Chiswickite - formerly The Croydonian

Captain CRAIG asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he can state the numbers of local authorities which have put in force The Tuberculosis (Ireland) Act, 1908?


Mr. CHERRY As has already been pointed out to the hon. Member in reply to the question asked by him on 9th July, Part 1 of the Act alone requires the formality of adoption. Three sanitary authorities have up to the present 1558 passed the necessary resolutions subject to the approval of the county council in each case. A number of the sanitary authorities have availed themselves of the various powers contained in Part III. of the Act.

Mr. ALDEN (Lib) asked why the Buddhist registrar has been removed from the hall of the Buddhist Theosophical Society in Colombo, although that society has had the benefit of his presence since the office was created in 1888, thus depriving the representative of the Buddhist community, which supports three colleges and over 250 schools, of the privilege of marriage in their own hall, although all Christian sects are granted this privilege?

The UNDER-SECRETARY for the COLONIES (Colonel Seely) My hon. Friend is mistaken in supposing that the Buddhist Theosophical Society represents the whole of the Buddhist community of Ceylon. The number of members of the society in Ceylon is only 132. It is not the only Buddhist society in the island, and the great mass of Buddhists belong to no 1554 society. The Government has required the removal of the registrar's office from the hall of this society because its presence there tended to identify the registrar too closely with this particular society.

MR Devlin"...whether he is aware that on the 11th July a procession of Orangemen, wearing regalia, marched under police protection through an almost exclusively Catholic portion of Portadown to and from a church in the neighbourhood, although the ordinary and direct road to and from the church is much shorter; whether he is aware that on the 13th July Orange drumming parties were allowed to parade through the Catholic district in a provoking manner, cursing the Pope and playing party tunes..."

Mr Cherry "...It appears that one band played a party tune, but the police did not hear anyone curse the Pope".

Captain CRAIG Is the right hon. and learned Gentleman aware that Portadown is a most peaceful neighbourhood, and that the people live in peace and harmony all the year round?

Mr. CHERRY That is the general rule I believe. Portadown is very peaceful, but there are two occasions, 12th July and 15th August, which are usually exceptions.

Mr. CONOR O'KELLY Does the right hon. and learned Gentleman deny that the Union Jack is a party emblem?

Mr. CHERRY I cannot see how the Union Jack can be considered a party emblem, though it may possibly be turned into a party emblem.

"That a sum not exceeding £36,464, including a supplementary sum of £6,500,. be granted to His Majesty to complete the sum necessary to defray the charge which will come in course of payment during the year ending on the 31st clay of March, 1910, for sundry grants in aid of scientific investigation".

The SECRETARY of STATE for WAR (Mr. Haldane)

"...Great strides are being made, in the preparation of machines, but it is not enough to make machines that will fly, whether dirigibles or aeroplanes. They must be machines which can be made available for the purposes of war, and the difficulties which surround us are still so great that progress can only be made after exact and careful study and by the adaptation of inventions as they are brought forward to the peculiar conditions which must be fulfilled if effectiveness in war is to be secured...The remarkable events of the last few days—M. Blériot crossing the Channel, and other things that have been accomplished in the United States, and elsewhere—all point to this, that at some time hereafter the aeroplane will be an instrument which will be capable of effecting in all probability great results...Flying machines, whatever forms they take, are very simple machines, and you cannot keep secret very long any advance that has been made in their construction....in this country we have not made the amount of initial progress that has been made in Germany, France and, perhaps, in the-United States. But I reflect that much the same thing was true of submarines. To-day, by our scientific procedure and by the work that has been done in the Admiralty, we stand, it is no exaggeration to say, at the head of the world as regards submarines. Then again, in motor cars also we were behind. I am no expert in motor cars, but I know enough to have a strong impression that if we are not up to the best Continental countries in every way, we are getting very near it in the construction of motor cars....

The "Daily Mail," working in conjunction with the Parliamentary Committee, have made the generous offer of a shed. The War Office has provided, with the assistance of the London County Council, a site at Wormwood Scrubbs, and the shed is in the course of rapid construction.

