Chiswickite - formerly The Croydonian

I've been ill-ish, hence silence of late.

Anyway, this from the 'autre temps, autre moeurs, 1910' dept file:

Mr. COURTHOPE asked the Secretary of State for War whether he is yet in a position to provide rifle clubs with ammunition, either free or at cheap rates; and whether he is aware of the provision of ammunition made to rifle clubs by the Governments of Canada and Australia?

Mr. HALDANE The reply to the first part of the question is in the negative. As regards the second part of the question, I am aware of the grants made to rifle clubs by the Governments of Canada and Australia, but it must be remembered that in Canada members of rifle associations become members of the Militia in case of emergency and that in Australia rifle clubs are portion of the reserve forces and active members of clubs are liable for service.

Yes, it's naked special pleading, but having a few good shots around is not a bad idea.  Come to think of it, maybe allowing folk to own firearms now might be an idea....

Sticking with firearms:

Mr. COURTHOPE  asked the Secretary of State for War what results have been achieved by the prohibition of the use of slings by a soldier firing his musketry course and in the musketry instruction of a recruit; and whether he will remove this prohibition in the interests of the efficiency of the soldier?

Mr. HALDANE The prohibition of the use of slings has resulted in a great improvement in the general efficiency of the soldier under war conditions, and it would not therefore be in the interests of efficiency to reintroduce it.

Erm, lost me there.  I thought muskeys went out with square wheels too.

Away from firearms, and on to the Friendly Giant to the North:

Mr. J. THOMAS asked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that Harry Pemberton, a native of Derby, left England on 13th May, with a party of fourteen other persons to start work obtained for him by his sister, who was already in Canada, and, on arrival at Quebec, the whole party was detained and kept in a detention hospital and herded with objectionable foreigners, and eventually sent back to England without being allowed to write to his friends, and, having regard to the fact that his mother, who is a widow, had to bear the whole expense, whether he will take action so as to prevent similar experiences to English immigrants, and give some redress in this case?

Let a thousand swords be drawn from scabbards to avenge this wrong, or...

Colonel SEELY The attention of the Secretary of State has not been called to the particular case mentioned, but, as I stated in reply to a similar question on 12th July, he is prepared to communicate with the Canadian Government. Inquiry shall accordingly be made with regard to this case.

Leaping forward 50 years, we have this winner:

Mr. Brockway asked the Minister of State for Commonwealth Relations, if he will state the names of the Chiefs or Sub-Chiefs in the three High Commission Territories who are receiving salaries from the Governments of their territories for administrative and other services, and the amounts of these salaries.


Mr. Alport The only Chiefs or Sub-Chiefs in the High Commission Territories who receive salaries from Government are the Paramount Chief and the 22 Principal and Ward Chiefs in Basutoland. The Paramount Chief receives an annual salary of£3,600. The names and annual salaries of 21 of the 22 Principal and Ward Chiefs (one Ward Chief has not yet been gazetted) are as follows:...

[Chief Mamohato Bereng was pulling in the top wedge at £1,238, whereas his impecunious (?) brother chief Chief Tumane Matela was getting £130)

The Chairman and the four members of the Standing Committee of the College of Chiefs in Basutoland receive respectively honoraria of £1,000 and £600 each.

Labels: 1910, 1960, arms and the man, Parliament

This, from 1910, in a discussion on regency arrangements were George V to die before his progeny were of age:

Sir John Brunner (Lib) "At eighteen years of age the ordinary individual begins his university life. If the Sovereign has to have a university training at all, that is the age at which he will begin, it. Eighteen years of age is too soon for a boy to begin reading dry documents and to sign his name all the morning, and to lay foundation-stones all the afternoon. I am not a Court physician, but I maintain that those of Royal blood do not mature any earlier than ordinary human beings.

Some fairly half-hearted googling suggests that even in 1922 only some 10,000 were receiving degrees each year, so that's a pretty odd definition of an 'ordinary individual'. Brunner would appear not to have been a graduate, so that makes it odder still.  

