戰爭結束一年後,还是飢餓襤褛,滿目疮痍的倫敦,正在等着机會,來幹其帝国政治史上最大的赌博。工党政府打算在那些毫無效忠傾向的地區,放棄其政治和軍事的統治權,却希望把它們保持在英国的经濟和勢力範圍之內。眼见英軍即要撤出挨及,印度快要獨立,緬甸也要成为自治領了,保守党員們不免發出愤怒的尖叫。退休了的殖民地官員,在他們的俱樂部里肆意怒駡,寫着滿紙惡言的信給泰晤士報發表,說甚么‘辛辛苦苦建立起來’的帝国,‘都因 A year after the war ended, the starving, devastating London was waiting for the opportunity to do the greatest gambling in the history of the Empire. The Labor government intends to abandon its political and military dominance in areas that have no allegiance to allegiance, but want to keep them within the bounds of Britain’s economy and power. As soon as the British troops were to be withdrawn, India was about to become independent. Burma also became a self-governing leader. Conservative Party members were screams of anger. Retired colonial officials, wantonly cursed in their clubs, wrote a letter full of crooked letters to the Times, saying what the ’hard-to-build empire’