LET St dd ro for mice again the humble" members of the back benches in the House of Commons are in revolt against the merciless verbosity of their more exalted colleagues. In the debate on the Government's plan for Palestine (which might easily have been defeated if anyone in the House wished defeat the Government in the present time of tension) eight party champions averaged 40 minutes apiece, and the only three backbenchers who got in took 20 minutes each, The Speaker was appealed to on the following day, and naturally sided with the complainants, saying that the Palestine debate had been "a flagrant case in which a few members monopolized the time of the House."
Six Socialist members have now put down a motion that no one except a Minister shall be allowed to speak for more than 20 minutes unless the House gives him express leave to do so. A similar attempt was made in Gladstone's time, the limit then suggested being ten minutes. But he being capable of talking for any length—did he not speak for four hours on his Budget?—refused to hear of it, Older readers may remember the time limit introduced for speeches at Ratepayers' Meetings after that famous one in 1909 which lasted three days, Here, too, there was the pro-visa that a speaker (other than the proposer or opponent of a motion) should only exceed his limit if the meeting expressed a wish to hear him. Then the late Mr. W. V. Drum-mon, famous for his long-windedness, mounted the platform, His 20 mi-(or was it half-an-hour merely enabled him to clear the ground for action. Then under the rules, the Chairman was obliged to ask the meeting whether it wished to hear Mr. Drummond any further. A mighty shout went up of "No," and the unfortunate speaker had to quit the platform without having actually said one word about the motion which had brought him to it.
Things will probably go better for bit in the House of Commons, but the desired time limit will not go through, and speeches will presently be as long as ever. There will be no cure till they adopt the excellent practice of the King's seaside camp for boys, where ifa speaker exceeds three minutes a pistol is fired. That stops him. Would that the same might be done for all after-dinner speakers.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.