And the bonus ball:

    Mr. SHERWELL asked the Secretary to the Treasury if he can state on what basis the estimated amount of beer consumed per head of the population in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, in the year ended 31st March, 1910, namely, .79, .27, and .63 barrels, respectively, is calculated?

    Mr. HOBHOUSE The estimated amount of home-made beer consumed per head of the population in the year 1909–10 is calculated on the net receipt of revenue from such beer in that year, adjusted to give the estimated true contribution of each country. This adjustment is made on the basis of statistics of transit of beer in the three Kingdoms in the year 1903–4 (see Annual Return of Revenue and Expenditure (England, Scotland, and Ireland)).

Makes you proud, doesn't it?

Labels: 1910, Parliament, quote o' the day, the demon drink

Cost over-runs - a lot older than government IT projects.  At least 150 years older....

COLONEL WILSON PATTEN ....During the lifetime of the late Sir Charles Barry various steps were taken more or less ineffectually, in order to ascertain when the Houses of Parliament would be finally completed. Like the clock just alluded to by the hon. Member for Peterborough, the Houses, commencing at an estimate of £750,000 had already cost the nation £2,400,000. Now, at the death of Sir Charles Barry it became an object of special interest to the public to know whether the works wore completed; if not, how much remained to be done; and what would be the extra cost.

My wicked fellow republicans:

MR. W. EWART

said, he would beg to ask the First Commissioner of Works whether more seats round the larger trees in Kensington Gardens and the Parks can be placed there for the accommodation of the public; also, whether the large piece of ground lately used as a reservoir for one of the Water Companies, opposite Grosvenor Gate, can be thrown into the Park for the use of the public; and whether the unsightly iron railing round the Statue of King Charles I., at Charing Cross, might not be advantageously removed? 

Mr Cowper
He quite concurred, he might add, with his hon. Friend in condemning the unsightly iron railing which surrounded the statue of Charles I., and he knew of no necessity for its being continued. It was a work of ancient date, and had been erected probably from a feeling that some of the mob might at that time be disposed to mutilate the statue as being an emblem of principles of which they disapproved.

 Maoris, thousands of 'em:

LORD ALFRED CHURCHILL

in rising to put a Question on this subject, said the disturbances to which he wished to call the attention of the House had their origin in the circumstance that a native chief had taken it upon himself to endeavour to prevent the sale of a plot of land in the province of New Plymouth, with which the owner was desirous to part. To such interference the Government of the colony could not, of course, submit, and martial law had been proclaimed in the province. The consequence had been that the Europeans had been brought into collision with the natives, and it being recollected that a number of the settlers were at some of the outlying positions, a force of about 265 strong, including volunteers, colonial militiamen, and some men of the 65th Regiment, had been sent out to secure their safety....There could not be the slightest doubt that but for the arrival of Captain Cracroft and his blue jackets— who deserved all honour for their gallant conduct—these unfortunate settlers would have been cut to pieces during that night, being short of ammunition....He had received a letter from a gentleman largely connected with the colony, which stated:— "The European population of that province is only about 3,000 souls. The lands are principally held by the natives, who appear to have been encouraged to resist the sale of them by Europeans of the very vilest character who have settled among them, such as runaway convicts, sailors of different nations, and others, who, preferring a life of licentiousness, have lived among the natives, and encouraged them, not only by their advice but by subscriptions, to resist the Queen's authority."

Sailors of different nations, eh?

Fast forwarding some 50 years, and it is still those dodgy foreigners with their dodgy foreign ways causing trouble to the military and so forth:

Mr. RIDLEY asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether his attention had been called to a case which came before the Rochester magistrates on Tuesday, 7th June, in which a Dutchman named Van Drunnen, in the employ of a Dutch firm of shipbreakers engaged in breaking-up His Majesty's ship "Anson," was fined 2s. 6d. and 15s. costs for assisting British bluejackets to improperly absent themselves from duty at Chatham Dockyard by rowing them across the river in his boat; and whether he would give instructions that in future when any British ships were to be broken up the work should be given to British hands?

 Mr. McKENNA The answer to the first part of the question is in the negative. It would not appear that any stipulation such as that suggested in the second part of the question would have any effect in the prevention of such an occurrence as that referred to in the first part of the question, and no additional restriction of that nature is proposed.