"There never will be, as far as I can see, any very large private ownership of these machines. No doubt, country gentlemen will hereafter have these aeroplanes, and have pleasant aeroplane parties and weekends; but when you come to dirigibles, rigid and unrigid, I fancy very few people will possess dirigibles.

Arthur Lee (Not the one who gave us 'Forever Changes') I believe this is absolutely the first occasion upon which it has ever been debated in the history of Parliament. I hope, therefore, that Members of this House will forgive those of us who have not a very wide and deep experience on the subject. I am reminded of a remark which was made by the present Lord Chamberlain some years back when he announced to an electrified House that he was not an agricultural labourer, and I feel bound to admit on this occasion that I am not a practical aeronautist....meanwhile, while these investigations are being carried on, men are actually flying about in other countries, and Frenchmen are landing like migratory birds upon our shores...Whilst the Admiralty are concentrating, the War Office, according to the right hon. Gentleman, are experimenting, and they have begun by ordering a gas bag".

Mr. ARTHUR LEE I said these machines might be used for transport in a limited sense, but they could not be used for transport of large bodies or of stores for the purpose of invading this country.

Sir GILBERT PARKER Ordinary commonsense tells us that such machines will probably never be used for the carrying of large bodies of troops and ammunition.

Mr Mond (Lib) I do not think that nations in the future are going to conduct their battles by scattering explosives over houses. That is very unlikely to take place. It would be the very reversal of the rules of war which have now existed for a long time. Nobody expects an enemy to bombard a seaside place like Brighton. With civilised nations warfare is not conducted by simply destroying property and killing civilians, or by dropping dynamite about London, Paris, or Berlin.

Mr Claude Hay (Lib) asked the Under-Secretary for India...whether his attention has been drawn to the fact that, owing to the number of letters which are improperly opened or stolen in transit by native officials in the Indian postal service, British firms have been compelled to warn their correspondents, stating that they hoped that their letters had arrived safely...and whether he will say what steps it is proposed to take in order to remedy this grievance?

The MASTER of ELIBANK It will be necessary to inquire of the Government of India before a full reply can be given to the first part of the question. As regards the second part, statistics regarding complaints made by the public against the Post Office, and the proportion of groundless to well-founded complaints, are given in the Annual Report of the Post Office of India. A case in which it was alleged that letters were delivered to persons other than the addressees was recently brought to the notice of the Government. No proof of the allegations was forthcoming, but the suspected clerks were removed, and the complainants admit that they are now receiving their letters properly.

Mr. TYSON WILSON (Lab) asked the First Commissioner of Works if he is aware that practically the whole of the workmen that were engaged fitting up and completing the work in connection with the Victoria and Albert Museum, South Kensington, have been discharged, although there is a considerable amount of work uncompleted; and whether, in view of the amount of unemployment in the building trade in London, he can see his way to reengage the workmen with the object of completing the work?

Mr. HARCOURT The work for which my Department is responsible has been completed; it is of course impossible for me to re-engage workmen for whom there is no work. The fitting up of exhibits is a matter for the Board of Education.

Mr. WILLIAM THORNE asked the Secretary to the Treasury whether he is aware that the Public Prosecutor refuses to give any assistance to men in poor circumstances who have brought out various inventions, when investigating cases of fraud, forgery, and persecution; and if he intends taking any action in the matter.

Mr. HOBHOUSE I am informed by the Director of Public Prosecutions that he does not know to what this question refers. If the hon. Member will be so good as to explain to me what he has in mind, I will cause further inquiry to be made.

"MR. W. EWART said, he wished to ask the First Commissioner of Works whether there is any prospect that the large space near the middle of Hyde Park recently enclosed with iron railings, so as to exclude the public, would be restored for the use and recreation of the public.

MR. FITZROY said, he was afraid he could give no more satisfactory answer to the question now than he gave when it was put to him on a former occasion. Some two years ago great objection was made to giving the cows in the park unrestricted liberty of roaming over the ground, and the cows were consequently removed to an enclosure, and sheep were substituted in their place. The alteration was made to meet the convenience of the public; and if the public wished to again give the cows the range of the whole park, instead of confining them to their present restricted area, he thought the old system must be reverted to".

