Parliament's Week

The Lords-- P: Received into their House former Chancellor of the Exchequer Philip Snowden who, scarcely able to support the weight of his ermine-barred, scarlet robes, hobbled painfully on his two canes up to Lord Chancellor Sankey and piped "I, Viscount Snowden of Ickornshaw, swear by Almighty God that I will bear true allegiance to His Majesty King George, his heirs and successors, according to law. So help me God."

Ickornshaw, derived from Norse words meaning "Oak in the Woods," was the new viscount's village birthplace. Because of his infirmities, stooped Viscount Snowden did not kneel to the Lord Chancellor as custom prescribes. Ostentatiously Lord Snowden's former friends in the present Labor Party boycotted his swearing in. But present were Scot MacDonald, most of the Cabinet and the new peer's longtime political enemy Winston Church ill, with whom he used to alternate as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Impishly Mr. Churchill, in whose veins flows the blue blood of the House of Marlborough (his cousin is the present Duke), grinned. Impishly low-born Lord Snowden grinned back. It was even scurrilously whispered that these friendly enemies exchanged winks.

The Commons--

P: Cheered the patriotic announcement that His Majesty's Government will soon introduce a bill making it unlawful to sell flour in the United Kingdom which contains less than 15% of British wheat. So incensed was the French Government by this proposal that it "retaliated" last week by raising the compulsory proportion of French flour in French bakers' bread from 90%, to 97%.

P: Passed 350 fo 50 and sent to the House of Lords the Statute of Westminster (TIME, Nov. 30) by which all the Dominions achieve "full national status to stand beside the United Kingdom as equal part ners in the dignity and responsibility of the British Commonwealth."

P: Saw the National Government's over whelming majority split for the first time as the above vote took place. Momentarily into opposition bolted die-hard Winston Churchill and 50 Tory M. P.s who thought that that rambunctious Dominion, the Irish Free State, was being granted too much freedom, although the House was only ratifying a decision already made by two Imperial Conferences of British Premiers (1926 & 1930). Paradoxically the official Labor Opposition, led by old George Lansbury, bolted to support the Government, since Labor has always sup ported a policy of granting the Dominions all possible freedom.

P: Learned from Minister of Agriculture Sir John Gilmour that Britain's emergency tariff on industrial products (TIME, Nov. 30) will shortly be extended to tax up to 100% imports of fresh cherries, currants, gooseberries, hothouse grapes, plums and strawberries ; fresh asparagus, green beans, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots, chicory, cucumbers, endive, lettuce, mushrooms, green peas, new potatoes, tomatoes and turnips; cut flowers, plants in flower, bulbs, foliage and rose trees.

P: Deplored a too candid allusion by First Lord of the Admiralty Sir Bolton Meredith Eyres-Monsell, to the naval mutiny last fall (TIME, Sept. 28). "I know what a shock this incident was to the whole country," burbled Sir Bolton, "but I beg the House of Commons and the country to understand it was a most profound shock to the Royal Navy. The Navy realizes today that we no longer occupy the very high position in the hearts of our British public that for past centuries we had."

P: Chuckled at a Guildhall speech last week by the Very Rev. William Ralph ("The Gloomy Dean") Inge of St. Paul's who described the new House of Commons as "full of really delightful young gentlemen who stood for Parliament only as a joke" but were swept in by the Tory election landslide (TIME, Nov. 9).

"Nevertheless," said Dean Inge, "I would much rather be governed by them than by the appalling set of scalawags [Laborites] whom I met when I last lunched at that august place."

This file is automatically generated by a robot program, so reader's discretion is required.