Helpful, Mr McK, very helpful.

Big tease o' the day:

Mr. MIDDLEMORE (for Mr. Meysey-Thompson)  asked the First Lord of the Admiralty whether he has read the book styled "The Truth about the Navy" which was issued by Admiralty Order to the men's libraries on His Majesty's Fleet in 1906; whether he is aware that it contains matter of a political character, also sentiments with regard to a friendly nation that might cause irritation; whether he is aware that it contains statements that amount to a defence of Admiralty policy, on which there has been much public controversy; and whether, looking to the fact that these books have been issued to some fleets and not to others, he will order the immediate recall of all these books from the ships' libraries of all the vessels in the Navy?

Mr. McKENNA I believe I read the paper-bound pamphlet referred to in the question two or three years ago, but I have not seen it since, and I am unable to recollect whether it "contains matter of a political character or sentiments with regard to a friendly nation which might cause irritation." As I have no reason to doubt that the title of the pamphlet accurately represents its contents, the statements therein would amount to a defence of Admiralty policy. I do not think the matter is of sufficient importance to justify a consideration of the question whether it should be recalled from ships' libraries.

And can I lay hands on the text of this work?  Nope.


Disturbances in the Euphrates Delta:

Mr. REES asked the Secretary for Foreign Affairs whether he could give the House any information regarding the recent disturbances in the Euphrates delta; and whether the position of the Sheikh of Koweit had been injuriously affected by any of the reported or unreported hostilities between the Arab tribes at the head of or along the southern shore of the Persian Gulf?

The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for FOREIGN AFFAIRS (Mr. McKinnon Wood) Some hostilities have occurred between the forces of the Sheikh of Koweit aided by Bin Saoud and those of Sheikh Sadur of the Muntafik tribe, after which the former retired. We have no information to show that the position of the Sheikh of Koweit has been injuriously affected by these occurrences.

Not quite 'the mother of all battles' then.

The vexed issue of 'mudguards':

Mr. REES asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether he will consider the propriety of requiring the provision in the case of motor-driven vehicles of front mudguards of such a character that vehicles to which they are fitted would push in front instead of overrunning obstacles before them?

The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Churchill) The question of imposing such a regulation on motor vehicles generally is one which comes within the province of the Local Government Board. But if my hon. 1309 Friend is referring to motor omnibuses licensed in the Metropolitan Police District, the answer is that the Commissioner of Police has from the outset impressed upon proprietors the importance of providing a suitable guard, and has intimated to them that when one is available certain concessions will be made as to the minimum road clearance of these vehicles. No satisfactory device, however, of the nature indicated has yet been submitted to him.

Mudguards?  They sound more like snowplough / cowcatcher type things to me.

Great defunct job titles of our time:

Mr. HUGH BARRIE asked whether it is in contemplation to fill the post about to be vacated by Sir George P. O'Farrell, inspector of lunatics, by the appointment of a candidate who is thoroughly conversant by training and experience with the administration of lunatic asylums and the practical treatment of the insane?

Mr. BIRRELL  Yes, Sir.

Birrell is to be applauded for his brevity.  I envy O'Farrell his business card.

Gratuitous chart o' the day:

Mr. LONSDALE asked the number of persons in Ireland who were boycotted at the beginning of each month of the present year, January to June inclusive, under the headings, respectively, of wholly boycotted, partially boycotted, and minor boycotting?

Labels: 1860, 1910, Parliament

Lots of winners from 50 years ago,starting with this:

Mr. Mayhew Is the hon. Gentleman aware that these figures suggest that the Government are not taking full advantage of the enormously increased demand for television material overseas? Will he note that much of the television material exported commercially does little or no good in creating a good picture of Britain? What steps will the Chancellor of the Duchy take to encourage the distribution overseas of television material about Britain of a non-commercial kind?
 

Mr. Allan  The hon. Gentleman would not expect me to answer that now. [HON. MEMBERS: "Why not?"] I will certainly see that my right hon. Friend does study this problem when he comes back this week.