MR. SCULLY said, he would beg to ask the First Lord of the Treasury whether the Sovereign of the Roman States has finally accepted or declined the position of President over the Confederate States of Italy; and whether, in the event of the Sovereign Pontiff accepting that office, it is intended on the part of Her Majesty's Government to adopt effectual steps for establishing direct diplomatic relations with the Court of Rome?

VISCOUNT PALMERSTON said, that, as he would not be able to speak twice on the Motion before the Chair, he would delay his answer.

"Mr Horsman - The question of the national defences had only to be mentioned in that House to excite a feeling of general interest, and he believed the feeling of that House on the subject was a very inadequate representation of that which prevailed throughout the country. They had just been called on by the Government to make a large increase in the taxes of the year, and the reason on which that demand was grounded was the necessity of adding to our national defences. This year our armaments would cost us £26,000,000, and in order to meet that enormous outlay we should have to submit to an augmentation of the most odious and exceptional of all our imposts. In a time of profound peace we were about to nearly double the income tax, and there was a general disposition throughout the country to inquire whence the great exigency arose"
...
All those armaments and that taxation were necessitated by one cause—namely, the fear of an attack from France—why should they not say it? France knew it, and said it—and all Europe knew it, and said it—and no one differed about it in that House, except perhaps the Member for Birmingham, who disputed the necessity, and the Ministers of the Crown, with whom it would be a breach of etiquette to confess the motive.
...
Every one knew that if in any future wax-that might occur a French general were to laud in England, he would bring with him every soldier for whom transport could he found. It would be for invaders and invaded a life and death struggle. That army would leave its own ports an exultant and, by anticipation, a victorious army. From the moment it landed on the shores of England it would have to fight its way with the desperation of a forlorn hope, and within two or three weeks of the landing of the first Zouave either it would be completely annihilated or London would be taken. It would he less a war than a surprise, and its suddenness would be one element in the calculation of its success.
...
The Member for Birmingham, for instance, as an independent Member of that House, and acting on his individual responsibility, expressed fearlessly what he held consistently, and he had a perfect right to believe that there was not a Zouave in the French army who would not prefer a remission of the wine duties to the sack of London"

"LORD EBURY presented a Petition from the clergy of the Church of England, for a Revision of the Liturgy of the Church of England. His Lordship said that the petitioners prayed the House to address the Queen to appoint a Commission to revise the Liturgy, a subject which he maintained was regarded by all the thinking portion of the national Church as of paramount importance; and he fancied their Lordships would he disposed to attach greater weight to the petition from the fact that it was signed, not by the laity, but by upwards of 500 clergymen of the Church of England".

THE BISHOP OF LONDON said, he was sure there was no man less inclined to mislead their Lordships on this question than his noble Friend (Lord Ebury), nor was there any man who had more at heart the best interests of the Church of England. But their Lordships had been led to believe that what the noble Lord desired was simply to shorten the services of the Church...He was ready to admit that this was an object which a great body of the laity, both enlightened and unenlightened, desired; but he did not think that the right way to shorten the services was to take the course which the petitioners desired.

VISCOUNT DUNGANNON concurred in all that had fallen from the noble Earl, and expressed his astonishment that any objection should be raised to our most beautiful and impressive Burial service.

LORD BROUGHAM said, he thought that House a most unfit assembly to discuss questions of a theological character. No doubt there were many parts of the Liturgy which might be amended, or at least shortened; but matters of this kind were better left in the hands of the right rev. Bench....it was related by Dr. Paley that he was once at St. George's Chapel, Windsor, when that Creed was read in the presence of George III. When it was commenced His Majesty did not make the usual responses, and the clergyman, thinking this was from inadvertence, began again, whereupon the King shut his book, and, as Dr. Paley said, "left him to go on with his 'Whosoever,' by himself." George III., therefore, as well as Dr. Paley—one of the most useful champions of the Church—did not look upon this Creed as fit to be retained—he meant in respect of the condemnatory words".

