_Tuesday, November 30th._--The EX-CROWN PRINCE OF PRUSSIA will be
tremendously bucked when he reads the report of to-day's proceedings,
and discovers that there is one person in the world who takes him
seriously. Sir FREDERICK HALL has been much disturbed by the reports
of Hohenzollern intrigues for a restoration, and begged the Government
to send a protest to the Dutch Government. But the Fat Boy of Dulwich
quite failed to make Mr. BONAR LAW'S flesh creep.
Mr. BALDWIN is the least perturbable of Ministers. Even when Major
EDWARDS invited him to elucidate the phrase "a working knowledge of
the Welsh language"--"Does it mean having an intimate acquaintance
with the literary works of DAFYDD AP GWILYM or the forgeries of 'Iolo
Morganwg'?"--he never turned a hair.
Modesty not having hitherto been regarded as one of Mr. CHURCHILL'S
most salient characteristics I feel it my duty to record that, on
being asked when he would introduce the Supplementary Army Estimates,
he replied, "I am entirely in the hands of my superiors."
_Wednesday, December 1st._--That Hebrew should be one of the official
languages of Palestine seems, on the face of it, not unreasonable.
But, according to Lord TREOWEN, to compel the average Palestinian Jew,
who speaks either Spanish or Yiddish, to use classical Hebrew, will
be like obliging a user of pidgin English to adopt the language
of ADDISON. He failed, however, to make any impression upon Lord
CRAWFORD, who expressed the hope that the Government's action would
help to purify the language. Sir HERBERT SAMUEL is determined, I
gather, to make Palestine a country fit for rabbis to live in.
The Government of Ireland Bill had a very rough time in Committee. The
LORD CHANCELLOR managed to ward off Lord MIDLETON's proposal to have
one Parliament instead of two--"a blow at the heart of the Bill"--but
was less successful when Lord ORANMORE AND BROWNE moved that the
Southern Parliament should be furnished with a Senate. The Peers'
natural sentiment in favour of Second Chambers triumphed, and the
Government were defeated by a big majority.
The Office of Works has been lending a hand to local authorities in
difficulties with their housing schemes. But when Sir ALFRED MOND
brought up a Supplementary Estimate in respect of these transactions
he met with a storm of indignation that surprised him. "The road to
bankruptcy," "Nationalisation in the building trade," "Socialistic
proposals"--these were some of the phrases that assailed his ears.
Fortified, however, by the support of the Labour Party--Mr. MYERS
declared that his action had been "the one bright spot in the whole of
the housing policy"--Sir ALFRED challenged his critics to go and tell
their constituents that they had voted to prevent houses being built,
and got his Estimate through by 190 to 64.
_Thursday, December 2nd._--Thanks to the free-and-easy procedure of
the House of Lords the Government began the day with a victory. Lord
SHANDON had moved an amendment, to which the LORD CHANCELLOR objected.
But he did not challenge a division when the question was put. Lord
DONOUGHMORE, most expeditious of Chairmen, announced "the Contents
have it," and the matter seemed over. But then the LORD CHANCELLOR
woke up, and said he had meant to ask for a division. "All right,"
said the CHAIRMAN; "clear the Bar," and when the white-wanded tellers
had counted their flocks it appeared that the Government had a
majority of three.
I do not suppose anyone will say of Lord BIRKENHEAD, as a celebrated
judge is reported to have said of one of his predecessors, "'Ere comes
that 'oly 'umbug 'umming 'is 'orrid 'ymns;" but he is evidently a
student of hymnology, for he referred to the Government victory as
this "scanty triumph" and for a long time did not challenge any more
divisions.
In the House of Commons an attack upon the new liquor
regulations--"pieces of gross impertinence" according to Mr.
MACQUISTEN--found no favour with the PRIME MINISTER. Mr. MCCURDY
announced that he had reduced the price of wheat to the millers and
hoped that "in a few weeks" the consumer might begin to receive
the benefit. The CHANCELLOR OF THE EXCHEQUER excused the delay in
publishing the Economy Committee's reports on the ground that the
MINISTER OF MUNITIONS was "at sea," and elicited the inevitable gibe
that he was not the only one. Sir ERIC GEDDES, with a judicious
compliment to the motorists for setting "an extraordinary example of
voluntary taxation," got a Second Reading for his Roads Bill; and Sir
GORDON HEWART with some difficulty induced the House to accept
his assurance that the Official Secrets Bill was meant for the
discomfiture of spies and not the harassing of honest journalists.
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[Illustration: _Golfer._ "HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A WORSE PLAYER?" [No
answer.] "I SAID, 'HAVE YOU EVER SEEN A WORSE PLAYER?'" _Aged Caddie._
"I HEERD YE VERRA WEEL THE FURRST TIME. I WAS JEST THENKIN' ABOOT
IT."]
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[Illustration: _Margaret_ (_not satisfied with the parental
explanation of the recent disappearance of a pet rabbit_). "MUMMY,
IS--IS _THIS_ GLADYS?"]
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