[Illustration: MR. ASQUITH SITS UP AND TAKES NOTICE.
"THE MANCHESTER SCHOOL OF POLITICS IS DEAD AND THERE IS NO GOING BACK TO
IT."--_Mr. NEIL MACLEAN._]
_Monday, March 1st._--Calendar note (extracted from _The Wee Free
Almanack_): "Asquith comes in like a lion."
Everybody wanted to see the victor of Paisley make his _rentrée_. The
Peers' Gallery was so crowded with his former colleagues that Lord
ROTHERMERE had scarcely room for the big stick which typifies his present
attitude towards the Government. Poor Lord BEAVERBROOK was quite in the
background; but I am told that on historic occasions he always prefers,
with characteristic modesty, to be behind the scenes.
As the hero of the hour walked up the floor, escorted by Sir DONALD MACLEAN
and Mr. THORNE, his supporters did their best to give him a rousing
welcome. But they were too few to produce much effect, and a moment or two
later, when Mr. LLOYD GEORGE left the Treasury Bench to greet his old chief
behind the SPEAKER'S Chair, they were compelled to hear the young bloods of
the Coalition "give a louder roar."
Finding the traditional seat of the Leader of the Opposition still in the
occupation of Mr. ADAMSON, Mr. ASQUITH bestowed himself between the Labour
Leader and Mr. NEIL MACLEAN, with whom he entered into conversation. If he
was endeavouring to expound for his benefit the moral of Paisley I am
afraid he had but a poor success, for in the ensuing debate on food-control
the Member for Govan shocked Liberal hearers by declaring that "the
Manchester School is dead and there is no going back to it." In opposing
the continuance of D.O.R.A. Captain ELLIOT was again in good form. His best
_mot_, "With the Cabinet a thing is always either _sub judice_ or _chose
jugée_," will take a good deal of beating as a summary of the Ministerial
method of answering Questions.
[Illustration: SUPPLEMENTARY QUESTIONS ON THE CLOTHING DIFFICULTY.
MR. G.R. THORNE TO ASK MR. MALLABY-DEELEY (CONTROLLER OF SUITINGS) WHAT IS
THE PRICE OF HIS LATEST CUT.
LT.-COL. WILL THORNE TO ASK WHETHER ANY REDUCTION IS MADE IN PROPORTION TO
QUANTITY OF CLOTH PURCHASED.]
I understand that Mr. MALLABY-DEELEY disclaims being the customer to whom
the Disposals Board sold 577,000 suits of Government clothing. He makes a
point of never being over-dressed.
A suggestion that in view of the difficulty of filling diplomatic vacancies
the Government should appoint suitable women to some of these posts was
declined by the PRIME MINISTER on the ground that it was not practicable at
present. I doubt if he would have had the hardihood to make this avowal but
that Lady ASTOR had been ousted from her usual seat by Mr. PEMBERTON
BILLING.
_Tuesday, March 2nd._--Lieut.-Commander KENWORTHY might be described as a
pacificist who conducts a persistent offensive. He accused the WAR MINISTER
of having made a false statement about Conscription in America, and later
on made an allusion to General DENIKIN which Mr. CHURCHILL, to the
satisfaction of the House, which does not exactly love the Central
Hullaballoonist, described as "a singularly ill-conditioned sneer."
Lord WINTERTON, once the "baby" of the House, is still one of its most
popular figures. Members were quite interested as he proceeded to explain,
with an engaging blush, that a "hard case" which he had brought to the
notice of the WAR MINISTER was his own, and sorry when the SPEAKER brought
the narrative to a sudden stop by observing, "This is not the moment for
autobiography."
The FIRST COMMISSIONER OF WORKS was roundly abused for having spent £3,250
on tapestry for Hampton Court Palace. But when it turned out that the panel
in question was the long-missing number of a set belonging to Cardinal
WOLSEY, and that its recovery was largely due to the enterprise and
munificence of the right hon. gentleman himself, the House agreed that his
completion of "Seven Deadly Sins" was a venial offence.
[Illustration: THE HULLABALLOONIST.