" Mr. HART-DAVIES asked the right hon. Gentleman whether he has any official information that the Greek flag has been hoisted over the fortress at Canea, in Crete?

Sir E. GREY The answer is in the negative.

Mr. HART-DAVIES Has the right hon. Gentleman any information to give to the House as to the course of events in Crete?

Sir E. GREY That is rather a large order for an answer to a question without notice. I have telegraphed for the information asked for in the question, and that is all I have".

Mr MacNeill (Irish Nat - and a Protestant) asked the Chief Secretary for Ireland whether he is aware that the Orangemen of Maguiresbridge, county Fermanagh, attempted on Sunday and Monday, 11th and 12th July, to erect arches across the public road, and between the residence of the Catholic priest and the Catholic church, under which the Catholic inhabitants going to and from their devotions would be compelled to pass, and that the Orangemen were only prevented from accomplishing their object by the forcible intervention of the Royal Irish Constabulary; whether he is aware that two gentlemen holding the commission of the peace...gave directions to the local Orangemen, which were carried out, to display an Orange flag, supplied for the purpose by Mr. Henderson, in front of the Catholic priest's house at Maguiresbridge on that day, and that Mr. Maguire on that day headed an Orange band to the priest's door which was playing the Orange tune, "Kick the Pope"

Mr Cherry - I am informed by the constabulary authorities that no attempt was made by the Orangemen to erect arches on the 11th instant, but that on the 12th instant a banner was displayed across the street near the end of the village. I am told, however, that the Catholic inhabitants had not to pass under any arch going to or from their devotions. (etc etc)

Mr. RUPERT GUINNESS (Con) asked the President of the Local Government Board whether it is the intention of the Government that grocers and others who sell condensed milk in tins or cream in sealed jars should be compelled to be registered under the Milk and Dairies Bill?

The PRESIDENT of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. John Burns) I have received representations as to the exclusion of cases of this kind from registration under the Bill, and I am considering how the matter can best be dealt with.

Mr. STARKEY (Con - I think) asked the Home Secretary whether his attention has been called to the cruelty involved in the trade in old and worn-out horses from this country to the Continent; and whether the police will prevent the embarkation of horses which are suffering pain and not in a fit state to stand the voyage?

Mr. GLADSTONE Yes, Sir. The Board of Agriculture have by order prohibited the exportation of horses which for any reason cannot be shipped abroad without cruelty, and have made provisions for the proper treatment on board of those that are fit for exportation.
...

Mr. KILBRIDE (Irish Nat)

Is it not the fact that these old horses, after going to Antwerp, generally return to this country in the shape of German sausage?

"Mr. J. PARKER (for Mr. John Ward) (Lab) asked the Home Secretary whether he has received any Report from the district inspector of Mines of a lad having been recently fined by the Longton magistrates for alleged sleeping in a mine; whether the lad is alleged to have been seriously injured as a result of so sleeping while on duty; and whether any other person was present at the time of the accident, and, if not, on what evidence the lad was convicted?

Mr. GLADSTONE

I have made inquiry of the district inspector, who informs me 1352 that the lad referred to, aged 17, who was employed as an attendant on a self-acting incline, went to sleep at half-past ten in the morning, lying across the rails. Another lad, seeing his dangerous position, attempted to drag him off the lines, but before he could get him clear an approaching tub ran over him, fracturing his thigh. The lad was subsequently prosecuted by the owners of the mine for being asleep while on duty in contravention of the special rules. As the question only appeared on the Paper yesterday, I have not been able to obtain any report of the evidence given at the hearing

Mr. MIDDLEMORE (Con) asked how many docks are there in the British Empire, German Empire, France, and the United States capable of holding a "Dreadnought," namely, having a length over all of 500 feet, a width at entrance of at least 82 feet, and a depth over the sill at ordinary spring tides of 27 feet.

Mr. McKENNA The number of docks actually complete and capable of taking a "Dreadnought" at normal draught is, for the countries named, as follows:—

British Empire … … 23
German Empire … … 6
France … … 5
United States … … 5

Mr. MIDDLEMORE I did not ask the right hon. Gentleman a single word about normal draught.

