Beefeating

The hulking, ham-fisted persons who now & then take George V's crown & sceptre from the Tower of London and always put them back are unofficially "Beefeaters," officially the Yeomen of the Guard.

In their scarlet, gold-laced uniforms last week the Beefeaters carefully removed from the Tower not only the crown and the sceptre but a whole shop windowful of diamond-studded ornaments. Piling into motorcars they took these to St. James's Palace, guarded them during the night.

Next morning the Beefeaters, carrying their halberds and an oil lantern, explored the electrically lighted cellars of the Palace of Westminster in which sit the Lords & Commons. In the year 1605 such exploration resulted in the finding of enough gunpowder, concealed in the cellars by Guy Fawkes & friends, to have blown up Parliament. Last week the Beefeaters found nothing, as they have for 327 consecutive years, reported "All's well!"

Next the Royal regalia was brought to the robing room of the House of Lords. Shortly before noon the King & Queen drove over from Buckingham Palace, were assisted into their gear and began their solemn, stately walk to the two gold thrones in the House of Lords. Once a year His Majesty opens Parliament for the excellent reason that he has closed it, and this salutary closing (a formality performed by the Lord Chancellor) kills hundreds of bills which have not yet passed both Houses, thus clearing the Parliamentary decks for action.

This year handsome Viscount Sankey, the Lord Chancellor, had prorogued (closed) Parliament a bare five days before the King-Emperor opened it. Thus the performance last week was pure ceremony.

As usual Queen Mary sat a little lower than King George. Edward of Wales sat below his parents' dais. Glittering peeresses who have no legislative seats (even when they are peeresses in their own rights), jammed their places. When members of the House of Commons came pushing and jostling (by ancient ritual) to the bar of the House of Lords, several peeresses happened to raise their lorgnettes in unison, thus made it possible for one naive correspondent to cable that "peeresses turned and glared" at the M. P.'s.

"My Government. , -." Lord Chancellor Sankey, in full robe and wig, advanced to the throne and on slightly bended knee presented to George V the King's Speech, written every year by the Cabinet.

"My Lords and Members of the House of Commons," began His Majesty, "my relations with the foreign powers continue to be friendly."

Except in wartime, this is always the King's opening sentence. Last week, since the Cabinet really had nothing more to say, the whole speech was a model of vacuity. It omitted to mention even the issue of the hour, War Debts. But the Cabinet did provide the King with one sympathetic passage which he read with sympathy.

"Large numbers of my people," cried His Majesty in clear, ringing tones, "are still unable to find employment, and the persistence of this situation causes me the greatest anxiety. Unemployment, as we have known it for some years, is undoubtedly the gravest of our social problems. In particular I am distressed that many young men and women have never in their lives had an opportunity of regular employment.

"In the view of my Ministers, any provision for unemployed persons should not only afford material assistance but should also be designed to maintain their morale and fitness to resume work when opportunities can be found. My government intend to bring forward measures dealing comprehensively with unemployment insurance and with the treatment of those unable to obtain work, and the considerations I have mentioned will be borne in mind in framing their proposals. . . .

"I pray that the blessing of Almighty God may rest upon your labors."

Speech Attacked. Wrathful Laborites saw, of course, that what the Cabinet meant by George V's reference to "assistance . . . designed to maintain . . . morale and fitness to resume work." was to express the National Government's resolve to maintain the "means test" and other checks on the British Dole.

When Their Majesties had driven home to Buckingham Palace, when M. P.'s had returned to their House of Commons, tall, white-haired Leader George Lansbury of the Labor Part" rose trembling with indignation.

"I would like to take the King," shouted Leader Lansbury, "and along with the

King that whole assembly [the House of Lords] down one or two streets in my division [constituency]. ... I denounce such plans for dealing with unemployment as humbug. . . . Humbug and downright cant!"

"What's the use of talking like that?" cut in Prime Minister MacDonald. "What contribution does that make to this question?"

No contribution was made to the unemployment question last week, but the Commons:

P: Were treated to a speech by Sir Robert Home, onetime Chancellor of the Exchequer, in which he implied that it might be well not only for Great Britain to pay the U. S. in gold but to get rid of her gold to such an extent that sterling would become purely a managed currency.

"We shall all do much better paying instead of defaulting," said Sir Robert "and we should pay in bar gold!

". . . The pound may fall farther but it will cause me no anxiety. . . . We are the center of the sterling area, representing more than half the world. Let us take action when the responsibility of leadership calls for it."*

P: Were chagrined by reports that the Nizam of Hyderabad ("Richest Man in the World") and the Maharaja of Kapurthala had offered to supply His Majesty's government last week with as much gold as might be needed in return for suitable political concessions to these reigning heads of Indian States.

P: Were further chagrined by announcements that His Majesty's Office of Works, desperately striving to save money, proposes to reduce by one-half the normal parliamentary guard of 90 policemen. As part of this scheme which regular London bobbies denounced last week retired policemen now pensioned will be required to do some parliamentary duty on reduced pay as "civilian watchers."

P: Hotly discussed in the lobbies of the House a speech by Winston Churchill in which he declared that the French Army is one of Europe's best guarantees of peace and warned against "those bands of splendid Teutonic youths marching through the streets . . . looking for weapons."

*Ever since Great Britain was forced off gold (TIME, Sept. 28, 1931) one school of her economists has held that the U. S. and France should be left to amass the whole of the world's gold supply which, these economists think, would then become "sterile" in French and U. S. hands. Meanwhile the rest of the world would go merrily forward with a paper currency based on British sterling. Carrying their theory to its logical conclusion, these British economists hold that in recent months, "sterling has not fallen but gold has risen." Last week gold "rose" until the pound sterling was worth only $3.17 3/8--the least it has been worth in the whole history of Britain.

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