I hate to think what the shade of Christopher Mayhew would make of current TV exports. 

Brevity is indeed the soul of wit:

Mr. A. Roberts asked the Minister of Power what consultation he had with the National Union of Mineworkers before appointing the successor to Sir James Bowman as chairman of the National Coal Board.
 

Mr. Wood None, Sir.

Fifty years of non-progress:

Mr. Strauss

asked the Minister of Aviation whether he will make a statement about the recent visits to the United States of America of delegations from his Department to discuss the revision of the agreement that regulates the air services between the two countries.
...
Mr. Sandys

On the broader issue raised by the right hon. Gentleman, at different times Britain has advocated multilateral agreements for the relaxation of restrictions generally, but the response so far has not been very enthusiastic. So long as other countries continue to impose restrictions to protect their own airlines, we have to do the same, I am afraid. 

Depressing, frankly.

More of the brief approach:

Mr. Frank Allaun  asked the Minister of Aviation how much money has been spent on developing and making the Bloodhound missile; and what are the future plans for this missile

Mr. Rippon About £45 million has been spent to date on developing and proving the various Marks of Bloodhound....
 

Mr. Allaun   Is not this yet another case of the Government spending scores of millions of £s on a weapon which is useless against either missiles or supersonic bombers?

Mr. Rippon   No, Sir.

Handsome devil, isn't it?:

And so to faith healers:

Dr. D. Johnson   asked the Minister of Health whether it is now his intention to admit to National Health Service hospitals healers who claim to cure disease by super-normal means for the purpose of their administering treatment to patients therein.

Mr. Walker-Smith I have not given guidance to hospital management committees, as I consider on present advice that the visiting of patients, is a matter which should be left to the hospital authority's discretion, in the light of the views of the doctor in charge of the particular patient who has asked for the visit. While I do not know the practice of individual committees, they are generally aware of my view.

...

Mr. Robinson Has the Minister seen the view expressed unanimously by the British Medical Association at its annual conference, condemning the introduction of these healers into hospitals? I do not want to express a view one way or the other about the merits of the Federation, but does not the Minister think that this is a matter in which he should give guidance to hospital authorities rather than leave the decision to individual authorities? Is he aware that these healers are now reported to be present in 50 per cent. of the hospitals run by management committees?

Mr. Walker-Smith I have seen recent Press reports about the proceedings of the British Medical Association, but I have not yet received any representations following therefrom. As for general guidance, if I am right as to the factors governing these cases, it must always ultimately be a matter for local decision, in the light of those factors. Therefore, general guidance, beyond what I have already said, would not appear to be appropriate.

I like this comment:

Mr. Paget As a matter of religious liberty, if someone in a hospital wants a chap to come and pray over him, why should not he be allowed to have him?

Labels: 1960, Parliament

This is a good one, trust me:

School Pupils (Political Allegiances)
W. Griffiths (Lab,Manchester Exchange)asked the Minister of Education whether his attention has been directed to the fact that at a school, details of which have been supplied to him, security officers have interviewed the headmaster and brought pressure to bear upon him to ascertain from his sixth form pupils the nature of their political allegiances; and what guidance he will give to principals of schools to ensure that, when any approaches of this kind are made, both principals and pupils are aware of the proper procedure for dealing with them.
Sir D. Eccles I looked into this as soon as I heard of it. The headmaster of the school assured me that the statements made in the first part of the Question are entirely without foundation and that no inquiries have been made about boys still in the school. No guidance from me is, therefore, required.

But it gets better

Mr. Griffiths Is the right hon. Gentleman aware that that answer is rather worse than I had expected? I am informed that this matter arose in the following way: there is no doubt that the headmaster interrogated one class of the lower sixth containing about 27boys—about their political affiliations, telling them, for instance, that they should not wear the badge of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, and warning them of the danger of holding left-wing views">


Sounds like just the sort of institution that Chiswickite Major and Minor should be sent to /tongue in cheek.

Business Firms (Payments to Political Parties)Mr. W. Hamilton asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer to what extent payments made by firms to political parties are now regarded by the Inland Revenue as a legitimate business expense for tax purposes.
Mr. Barber Payments to political parties are not regarded as a deductible expense.


