Parliament's Week

COMMONWEALTH (British Commonwealth of Nations)

P: The bill (TIME, May 11) to put Britain's currency back on a gold basis was "read a third time and passed without division"--in short, passed without a fight. An amendment, proposed by ex-Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden, rejecting the bill on the ground that it was unduly precipitant, was defeated.*

P: The report stage of the Budget being ended, the House adopted all its items except that of raising the duty on silk, which was deferred. The average majority was 160.

P: The concomitant debates were marked by a bitter clash between Chancellor of the Exchequer Winston S. Churchill and Mr. Snowden. Mr. Churchill declared that there was too much fuss being made about the McKenna duties (TIME, May 11), and that all he sought to do was to revert to the status quo ante and to brand Mr. Snowden's repeal of those duties (TIME, May 12, 1924) as a purely partisan action. Mr. Snowden retorted: "I can well understand that the Chancellor of the Exchequer is incapable of understanding that any person can be moved by honest political convictions." (Torrents of protest from the Government side of the House, loud cries of "withdraw.") Mr. Snowden retorted: "I will follow Mr. Churchill's example and withdraw nothing." Some time before his tiff with Mr. Snowden, Mr. Churchill's attention was brought to the fact that foreign nations were "dumping" duty-free articles on the country to avoid the preference duties which are to be established by the operation of the McKenna duties oh July 1. As a warning to foreign nations and importers, he said: "If necessary, I shall not hesitate to ask for authority to antedate the new budget duties, should there be excessive importations."

* This bill now goes before the House of Lords and, even if not passed there, may become law on the Royal Assent's being given.