The Commons:

Parliament's Week

P: Opened with a Labor question on, whether His Majesty's Government intend to explain to the Government of the United States that the United Kingdom is about to re-arm with an expenditure of millions due but unpaid to the U. S. Treasury.*

This question Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain left to one of his young men to answer in the negative. P: Observed with distaste efforts by Lady Astor, Conservative, to avoid having to give up her convenient aisle seat to Laborite "Old George" Lansbury who was propelled into it by the expansion of the Labor Party from 52 M.P.'s to 154 in the recent general election.

The Noble Lady seemed to think "Old George" a boor and intimated as much to his face. Old enough to be her father, hoary Mr. Lansbury remained seated where Fate had placed him. Next day Viscountess Astor elaborately demonstrated what a lady she is by arriving early, taking her favorite seat, and then as Old George came in, rising with a sneer "to give the gentleman my seat." P: Observed with further distaste efforts by Scottish Laborite Jock McGovern to make his stubborn point that members of the Royal Family, considering the size of their private incomes, are paid too much. If a worker is shown by the so-called "means test" to have more than an absolute minimum of income he cannot draw dole payments from the State. Year after year Jock McGovern asks to have what the State pays the Royal Family readjusted in the light of their income from investments. Cried Jock last week, "No means test is applied to members of the Royal Family! Why should it be applied to the workers?" P: Received beamishly the maiden speech of Punch Humorist A. P. H. (Alan Patrick Herbert) who set out on his parliamentary career last week by wanting to reform "the indecent, cruel and hypocritical marriage laws of 'this country!" (TIME, Aug. 6, 1934).

P: Got down to business as Labor Leader Clement Attlee attacked "the inadequacy of the King's speech," charged that His Majesty's Government by proceeding with Rearmament are enhancing the world's risks of war.

Coolly Prime Minister Baldwin replied: "I am going to lose no chance for this country to get peace instead of war." P: Heard without enthusiasm the main Government speech of the week from Foreign Secretary Sir Samuel Hoare who was just about to leave England to "get peace" in France (see p. 20). Since it is from Benito Mussolini that peace has to be got, Sir Samuel buttered the Dictator and Italy in a manner which struck anti-Fascist Labor M.P.'s as rancid. "We have no wish to humiliate Italy nor to weaken Italy," cried Britain's Secretary. "Indeed, we are most anxious to see a strong Italy in the world. ... I appeal once more to Signor Mussolini and his fellow countrymen. . . . Let them dismiss from their minds the suspicion that we wish to weaken Signor Mussolini's position and destroy the Fascist regime. . . . There is not a nation taking part in the collective action of the League that would not be delighted to see friendly relations between themselves and Italy restored and sanctions ended!" Sir Samuel then returned to his old saw that peace must be made on terms "acceptable to the three parties to the dispute, Italy, the League and Ethiopia."

Boiling with antiFascism, Laborites jeered: "Terms acceptable to the burglar, the police and the householder!"

"Perhaps we are engaged in a hopeless task," smiled the Foreign Secretary affably. "Perhaps it is impossible to reconcile the divergent aims of the League, Italy and Ethiopia."

The speech closed with a great buttering of Japan as Sir Samuel alluded to the current reduction of North China to the status of a Japanese puppet (see p. 22) in these terms: "I can only regard as unfortunate that events should have taken place which, whatever the actual truth of the matter may be, lend color to the belief that Japanese influence is being exerted to shape Chinese internal political developments and administrative arrangements. Anything which tends to create this belief can only do harm to the prestige of Japan and hamper the development, which we all desire, of the friendliest mutual relations between Japan and her neighbors and friends."

P: In vain Labor M.P.'s stormed that the Ethiopian policy of His Majesty's Government is oleaginous to the point that, while arousing the League to impose sanctions, it is largely supplying Italy with oil through the petroleum companies it controls or owns. The Lords: P: Spent last week the first $5,000 of an estimated $50,000 which they will spend on the trial of Lord de Clifford commencing this week. Costs must be paid by the County of Surrey because in that unfortunate vicinity hell-raising Edward Southwell Russell, 28, the 26th Baron de Clifford, a descendant of one of William the Conqueror's knights, was driving his supercharged sports car when it collided with the cheap four-seater of one Douglas George Hopkins who was killed.

A young woman riding with Hopkins screamed at Lord de Clifford: "For God's sake, why were you driving on our side of the road?"

"My good woman." rejoined the Noble Lord, "this is not the place to inquire."

Under the Magna Charta it is the right of every Briton to be tried by his peers-- i.e. a commoner by a jury of twelve commoners, a lord by the House of Lords. In 1901 occurred the last trial of a peer by his peers, that of Earl Russell who was convicted of bigamy and received the light sentence on which a peer can traditionally count, three months in jail.

Last week the Royal Gallery of the Houses of Parliament was being "renovated" for the coming trial. A woolsack was installed for Viscount Hailsham to sit upon in his capacity as Lord High Chancellor and a gilt chair from the King's robing room for use in his other capacity as Lord High Steward. For this occasion the House of Lords official known as Black Rod will carry not his usual black rod but a white rod, for the reason that after sentence is delivered the Lord High Steward must break Black Rod's white rod across his knee in token that the trial of a peer is over.

Since the gold coronets usually worn by peers at the opening of Parliament will not do for a trial, Noble Lords were bustling anxiously about London last week trying to rent the requisite cocked hats. When all these had been rented, extortionate London hatters charged luckless lords who had to buy cocked hats $60 each. Since popular temper was rising sharply against forcing the taxpayers of Surrey to spend $50,000 in order that a peer charged with felony may receive, at most, a wrist-slapping sentence, attorneys for unpopular Lord de Clifford announced that he "cannot" waive his mandatory right to be tried by the House of Lords. As strongly as possible they hinted that this handsome young man, an ardent British Fascist, would much rather be tried in democratic Old Bailey where a subject convicted of manslaughter is sometimes sentenced to 15 years penal servitude.

Mother of Lord de Clifford was the "Gibson Girl," Evelyn Chandler, a statuesque stage beauty some six feet tall. His wife is the daughter of London's frequently arrested night club queen, Mrs. Kate Meyrick. Lord de Clifford's chief previous legal difficulty was for "giving false information" in order to obtain his marriage license. This peccadillo carried a possible penalty of seven years in jail. London's Lord Mayor took a romantic view of the case in his capacity of magistrate, not only let Lord de Clifford off with a fine of $250 but gave him a fortnight's grace to find the fifty quid. His profession: Lieutenant, Royal Gloucester Hussars.

*Current British expenditure for Rearmament is tentavely set at $1,000,000,000 while the unpaid U.S. Treasury bill including the Dec.15 installment totals $582,803,306.83. The U.S. State department, not demanding that Britain pay up for her last war before investing in another, last week dispatched to London one more gentle reminder, these being always anaswered by affirmations that, although Britain will not pay she considers her refusal " not a repudation." Borrowing this idea a German criminal on trial in London last week refused toplead either guilty or not guilty, insisted upon pleading "I do not feel guilty.".

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