Cylchgronau Cymru

Members should at least have been allowed a free hand to act and vote as they considered fit,14 and saw that his long hours of hard work in drafting amendments had been totally wasted. In March, Montgomeryshire Liberals resolved 'to convey a message of cheer and appreciation to Mr. Clement Davies in view of the crisis and difficult situation he has been in of late'.15 In an amazingly frank and uncharacteristically bitter interview published in the local Liberal press six months later, Davies spoke of the Coal Mines Bill: 'It was perfectly scandalous. I was absolutely let down and chucked overboard after I had rowed the boat within sight of the winning post. I had made mincemeat of this wretched Coal Bill the Government were on the verge of collapse; then came the order 'about turn' and you know when father (Lloyd George) says turn, we all turn. Honestly, I felt like a sucked orange after all the time I had wasted on this precious Bill. I think I should have done better had I stood still and refused to bend the knee in the long run the rebel usually comes out on top, especially when he chooses the straight and narrow path. However, what's the use of crying over spilt milk or roasting chestnuts for Lloyd George. So long as he runs the show we shall never do any good'.16 At this time he tended to regret that he had been persuaded to abandon his legal career and to stand for Parliament, Losing briefs and wasting my time here (the House of Commons) it is really appalling. Sometimes I wish I had stuck to my proper job, but ambition is a terrible thing.17 Clement Davies was not alone in his reaction to Lloyd George's behaviour over the Coal Mines Bill of 1930. A number of Liberal Members of Parliament, exasperated by the abysmal lack of opportunity for advancement within the Liberal Party, began to look increasingly towards the Conservatives in the hope of ultimately playing a part in Government.18 These men were eventually to be led by Sir John Simon and were to form the Simonite Liberals in the House of Commons. Most of them were right-wing Liberals, very close to Baldwin's Conservatives in their political philosophies. It is all the more surprising, therefore, to find the Member for Montgomery in their ranks. The breakdown of the rapport between Davies and Lloyd George at this time, and the former's resultant disillusionment with parliamentary life made all the more tempting a golden opportunity which came from a commercial undertaking known as Lever Brothers in the following August. Davies was invited to become the company's legal director, a position which he immediately accepted. The appointment was, in the words of the Montgomeryshire Express, 'a secure and coveted post for which his conspicuous merits and abilities fitted him'.19 It was widely anticipated, however, that acceptance of the position meant that Davies intended to stand down as Montgomeryshire's representative at Westminster.20 Even though he might 14Montgomeryshire Express, 25 March 1930. 15Montgomeryshire Liberal Association, Newtown, Mont. Lib. Assoc. minute book, 1920-60, Executive Committee minutes, 4 March 1930. 16Montgomeryshire Express, 2 September 1930. Davies's comment that, 'The Government were on the verge of collapse' is probably the key to an understanding of Lloyd George's highly erratic conduct over the Coal Mines Bill. Unwilling to defeat the government and risk precipitating an election in which the Liberals were certain of sustaining a defeat more calamitous than that of 1929, their leader preferred to back down and allow Labour to continue in office. 171bid. 18See Trevor Wilson. The downfall of the Liberal Party, 1914-35 (London, 1966), p.389-90. 19Montgomeryshire Express, 19 August 1930. 211For correspondence received by Davies in response to his decision to join Lever Brothers, see N.L.W., Clement Davies papers. Class J7. and. in particular, J7/4. J7/6. J7/12, J7/13, J7/16, J7/18 and J7/39. I shall review the Clement Davies papers in the Winter 1984 number of the National Library of Wales Journal.