Mr. SPEAKER I have pointed out to the hon. Member several times he is not entitled to comment upon an answer. One great advantage which a Minister has in this House is that when he makes an answer it must be accepted until the opportunity offers in Supply to comment upon it.

Mr. MIDDLEMORE I can assure you, Sir, that the right hon. Gentleman has not answered my question.

Mr. SPEAKER The right hon. Gentleman answered it very fully.

Mr. MIDDLEMORE May I make a remark, Sir? I did not ask anything about normal draught. That is not the point. I should like to ask him, has he 23 docks capable of admitting "Dreadnoughts" 500 ft. long, 82 ft. in width at the entrance, and with a depth of 27 ft. over the sills?

Mr. McKENNA As I understand the answer, it is in the affirmative to the hon. Gentleman's question. That is the normal draught of the "Dreadnought."

Mr. PIKE PEASE (Con) asked the Prime Minister whether he will consider the question of summoning an international conference to consider the question of aviation in view of the strides recently made in this science?

The PRIME MINISTER This matter is being very closely watched by the Government, and, as at present advised, I cannot see that any practical purpose would be served by summoning a conference such as the hon. Member suggests.

"The traffic at President Obama's official White House Web site--whitehouse.gov--has fallen from a post-Inauguration peak to nearly the same level it was during the waning days of the Bush administration.

The dramatic drop in traffic has happened despite the Obama Administration's complete redesign of the site. According to the web-traffic tracking site Alexa.com, whitehouse.gov was almost the 500th most popular Web site in the world in February. Since then, it has fallen to the 3,732 ranked Web site in the world. Traffic to the site has fallen 51.6 percent in the last three months".

"Huntingdonshire is a remarkable constituency in many ways. It is an ancient constituency. It has returned Members to the House since the first Parliament of Simon de Montfort. It is proud of that tradition. It is proud because amongst its former Members was, for a brief period, Oliver Cromwell. He caused your predecessors, Mr. Deputy Speaker, more trouble than I anticipate causing, at least in my early days".

"I believe that public opinion requires four things of the Government in terms of economic management. It requires them to cut taxes, to curb inflation, to create new jobs and, as far as possible, to maintain satisfactory public services. But the simple truth is that although public opinion may require all those four things, with the best will in the world the Chancellor and his colleagues cannot possibly achieve them all at the same time. In order to create jobs and to maintain public services, it is necessary first to cut taxes and to curb inflation".

"I was pleased to hear my right hon. Friend the Chief Secretary this afternoon reiterate that the Government's commitment to spending cuts and to restraining the level of public expenditure generally was substantial and that the Government intend to keep to it. Whenever we talk about spending cuts there is bound to be a certain amount of uproar. It is never popular to cut services. But it seems that much of the uproar which is currently being engendered is to a large extent synthetic".

"I appreciate that we can keep a problem at bay temporarily by throwing subsidies at it, but if we are to curb that problem in the medium term in my constituency and in many others, it requires the establishment of new companies and a great increase in the total number of jobs available. I believe that my right hon. and learned Friend yesterday introduced certain tax and other measures which, over two to three years, will create a climate in which jobs can be increased and begin to be formed. I wholly welcome those measures".

"Since it affects many of my constituents who are retired, I am delighted to see the abolition of dividend control and the reduction of the investment income surcharge, particularly the extent of the reduction that has been made. The surcharge has always been utterly indefensible, by any practical logic, in a society that wishes to encourage investment and needs investment to provide jobs. It is grossly unfair that those who were. sufficiently prudent during their lifetime to save should find themselves punitively taxed for saving and investing, as every Chancellor of every party has asked them to do so many times in recent years. I believe my right hon. and learned Friend's measures in this respect to be simple justice".

"Gameloft is a mobile games company that specialises in developing mobile games based on world celebrities and Hollywood movies and will soon release the game on Hilton.

Paris Hilton's Diamond Guest, is the first official mobile game from Paris Hilton, showing the star's glamorous side and elegance, a release in Mumbai said".