My Life

My Life - Oswald Mosleythe island of Corfu and killed a number of people under the British flag. At that timeLord Robert was at a session of the League of Nations in Geneva, Mr. Baldwin was atAix-les-Bains on his customary holiday to take the waters, and I was at my customaryholiday in Venice to enjoy more varied fare. The Venetian scene was affected to someextent by the general atmosphere because some festive young Blackshirts had swumout to an English yacht in the harbour and affixed a bomb which did considerabledamage, but by luck rather than precaution, injured none of the occupants. This is notthe place to revive the origin of the quarrel—I knew then little and cared less aboutMussolini, his Blackshirts or Fascism—but to recall that for me as a young EnglishM.P. the conduct of the Italian leader and his supporters appeared an outrage. Thiswas the time, if ever, to move the application of Article 16 at Geneva and once andfor all to establish the authority of the League.I left Venice at once for Geneva, where I found Cecil in a considerable state ofindignation and already disposed to take action. I added what fuel I could to the flame,for this seemed our best possible chance to affirm the rule of law in internationalaffairs. Mussolini had only recently come to power and had no adequate armed forces,his finances were weak and the lira was tottering. If Article 16 had been applied itwould probably not have been necessary to do more than to secure the return of hisambassadors from the country of every League member, which would at once havecaused the crash of the Italian currency. In my contemporary judgment and in mysubsequent appraisal of his character, after some opportunity to study it, he wouldhave been much too realistic in a weak position to challenge overwhelming force onceit firmly confronted him. For my part I was quite prepared to go further, and move forsanctions, which in those conditions would have been effective. We had everyprospect of a rapid and spectacular victory for the League which would have justifiedthis new machinery for the maintenance of world peace, to whose creation such longand arduous effort had been devoted. We had a rare opportunity firmly to establish theauthority of the new institution and the rule of law. Nothing was needed excepthuman will, but that was entirely lacking.Cecil decided at once to travel to Aix-les-Bains, while I remained at Geneva. He wasgoing to ask Baldwin for authority to move Article 16. Quickly he returned in muchdejection. He had found the pitiful figure of the Conservative leader complacentlyimmersed in the soothing waters, showing scant interest in international events.Damper even than usual, the feeble flame of that spirit had scarcely flickered at thenews that people under the British flag had been killed by what appeared to us an actof international piracy. Baldwin made to Cecil the incredible reply that he must usehis own judgment at Geneva and do what he thought fit. The Prime Minister ofBritain would take no decision, and would bear no responsibility. Lord Robert Cecilwas not prepared to go ahead on his own, though the outcome of taking the risk mightwell have made him Prime Minister. His life work would have been crowned in thetriumph of the League, which was more important to his honest nature, but inevitablyhis own political position would thereafter have been so impregnable that it must haverallied all who combined the desire for clean politics with the will to action.This will was not available, because in such men it is only aroused by intense emotion.They were then reluctant to establish the authority of the League by an act of cold willfortified by the calm calculation that they had every prospect of victory and theiropponent had none. Yet men of this kind in 1939 in a condition of white-hot emotion119 of 424