Question time is in full swing. The Speaker mentions a name, A member rises, calls out the number of his question, and the appropriate Minister rises to read the reply.
It satisfies or not as the case might be, Murmurs of dissent or approbalon rise from both sides of the House, until the original questioner seeks further information, prefacing his question with the' inevitable phrase "Arising out of the reply. Sometimes it does. aris St does not, and wi the case, the quiet black Agur solitary in his canopied dignity, rises, Shouts of "Order, Order!" come from all sides of the House, as though members sought to assist their presiding officer in a task which seems of the lightest, so excellently are the canons jof good manners obeyed. The supplementary question does not arise, the Speaker resumes his seat 4 calls another name. The number of the question is inertioned by the member posing it and again the appropriate Minister replies, Tt all seems like a game of endeavouring to circumvent standing orders, but it can be done by the more adroit, and occasionally a Minister comes'in for considerable heckling, It is all very suave and proper, except when the Opposition members feel they are being deprived of the information of which they fare in search, and then blunt que tions, too often indicating the politico blas of the questioner, bring the Minister to his feet, to reply without the assistance of the written word which has been prepared for him by the permanent officials, What, for instance, would _hav been the effect of Sir Edward Grey' famous speech on the eve of the} Great War, had it then been possible'
reach the listening world with the means now available? What doubts might have been dispelled, what, determinations strengthened? The conviction of the man in that wonder-{ful peroration, spoken from the heart "fensive which was to have been' Iaunched at the same time did not' materialize, in spite of repeated: "promises of the Italian General Cadorna that he would attack at the same time as the British and the French. It was due more to a "combination of unfortunate clr-"cumstances than to the fault of any one man that the victory of Arras and the capture of Vimy Ridge were not turned to the best advantage. One hundred and thirty-two thousand British lives! had been lost in the action.
Mr. Eden's First Impressions Mr. Anthony Eden makes a wonderful first Impression, He is being balted. "He is not only good looking, but debonair, He flashes a pretty wit with all' the delicacy of g man who prefers the rapier to the broad: sword, but does it with a graciousness: which' deprives his words of all sling, and with his neatness not only makes the House laugh, but obliges his tormentor to sit down with smile of good humour on his face.
And so it goes on, Mr. Eden balled to betray himself into some indlcation of what he would say on the morrow, and fully determined to let no indication' slip out of what was likely to transpire, Everyorie: seems to have a shrewd' idea, but no one will get anything from' the brilliant young man who comes up smillig every time on the Government side of the Treasury Box.
Some say that one of these days Mr. Eden will become Prime Minister, (Continued on page 207.)
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.