Will Sir Herbert Samuel Resign?

Sir Herbert Samuel’s position in the Government continues to be one of the chief questions in to-day’s press. According to the political correspondent of the “Observer”, “the resentment that was felt by many Conservatives against Sir Herbert’s speech seemed to be dying down during the week-end”. Mr. Garvin, the Editor of the “Observer”, also “refuses to take a tragic view of the episode”, declaring in his editorial that “Sir Herbert Samuel was within his formal rights under the singular ministerial compact”.

Sir Herbert himself, speaking yesterday at the annual meeting of the Lancashire, Cheshire and North-West Liberal Federation at Southport, revealed that he, Viscount Snowden, Sir Donald Maclean and Sir Archibald Sinclair had actually tendered their resignations. We accepted the invitation to remain in the Government, he said, only because it was accompanied by the offer that we should have liberty of speech and of vote in expressing our disagreement.

Nevertheless, the “Sunday Referee” claims that “Sir Herbert’s courage has signed his political death warrant so far as the present Government is concerned. He cannot remain in the Cabinet” it says, “in the face of a general Conservative demand for his retirement. “When Sir Herbert goes”, it adds, “he will not go alone. Probably every Liberal member of the Cabinet will retire with him”.