Parliament's Week

The Government. Premier Macdonald's health was reported to be causing grave alarm. The double yoke of the Premiership and the Foreign Secretaryship were said to be aggravating has already poor state of health. His colleagues in the Cabinet want him to surrender the foreign portfolio. Meanwhile leaders in the House of Commons acted sympathetically toward him.

P: The Prince of Wales dined with the Premier at No. 10 Downing Street.

P: Arthur Ponsonby, Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, in reply to a question, wrote that the Govern-ment had no intention of ceding Jamaica or any other British possession to the U. S.

P: Philip Snowden, Chancellor of the Exchequer, denied that, in appointing a committee to reconsider the British national debt, the Govern-ment had any intention of altering the Anglo-American debt funding settlement.

House of Commons. On a Conservative motion to inquire into the necessity for maintaining the Safeguarding of Industries Act, the Government won its first victory by a vote of 209 to 103.

P: Premier Macdonald's action "imperceptibly recognizing Russia" was severely criticized by ex-Premier Stanley Baldwin. Ex-Premier Herbert Asquith voiced his approval. Both endorsed the accord with France Which Premier Macdonald had won.

P: J. R. Clynes, Lord Privy Seal and Deputy Leader of the House, declared that there could be no question of applying capital levy without a national mandate. Meanwhile, he would be glad to receive from any quarter an alternative to the remedy of a capital levy.

P: The Premier, questioned on national defense, stated that he was opposed to a further increase in armaments and preferred to look to agreements preventing war rather than to preparations for war.

P: Minister of Health Wheatly was the target of Conservative and Liberal hate. He had abrogated the imposition of surcharges upon the Poplar* Guardians for overexpenditure of borough funds in aid of the needy and unemployed. The Premier defended the Health Minister and said that the previous Government's system of surcharges was unworkable and had never been put into effect. He disarmed further opposition by promising to reform the Poor Law.

P: A private bill to allow local option to Wales and Monmouthshire on the question of temperance was introduced. The Government withheld support. The closure motion-- was defeated by 28 votes and the bill was talked out. Lady Astor, feminine prohibitionist, accused the Govern-ment of "wobbling."

*Poplar is a borough of London.