One month to the day before the declaration of war Rab Butler writes to the Lord Chancellor: "the description of the Czechoslovak crisis might at this date be rather cut down". A fascinating glimpse into the "corridors of power" during a momentous period in 20th century history. On the afternoon of the day before Butler penned this letter (2 August), Chamberlain addressed the House of Commons and moved for the adjournment of Parliament - and on 4 August Parliament was duly adjourned for the summer: with hindsight a quite extraordinary act, and one vociferously opposed by Churchill. "'To the astonishment of the House,' as Harold Nicolson recorded in his diary, Chamberlain rejected the appeal for the recall of Parliament in the last week of August, and told MPs that he would regard the vote on the adjournment as a vote of confidence in himself. As a result of this display of Party strength, Parliament was adjourned for two months" (Martin Gilbert, Winston S. Churchill, volume V, pp. 1097-98). We have been unable to trace Maugham's speech (if it was ever given) but it may well have been connected to the adjournment of Parliament, as, at the time, the Lord Chancellor sat on the woolsack in the Lords and presided in a similar manner to that of the Speaker in the Commons. Perhaps Butler and Eden wanted talk of the Czech crisis played down in light of Chamberlain's wish to adjourn Parliament. The Czechoslovak crisis blew up in September of 1938 and was "concluded" by the Munich Agreement of 30 September 1938. Both Butler, at the time of writing Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, and Maugham supported Chamberlain's stance on appeasing Hitler. Frederic Herbert, first Viscount Maugham (1866-1958) - older brother of Somerset Maugham - "applauded Chamberlain's conduct, had been among the ministers who welcomed him at Heston aerodrome on his return from Munich, and considered Chamberlain's critics 'blinded by prejudice'... [he] himself bore little personal responsibility for appeasement, his views being seldom canvassed. He admitted later, however, that the cabinet had underestimated Hitler's ambitions and his perfidy: 'We can only say that we did not then recognize a new kind of political reptile in human shape'" (ODNB). The other figure mentioned here is Orme Sargent (1884–1962), who has been described as "one of the most important men in the Foreign Office during this period" (Keith Neilson, Orme Sargent: Appeasement and British Policy in Europe 1933–39, 20th Century British History, volume 21, issue 1, 2010). His view of appeasement differed from that of Butler: "The Munich agreement, and the enthusiastic reception accorded Chamberlain on his return, he regarded as a disgrace; indeed, he is alleged to have remarked that it might have been thought that Britain had won a great victory rather than betrayed a small country" (ODNB). The position that Butler (1902–1982) took on appeasement was to dog his political footsteps for the rest of his life.
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