Parliament Week

The Lords:

P: Shuddered at the pacifism of the Labor Government as militarist Baron Middleton challenged "The British Army has now fallen below its strength in 1895 . . . and yet . . . and yet since 1895 we have taken over the control of the Sudan and accepted the mandates of Palestine and Mesopotamia" (called "Irak" by younger men).

Barked Viscount Allenby, Conqueror of Palestine: "Our armed forces have been a great universal police force. We must keep them at such strength that we can . . . safeguard and uphold the mandates."

The Commons:

P: Learned from newspapers of the Labor Government's most important act of the week: notification to the German Government by Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden that he will not return to the Reich a surplus of $60,000,000 left over from the liquidation of German property seized in Britain during the War.

All the allied countries except Great Britain, Canada, Australia and the Irish Free State have made such restitutions. Notably the U. S. has paid Germany $300,000,000. The British Dominion of South Africa has made a separate settlement with the Reich, ignoring the British Conservative policy of "no restitution" which Laborite Philip ("Spongecake") Snowden is carrying on.

P: Lady Astor, famed for Parliamentary courage, canceled an engagement to fly with 100 members of both Houses of Parliament last week in Britain's new passenger dirigible R-101. Into the Noble Lady's breach stepped Labor's Miss "Wee Ellen" Wilkinson, M.P. Then rain canceled the flight.

P: Ministress of Labor Miss Margaret Bondfield introduced for first reading a bill which would increase by $62,500,000 the sums paid to unemployed males and females under the "dole." Increases are planned only in the lower age brackets:

Dole Per Week

Present Proposed

For men, 16 $1.50 $1.50

17 1.50 2.25

18 2.50 3.50

19 3.00 3.50

20 3.50 3.50

For women, 16 1.25 1.25

17 1.25 1.85

18 2.00 3.00

19 2.50 3.00

20 3.00 3.00

If passed, the Bondfield Bill would mean doling out a total of $610,000,000 next year, equivalent to $13 for everyone in the British Isles.

P: The Widows Pension Bill (TIME, Oct. 28) passed after an all-night debate lasting 18 hours which resulted in the altering of exactly one word in the original text.