_Monday, February 17th_.--On the motion for the rejection of the
Bill to relieve Ministers from the necessity of re-election, Mr.
PEMBERTON-BILLING incidentally revealed the horrifying fact that
he has compiled another Black Book, containing a full list of the
PRIME MINISTER'S election pledges. They do not quite come up to the
notorious figure of 47,000; but they total 1,211, which seems enough
to go on with, and they are all "cross-referenced."
More serious, from the Government's point of view, was the criticism
of some of their regular supporters. Lord WINTERTON, speaking as an
old Member of the House--though he still looks youthful enough to
be its "baby," as he was fifteen years ago--affirmed the value of
by-elections as a gauge for public opinion; Major GRAEME, one of the
new Coalitionists, thought it would be a mistake to part with a means
of testing the record of a Ministry which the War has "swollen to the
size of a Sanhedrim."
As the soft answers of the ATTORNEY-GENERAL--whom the late Mr.
ROOSEVELT would have probably termed "pussy-footed"--failed to quell
the rising storm, the LEADER OF THE HOUSE bowed before it and offered
to agree to the insertion in the Bill of a time-limit.
[Illustration: Portrait of Winston by MR. MOSELY, a promising young
artist.]
Something had evidently annoyed Mr. DEVLIN. Whether it was the
intimation that the new Housing Bill was not to apply to Ireland
(which has had similar legislation for years past), or that in future
the out-of-work donation in that country would be confined to persons
possessing more or less right to it, or (most probably) that an
interfering Saxon had announced his intention of moving a "Call of the
House" in order to get the recalcitrant Sinn Feiners to take up their
Parliamentary duties, I do not know. At any rate the Nationalist
seized the opportunity of delivering a general attack upon the
Government of such overwhelming irrelevance that Mr. WHITLEY, the
least sarcastic of men, was driven to remark, "I think the honourable
Member is under the impression that this is last week."
[Illustration: GOVERNMENT PROMISES. MR. PEMBERTON BILLING compiles
another Black Book.]
I trust that Mr. CHURCHILL, who is conducting the business of the War
Office in Paris, will not read the Official Report of the debate on
the Aerial Navigation Bill. For I am sure it would be as great a shock
to him as it was to me to learn that Mr. MOSLEY (_ætat_ twenty-two)
considered him, in aviation affairs, as lacking in imagination. The
idea of anyone regarding our WINSTON as a doddering old fossil!
_Tuesday, February 18th_.--As is usual at this period of the Session
the Lords find themselves with nothing to do, and being ineligible
for the out-of-work donation they naturally grumble. Foreman CURZON
endeavoured to pacify them with the promise of one or two little jobs
in the near future; and Lord BUCKMASTER kindly furnished them with
something to go on with by raising the topic of industrial unrest in
a speech composed in about equal measure of admirable platitudes and
highly disputable propositions. Its principal merit was to furnish the
new LORD CHANCELLOR with an occasion for delivering his maiden speech.
This he did with proper solemnity, though once he slipped into his
after-dinner style and addressed his august audience as "My Lords and
Gentlemen." His nearest approach to an epigram was the remark that
"the nation had been living on its capital and liking it." On the
whole he took a hopeful view of the situation--more so than Lord
LANSDOWNE, who expressed "the profoundest dismay" at our increasing
indebtedness. Fortunately His Lordship's gloomy prophecies have not
invariably proved correct.
[Illustration: "JUMPING" A MEMBER'S CLAIM.]
After Question-time in the Commons Mr. BOTTOMLEY made bitter complaint
to the SPEAKER that he had been evicted from his favourite corner-seat
by the Member for South-East St. Pancras. Mr. LOWTHER administered
chilly consolation. Those little _contretemps_ were apt to occur at
the beginning of every new Parliament; and he was not going to lay
down a hard-and-fast rule on the subject before it was necessary.
Old Parliamentarians will remember the long-continued struggle between
Mr. GIBSON BOWLES and a colleague who was always endeavouring to
insert "the thick end of the GEDGE" into "Tommy's" favourite seat.
Mr. HOPKINS is the Member who has jumped Mr. BOTTOMLEY'S claim on the
present occasion--a fact which will recall THEODORE HOOK'S remark that
the game of leap-frog always reminded him of those famous psalmodists,
STERNHOLD and HOPKINS.
_Wednesday, February 19th_.--According to Lord STRATHSPEY there are
thousands of men in the Army longing to take Orders in the Church
Militant, but there are no funds available for training them, and no
prospect of a living wage for them if ordained. The LORD CHANCELLOR'S
sympathetic references to the painful plight of men whose duty it was
to preach content here and hereafter will no doubt be reflected in the
administration of his not inconsiderable patronage. Fortunately or
unfortunately the clergy cannot or will not "down surplices" to
improve their condition.
The unrest in other sections of the working-classes was further
examined from various angles. Lord RIBBLESDALE would like them to
take a greater share in the profits, and also in the "responsibilities
and vicissitudes" of industry. But this suggestion will hardly appeal
to them if, as Lord LEVERHULME declared, Labour would have made a
poor bargain if it had swapped its increased wages for all the excess
profits made during the War. Lord HALDANE'S view, as perhaps you would
expect, was that neither Capital nor Labour, but the "organised mind,"
was the principal agent in producing wealth. Altogether it was an
informing debate, which the Government might do worse than reproduce
in pamphlet form for the instruction of the public.
On the news of the attack on M. CLEMENCEAU reaching the Commons there
was a general desire that the House should pass a resolution of
sympathy. But Mr. BONAR LAW deprecated the proposal as being, in his
opinion, "against all precedent"--not a little to the surprise of some
of the new Members, who thought that in a case like this the _conseil
du précédent_ might bow to the _President du Conseil_.
In the procedure debate a strong demand was made that a full official
report of the speeches delivered in the six Grand Committees should
be issued. But the ATTORNEY-GENERAL pointed out that everything was
already reported "except the talk," and found a powerful supporter in
Sir EDWARD CARSON, who believed that no official reports would have
any effect in keeping Ministers to their pledges. _Hansard_ is as
_Hansard_ does, is his motto.
_Thursday, Feb. 20th_.--Every question put down costs the tax-payer,
it is calculated, a guinea. This afternoon there were no fewer than
two hundred and eighty-two of them on the Order-Paper. It would be
interesting to see what effect upon this cascade of curiosity would
be produced if every Member putting down a question were obliged to
contribute, say, ten shillings to the cost of answering it; the amount
to be deducted from his official salary. If such a rule had been
enforced in the last Parliament Mr. JOSEPH KINO, for one, would have
had no salary to draw.
The shortage of whisky and brandy for medicinal purposes was
the subject of many indignant questions. Mr. MCCURDY, for the
FOOD-CONTROLLER, stated that it had been found impracticable to allot
supplies of spirits for this purpose, but, perhaps wisely, did not
give any reasons. Can it be that the Government, contemplating the
extension of the "all-dry" principle to this country, are anxious to
give no encouragement to the "drug-store habit"?
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