Parliament's Week

By a vote of 253 to 94 the House of Commons passed a bill providing for a -L-10,000,000 ($46,500,000) naval base at Singapore--extreme south of the Malay Peninsula. It was stated that Britain had no port in the Far East where a capital ship could be docked. It was felt, nevertheless, that while the projected naval base was not actually a breach of the Washington Conference Naval Treaty it certainly infringed the spirit of the agreement. Colonel Amery, First Lord of the Admiralty, in his speech said that the base was designed to maintain the British navy in eastern waters. He then remarked: " No self-respecting Power can afford indefinitely to be dependent upon another power for its security and even for its existence." The bill was described by Financial Secretary of the Admiralty as a defensive and not an offensive measure, designed to insure the safety of British commerce.

Stanley Baldwin, Chancellor of the Exchequer, in a statement to the House, said that there were 28,800 people in Great Britain with incomes of over $2,320,000. The total number of people paying super tax is put at 80,000.

In answer to a question, Mr. Baldwin said that in 1921 and 1922 the Attorney General received about $112,000 in fees in addition to a salary of $33,000, and the Solicitor General received $45,000 in fees and a salary of $28,000. Mr. Baldwin said that it was an exceptional year and that the fees had averaged during the past ten years $64,000 for the Attorney General and $40,000 for the Solicitor General.