We cannot leave the Air debate without saying something about
the question how far Service Members of Parliament are entitled to use the military information they may have acquired for the purposes of debate. The Prime Minister argued that Members of Parliament ought to make their choice ; that they must either be soldiers or Members- of Parliament, but not both. Lord Hugh Cecil, with remarkable force, argued that though Englishmen have always thought of the House of Commons as " a purely democratic bcdy," a Member of Parliament formed " part of the great sovereign authority of the country," and that any duty arising out of that most honourable membership must take precedence of everything else. He had no doubt, therefore, that a Member of Parliament was not only entitled but was bound to give of the best of his know- ledge and experience in the debates.
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