Parliament's Week

P: Lady Astor's bill to prohibit the sale of intoxicants to persons under 18 passed its third reading in the House of Commons by 257 votes to 10. It now goes to the Lords.

Sir John Banbury, aged 73, Conservative, avowed enemy of the bill, made strenuous efforts to block passage. Lady Astor refused to answer him, saying that he had arrived at a time of life when his only chance was to be born again.

P: In the House of Lords a debate was held on Lord Gorell's motion to have Britain join the U. S. in call-ing an international conference on air armament limitation. The debate was, however, interrupted by the Marquis of Salisbury, Lord President of the Council, who informed the House that, although the Govern-ment was desirous of cooperating with other countries, the discussion of air armaments was politically iinexpedient on account of the state of affairs on the continent. The motion was negatived without division.

P: Satisfaction was expressed in the House of Lords over the ratification of the naval treaties by the French Parliament.

P: Viscount Haldane, ex-Secretary of State for War, and Viscount Grey, ex-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, criticized the Government's project for a naval base at Singapore. Lord Haldane wanted to know the nation against which the Government felt bound to prepare defense.' The Marquis of Salisbury, replying, said that it was quite easy for the noble Lord to ask such a question, but difficult to answer discreetly.

Lord Grey, with his customary bluntness, said that the base could be aimed at only one country--Japan. Although the United States is a great naval power in the Pacific, it could not be supposed for a moment that the Singapore preparations were against that country. He thought it would be better to admit that there was a possibility of war, however remote, with Japan. Even so, "was the expenditure at Singapore really necessary ?" He then made some critical remarks on the naval base and its relation to the Washington Naval Agreements.

P: Philip Snowden proposed a motion to suppress the capitalist system. It was defeated by 368 to 121 votes. The most important speech was that of Mr. Lloyd George, ex-Premier, who said that Britain, entirely dependent on foreign trade, would be the " worst country in the world to experiment with socialism." He informed the Government, however, that unless they removed existing evils due to the capitalist system they would force the laboring classes to undertake dangerous experiments such as the Labor Party advocated.