Parliament reconvened in somber mood last week after a five-week recess. A dark, lowering sky turned afternoon into night, and a damp mist crept into the House of Commons. M.P.s had plenty to worry about—a coal shortage, a meat shortage, the shock of rearmament on Britain's bareboned economy. But one urgent question overshadowed the others.
Rumbled Winston Churchill: Did the Prime Minister have "any statement to make about the present position in the Political Committee of the U.N. General Assembly in respect to its policy towards China?" As Clement Attlee rose to reply, M.P.s could barely see across the chamber through the...