It is interesting to note that the British Government made the necessary arrange~ ments for carrying on the business of Parlia~ ment in the event of the Houses being so badly damaged as to prevent their ordinary use as the seat of the legislature.' For some time now a replica of the chamber has been in existence, and has actually been in use on a number of occasions for full meetings of the Commons. It is smaller than the real building, the upholstery is in green cloth instead of leather, the Press is accommodated at the opposite end of the room from that to which it is accustomed,—which means that reporters will be in a\ gallery. facing the Speaker's chair, instead of being perched above it, giving them probably a better chance of hearing everything which is going on. It is reported that they will share the space available with the diplomats who formerly had their own very exclusive gallery. Nothing is said about the strangers' gallery which faced the Press gallery in the real House of Commons, but possibly owing to the reduced size of the Chamber that may have been temporarily dispensed with.
That should be no very great hardship, for strangers rarely went there save on a sightseeing trip, while the public will still be adequately represented by the Press. So the British Parliament which has been variously housed in the course of its long history has been obliged through enemy action to find new quarters, Where they are is probably 'a military secret, Yet it is a long ery from the chapter house of the Abbey to some undisclosed spot, though perhaps' in distance it is not so great owing to the necessity for the meeting place to be as close to the governmental departments as possible. A similar chamber has been prepared for the House of Lords, which has already met in ils new quarters, and it is apparent that these new premises have not been designed haphazard but with real foresight as to the possibilities of war.
The Germans appear to do these things differently—or, perhaps, in justice the Nazis should be blamed. When the Reichstag met few days ago to listen to one of Hitler's customary outpourings in the Kroll Opera House in Bertin, quite an imposing building, the exclusively leading role that Hitler played made it impossible to do anything but listen to his harangue. The German representatives were assembled not to deliberate but to hear what Hitler thought was good for them. So as long as the acoustics of the building are good, and no criticism of that quality has been noted, there is no reason why the Reichstag," which possesses nothing of the deliberative unctions of the House of Commons, should not assemble in a place more adaptable for Hitler's theatrical methods Of speech-making. Of course the ungenerous will doubtless remark that an opera house is a decided come-up in the world for political party which saw its inception in a beerhouse, where it still holds its annual meetings.
There is in all this a splendid example of the difference between British and German methods. Despite enemy action it will still be possible for Parliament to conduct their business in connection with the war with dignity and convenience, and in circumstances which will enable them to fulfil their duties to democracy in the best possible manner, Furthermore there has been displayed a most acceptable foresight in the whole matt proving that there are people in Britain, who are not just living from day to day, but are making arrangements for the. future. Whe~ ther Hitler has already built some second Kroll Opera House in which to cast the pearls of his eloquence in the event of the original building being severely damaged is not known, but it will be a decided come down in the world if when the RAF, gets really busy with Berlin, the Nazis are obliged to meet in some lesser building of entertainment. However, they will probably console themselves with the thought that there is a wide range of choice to be found between pub in Munich and an opera house in Ber-Jin, and that, of course is saying something.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.