Imperial Spokesman

"The King's Speech," actually the ministerial declaration of the Baldwin Cabinet, proved short, vague, dull last week, when read by His Majesty to Parliament. The Cabinet declared through the King-Emperor that: I. The Government remains inflexible in its program of sending troops to China to defend British interests, if and where necessary, but is resolved not to wage war formally with China. II. The Government wishes to renew the Anglo-Chinese treaties "on an equitable basis." III. The Government will introduce during the present Parliamentary session two notable bills: 1) an act to defend British cinema makers against foreign (U. S.) competition; 2) a law limiting the right of British workingmen to strike.

Debate. When the Cabinet's spokesman (the King) had spoken, the Commons returned to their chamber and began to debate what the Cabinet had said through His Majesty. Keynoters:

The Rt. Hon. James Ramsay Macdonald, onetime ( Jan.-Nov. 1924) Premier, Leader of the Labor party: "We admit that the British soldiers and marines now en route to China are being sent merely as policemen. . . . But this is a distinction which may not be clear to Chinese minds. . We fear that the British public may go to bed one night with its soldiers acting as policemen in China, and wake up next morning to find them acting as soldiers."

Premier Stanley Baldwin: I contemplated war on China it would have been different, and a larger force would have been needed. But we have sent the force which we have been advised would be necessary to defend our people in the international concession at Shanghai. . . . Every foreign country is aware that evacuation is out of the question at Shanghai. You can evacuate a small population of foreigners in a place like Hankow,* but at Shanghai you cannot.

Evacuated by the British (TIME, Jan. 17 et seq.) in the face of threats by a Chinese mob.