The Week in Parliament

COMMONWEALTH (British Commonwealth of Nations)

The Commons--

P: Displayed a squirminess like to that of schoolboys in mid-June and an all but scandalous inattention to debate, on the eve of a three-months-long vacation, which began last week, to continue until Nov. 9.

P:Suffered Sir Philip Cunliffe-Lister (President of the Board of Trade) to dispense the pessimistic information that the Joint Trade Committee had come to the definite conclusion last week that no present remedy is at hand for protecting the British cinema, production industry against what has proved to be the disastrous competition of U. S. films.

Sir Philip revealed that the Government deems the situation so serious that it has under consideration a bill to enforce the showing of a definite percentage quota of British-made films each year by British cinema exhibitors.

P: Were informed that the Royal Commission appointed last year to investigate India currency and exchange has recommended the establishment of the rupee on a gold standard basis.

P: Heard Chancellor Churchill of the Exchequer announce that the Government will introduce at the first suitable opportunity legislation debarring some 126,000 government employes now affiliated with the Trades Union Congress from continuing any extragovernmental union affiliations whatever. Unions within the government services will continue to be tolerated.

P: Received from Foreign Minister Sir Austen Chamberlain a categorical denial that the British Government is secretly negotiating the sale of 100,000 riflles and 100,000,000 rounds of ammunition to the Turkish Ministry of War.

This charge, brought by the Lloyd Georgian Daily Chronicle, reverberated fitfully throughout the week.

P:Squelched with ire a Laborite proposal for adjournment only until Aug. 17 instead of Nov. 9, "because of the continued emergency arising from the continuance of the coal strike (TIME, May 10 et seq.).