Go-karts
Mr. Hilton asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer what is the percentage of Purchase Tax charged on the wholesale value of go-karts used for racing purposes in this country.
Mr. Barber Go-karts are taxable at 50 per cent. of their wholesale value. Mr. Hilton Is it not the fact that other articles of sports equipment, such as tennis racquets, hockey sticks, football gear and the like are not subject to the tax? As go-kart racing is comparatively new and mainly a working-man's sport, will he consider reducing or removing Purchase Tax from go-karts to bring them into line with other sporting articles? Will he also bear in mind that the manufacture of these go-karts is a most useful light industry and would be encouraged if Purchase Tax were removed? Mr. Barber My right hon. Friend the Chancellor of the Exchequer answered a Question on this subject, asked of him by my hon. Friend the Member for Newbury (Sir A. Hurd) on 10th May. My right hon. Friend said in his Answer that he did not feel able to recommend a reduction in the rate of tax on go-karts, and I am afraid that I cannot go further than that.

(Formatting to be sorted out later - probs with deformatting Hansard text without Notepad)

Labels: 1960, Parliament

Those economic migrants, 1860 style:

Labels: 1860, Parliament

This, from 1960. 

Dr. A. Thompson asked the Minister of Health if he will examine the possibility of providing separate wards in hospitals for non-smokers in order to protect bronchitic and asthmatic patients.

Mr. Walker-Smith It is within the discretion of individual hospital authorities to decide what arrangements should be made regarding smoking and I am sure they will be vigilant to protect patients who find tobacco smoke objectionable. One must however bear in mind that many bronchitic patients are confirmed smokers.

The 'guid doctor' from Dunfermline is still among us apparently.  Perhaps he is a non-smoker.

And so back to 1910:

Mr. BYLES asked the Prime Minister whether the salary of the President of the Board of Trade has been increased, and to what amount; how long has the increase been paid; was it provided in the Act of last year that the amount of the salary should be fixed by Parliament; and why has that not been done?

The PRIME MINISTER The salary of the President of the Board of Trade was raised to £5,000 per annum from the date of the appointment of the present holder of that office, and that sum has been provided in the estimate for the Board of Trade for the current year. Should the House decline to vote the increased salary, the amount overpaid will be recovered.

If the rather nifty historic inflation calculator at Thisismoney.co.uk is to be believed - and why not? - five large then equates to 437 and a half large now.  Not a bad scratch. 


Matters Somali:

Mr. J. D. REES  I beg to ask the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he has any intelligence to communicate to the House regarding the Somali Mullah?

Just the one?

The UNDER-SECRETARY of STATE for the COLONIES (Colonel Seely) No, Sir, we have no confirmation of the rumours appearing in the public Press as to the death of the Mullah. I will communicate to the House any information I receive.

Taking being the policeman's friend just a little too far, by my reckoning:

Captain JESSEL  asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department whether, seeing that in celebration of His Majesty's Accession, remission of sentences and condonation of certain offences has been granted to the Navy, Army, Mercantile Marine, and to prisoners both in the United Kingdom and in India, he could see his way to advise the grant of similar remissions to the police forces and to the Metropolitan Police, such as a reduction of the period of disqualification for a clean sheet and other measures suitable to the occasion?

The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Churchill) To commemorate His Majesty's Accession I have approved the proposal that men of the Metropolitan Police Force who on 23rd May were undergoing punishment by fine or by suffering a decrease, for a period, in their rate of pay shall have the amount of any fine or balance of a fine outstanding on above date remitted, or a curtailment made in the unexpired period of decreased pay up to a limit of three months. Notice of this remission appeared in the newspapers yesterday.

Meanwhile, nice words from Persia vis a vis his late maj:

Mr. SPEAKER I have to report to the House that I have received from the President of the Medjlis of Persia a telegram, of which the following is a translation:— "Teheran, 12th May, 1910." "At the moment when the British nation mourns its terrible loss, the Medjlis, imbued with a deep feeling of profound sympathy, directs me to transmit to the House of Commons an expression of its own great affliction at the loss of a man who, quite apart from the greatness of his reign as a Sovereign, is entitled to the gratitude of humanity." "President of the Medjlis," "MOSTECHAREDOOLET."

