Parliament's Week

The Lords--

P: Were roused from their customary lethargy by three dukes who scathingly attacked the anti-lottery laws under which His Grace the Duke of Atholl was fined -L-25 for conducting a nation-wide charity lottery which realized -L-152,000 (TIME, Dec. 4).

To Atholl rallied the land-poor Duke of Montrose who keeps plaintively trying to sell his tens of thousands of Scottish acres and takes boarders at his Buchanan Castle for eight guineas ($43) per week.

"If the present lottery law were strictly enforced in all cases," snorted Montrose, ''half the clergymen in the United Kingdom would have to be imprisoned tomorrow for their part in holding raffles!"

"The fact that I was fined -L-25," boomed Atholl, "does not alter the fact that millions of pounds are lost every year to British charity through the acts of those who are openly disloyal to the King through patronizing the Irish [Free State hospitals] sweepstakes."

The Duke of Sutherland, who stopped with his Duchess two years ago in Beverly Hills at "Pickfair," backed up Atholl's assertion last week that, "by our laws concerning lotteries we have made ourselves the laughing stock of the world."

"Is France less moral than we," queried Sutherland, "because she makes official use of lotteries?"

P: Pricked ears as the air-minded Duke of Sutherland, chairman of the Royal Aero Club and whilom Parliamentary Under Secretary for War (1928-29) demanded to know what was Britain's fighting strength in the air and whether His Majesty's Government did not propose to increase it.

At this ducal cue up popped the Marquess of Londonderry, Secretary of State for Air. "We cannot accept continuance of our present inferiority," he declared for the Government. "If parity cannot be secured by reductions elsewhere we will have no option but to build upward. [Cries of "Hear, hear!"] Our present relative weakness in the air cannot be allowed to continue!"

"I suggest," cried the Duke of Sutherland, "that every one of our large cities and towns form its own defensive air force."

P: Fresh cheers from the Noble Lords greeted an announcement for the Admiralty that in cruisers as well as aircraft His Majesty's Government will now proceed to build until their strength is not less than that of the strongest foreign power.

The Commons--

P: Voted approval of the Government's new policy of building up the air fleet announced last week by the Marquess of Londonderry in what members of the House of Commons refer to only as "another place" (see above).

P: Learned that Scotland Yard has assigned a special guard to John McGovern, M. P., onetime plumber, the Scottish Laborite who shouted insulting remarks at Their Majesties during the opening of Parliament.

P: Defeated, 434-to-58, a motion presented by Sir Herbert Samuel, leader of the Orthodox Liberal Opposition, censuring the Speech from the Throne for its "lack of constructive policies."

In an angry retort, defending the Speech from the Throne, Attorney General Sir Thomas Inskip became the first British Minister to criticize President Roosevelt.

"Do you think," he flung at Sir Samuel, "that the policies which have been adopted on the other side of the Atlantic would help this country? I am not sure but that at one time the Opposition were not rather attracted by 'Rooseveltism.' Will Britain choose the rash experiments . . . and. . . gigantic financial speculation . . . of trans-Atlantic minds?"

P: Were again assured by Chancellor of the Exchequer Neville Chamberlain that he is "carefully watching'' President Roosevelt's debasement of the dollar lest it get too far below the pound and make all U. S. prices in the world market dumping prices.

P: Congratulated Lady Astor on the election as an M. P. of her nephew by marriage Mr. Ronald Tree, a grandson of Chicago's late great Marshall Field. During the week the Noble Lady, still a Prohibitionist in England despite Repeal in her native U. S., was twitted by fellow members of the Commons who showed her a magazine put out by British liquor interests. It revealed that, under a forgotten but unrepealed law passed in the reign of King Edward VI (died 1553) it is still an offense punishable by imprisonment "for any person to induce any of the King's subjects to abstain from alcoholic drink."

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