity to do just
that. And he intends to make
the most of it. regardless of the
discontinue of his more sober
colleagues.
Hence the most unusual con-
vention like atmosphere at
Blackpool as the conference
draws to its climax. Needless to
say, nobody is paying the slight
est attention to the speeches
from other ministers about