Parliament's Week

The Lords:

Prepared with quiet glee for the maiden speech of 66-year-old Viscount Rothermere, "Hearst of England," who has been a peer for 20 years without ever venturing to take his seat. Friends of the porcine, thick-lipped Viscount claim that he is thin-skinned and shy. Two months ago peppery Major General Baron Mottistone of Mottistone proposed that Hearstian Rothermere should be "expelled" from the House of Lords unless he "apologized" for his newsorgans' "distortion of facts."

"I denounce him for his absence from this House!" cried Mottistone of Mottistone. "And I say it is wrong that this man can control great organs of public opinion and circulate to millions of people his wild statements."

Rothermere of Hemsted, having brooded upon this over the Christmas holidays, announced last week that he would make his maiden speech to the House of Lords "tomorrow."

The Commons:

Reconvened after the holiday recess to hear Prime Minister James Ramsay MacDonald denounced by a Scottish Independent Laborite in language so strong that it was censored out of Hansard, the official minutes of debate. With a score of poorly dressed persons in the House of Commons' gallery crying "down with the new unemployment act!" earnest, horn-spectacled Glasgow Laborite George Buchanan boomed: "The Prime Minister is a low, dirty cur who ought to be horsewhipped and slung out of public life! The Prime Minister is a mountebank! He is worse. He is a swine! I have nothing to say about the Minister of Labor for he is a son of Lord Derby and was born in another stratum. But the Prime Minister grew into power on the pennies of the poor people. He used to fight for the unemployed but now that he has got wealth and power he has not the courage to be in this House when this human issue is being debated."

Recognizing the Glasgow Scot's sincerity, Government M. P.'s made no effort at the time to have him called to order. Instead they tried to convince him that the National Government's new dole legislation will not reduce payments to the needy.

"What--with a Prime Minister like that?" cried Scot Buchanan bounding from his bench. "What--with a Prime Minister who would double-cross his own aunt!"

Even this did not seem to the Speaker to merit reproof. Mr. Buchanan continued: "MacDonald is a coward. He may get out of his position and sneak into power and privilege; he may die honored in the end, possibly; but when he passes out he will be cursed deservedly by thousands, nay millions, of decent, kindly souls who on this winter's night are suffering in my native land as nobody can tell."

Not until 24 hours later did the Prime Minister find a defender in the House. Mr. MacDonald's personal National Labor Party consists of a dozen M. P.'s and from their ranks one Holford Knight rose to ask the Speaker to "protect this House against a repetition of such attacks." Scathing, beetling-browed Scottish Independent Laborite James Maxton instantly demanded that National Laborite Holford Knight be himself declared out of order by the Speaker. Amid murmurous excitement Glasgow's George Buchanan obtained the floor. "I am terribly sorry, if I have offended," said Scot Buchanan. "But I cannot withdraw. I believe what I said was true."

"The Honorable Member is not asked to withdraw," said Speaker pro-tern Sir Dennis Herbert, who had also presided when the Prime Minister was denounced. "If there is any question of withdrawal it should have been asked for at the time."

To most Britons the attitude of the House and Speaker was clear proof that James Ramsay MacDonald is definitely slipping, finished except as a silver-haired figurehead.

Passed the Shipping Subsidy, allotting $10,000,000 in 1935 to assist British tramp shipping, plus a "scrap & build" allotment of $50,000,000 in 1935 and 1936 for cargo vessels. Purpose: Hopelessly antiquated craft will be scrapped, modern cargo vessels built. Defending these whopping subsidies President Walter Runciman of the Board of Trade, himself neck-deep in shipping, told the House that the U. S. and France each subsidize their own shipping $25,000,000 per year; Italy subsidizes $15,000,000 and Japan $5,000,000.

"Hear-heared" as Postmaster General Sir Kingsley Wood produced an abrupt boom in British television stocks by announcing that in the next two years His Majesty's Government will spend $900,000 to equip London with a State-controlled ultrashort wave television broadcasting station of 30-mile range. Promptly television promoters began offering for sale at -L-50 ($245) a home television set claimed to produce a brilliant picture eight inches by six.

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