AT WESTMINSTER
IHAVE referred before to the capacity of Parliament for spring- ." ing surprises. Some of these surprises are none too pleasant ; but Monday's was right in the Santa Claus spirit, for Members hurrying in at about 6 o'clock from their professional avocations or constituency engagements were met with the unexpected but com- forting legend on the " ticker ": "House adjourned ; 4.41 p.m." It was a record short sitting for this Parliament of long sittings ; but important business was transacted relating to Commonwealth and Colonial matters, with the harmony, characteristic of such occasions, which makes for brevity. Of course, the sitting would have been longer—and could have been much longer—if the Adjournment Debate had been taken. Events, however, not unnaturally, moved too fast for Air-Commodore Harvey, who had the right to initiate the Adjournment Debate, and there was much sympathy for him in having missed so good an opportunity by the unexpectedly brisk despatch of the main business.
On Tuesday Mr. McC.orquodale took his seat as the victor of Epsom, to the accompaniment of respectful, but subdued Tory cheers. This was in keeping with the general political tem- perature of the day, which, like its physical counterpart, remained low. Even Mr. Shinwell, clashing with Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Skeffington-Lodge calling Sir Waldron Smithers a "silly boy," hardly warmed things up. Nor did the Third Reading Debate on the Finance Bill strike much fire. Mr. Glenvil Hall spoke with his usual careful competence and Mr. Stanley with his usual witty insight, while Mr. Birch regretted the departure of Mr. Dalton "through a trapdoor just at the moment when Nemesis was upon him." Other interesting contributions came from Sir Peter Bennett, Mr. Osborne, and Mr. Donovan, who—speaking with considerable authority in these matters—complained of the complexity of Income Tax Law. After the Finance Bill a long Adjournment Debate took place on the use of Service huts as temporary housing accommoda- tion. These longer-than-usual Adjournment Debates are often excel- lent Parliamentary value ; and this one, admirably introduced by Mr. Renton, was no exception.
The main debate of the week, that on Palestine, has not taken place at the time of writing, though on Wednesday, Mr. Silverman fired some shots across the Government bows by way of a Private Notice Question. Next in importance, no doubt, is Wednesday's debate on the Third Reading of the Parliament Bill ; though as with the Second Reading Debate—and this time without the stimulating and aggressive presence of Mr. Churchill—the warmth of the pro- ceedings scarcely reflected the importance of their possible constitu- tional implications. However, even if the Chamber was not always crowded, the Division Lobby was : and, in consequence of the pass- ing of the Third Reading, the Lords are now left with the delicate task of pronouncing judgement upon their own powers.
Not everything of interest in Parliament takes place in the Chamber. At this time of year we enter fully into the Standing Committee season upstairs. Standing Committee B, for example, considers—albeit in somewhat cramped and uncomfortable surround- ings—the complex Local Government Bill under the majestic Chair- manship of Mr. Bowles. The presence of Mr. Bevan on the Com- mittee is a guarantee both of sparks and sparkle, and that of Mr. Elliot of light and learning. In addition, there is a fair sprinkling of lawyers, ready to argue about rating, and of Local Government men like Mr. Meciland, indignantly repudiating Mr. Bevan's sug- gestion that he was working the parish pump. Strange things happen on Standing Committee, which would be unlikely on the floor of the House. For example, an amendment of Mr. Piratin's, though traversed and trampled by the Minister, was supported by the Con- servatives, with the result that the ensuing division presented the unusual spectacle of one Communist and the Conservatives in tem- porary voting alliance against the massed ranks of Socialism (or, rather, not quite " massed " on account of the abstention of the independent-minded Mr. Medland). D. C. W.-S.
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