THE old year finished with storms and floods and general discomfort. 1924 was one of the wettest years on record. Though the weather was trying, testing the character of a hardy and humorous race, the events of the year were of sufficient interest to make us forget the rain. 1924, indeed, will have an important place in the history of England and of Europe, since it saw the short reign of the first Labour Government as well as the first recent experiment in government by a party in a minority in both Houses of Parliament. Minority government can obviously only be temporary, and in estimating the achievements of Mr. MacDonald and his colleagues it must always be remembered that their hands were tied and that they held office only by the grace of their opponents. Despite difficulties and inexperience, its term of office has given the Labour Party an enhanced prestige. Mr. Ramsay MacDonald himself was a notable success, at the Foreign Office, and was enabled, we believe, permanently to affect the history of Europe. The increased prestige, however, will most certainly be lost unless the Labour Party as a whole emphatically disassociates itself from atheistic Communism.