Laying it on with a trowel, wasn't he?  My republican tendencies nothwithstanding.....

Intriguing:

Mr GIBSON BOWLES asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether there is any record in the Foreign Office of any overtures either in 1899 or in 1901 between Great Britain and Germany for the accession of Great Britain to the Triple Alliance between Germany, Austria, and Italy, or are there any papers relating thereto; were any overtures begun in January, 1901, and broken off in March, 1901, for any understanding with Germany, or any joint action with Germany; and is there any correspondence that he can lay upon the Table for the information of Parliament?

Sir E. GREY I cannot answer questions of this kind about relations between Great Britain and other Powers ten years ago.

A very brief dig has not disclosed anything informing me one way or another.

Labels: 1910, Parliament

Starting with 1860:

Subscriptions for Garibaldi

"MR. HENNESSY said, he rose pursuant to notice to call the attention of the House to the Statement by the Solicitor General with reference to an advertisement in The Times newspaper for raising money to assist the insurgents in Sicily, and to call attention to a decision of the Court of Common Pleas as to the illegality of such a proceeding....The hon. Member (Mr. Grant Duff) who introduced the subject frankly owned he wished success to the revolt, and hoped that, spreading into the main land it would before long overwhelm the King and Government in utter, destruction. The hon. and learned Gentleman, in replying, said:— "The question was, whether the subscribing of money by any of Her Majesty's subjects in this country or paying it into the hands of a foreigner living here with the purpose and object described, came within the rule of common law, or was an offence against any prohibitory statute. Now, it appeared to him that, as long as what was done was limited within the bounds of a mere subscription in this country, such as this advertisement prescribed, no law of this country would be violated...Any man who thought [it] proper might put his hand into his pocket [to] take out his money and put it into the hands of another on the faith of its going to Genoa to be disposed of by General Garibaldi, without violating any law whatever".

Can't say I am entirely up to speed on the current law on this sort of thing, but I will give very short odds that such adverts and actions would be remarkably illegal these days.

Zipping forward some fifty years:

Lord H. CAVENDISH-BENTINCK

asked the Minister of Labour whether he will arrange so that the Bill to limit the hours of labour to forty-eight per week, introduced by several hon. Members, be either adopted by the Government or given facilities for its passage into law at the earliest possible opportunity?

Sir. R. HORNE

The Government proposes to introduce at an early date a measure dealing with the same matter and the suggestion of my Noble Friend accordingly cannot be adopted.  

They just can't leave well alone, can they?

A question that might have been phrased better:

 Sir B. FALLE asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs if he can say if  the Serbs have any right to occupy Gusinje; if they have occupied Vermoshi, the summer grazing ground of the Albanian tribes; and what will be the result of such occupation?          

A bit of digging shows Vermoshi to be at the Northern extremity of Albania, just over the border from Montenegro.  If Albanians can digest grass, I'm impressed.

Anyway, further on in the exchange:

Lord H. CAVENDISH-BENTINCK

Can the Government take no steps at all to safeguard the Albanians from ill-treatment on the part of the Serbians?

Colonel WEDGWOOD

Is it not the duty of the British Government to protect the Moslems in Albania against ill-treatment of this sort, in view of the fact that the British Government is the greatest Moslem Power in the world? 

For what it is worth, I very much doubt that this is the year as advertised, judging by this:

Lord H. CAVENDISH-BENTINCK asked the Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs whether, in view of the many charges and counter-charges levelled, not only against the Bolsheviks but against Admiral Koltchak, General Denikin, and the White Guards in Finland, the Government will appoint a committee of Members of Parliament to investigate these charges and to issue from time to time impartial and trustworthy statements as to the position of affairs in Russia?

Mr. HARMSWORTH  I have given careful consideration to the hon. Member's proposal, but, as at present advised, I have grave doubts whether any useful purpose would be served by the appointment of a committee of the nature he suggests.

Colonel WEDGWOOD  Is it possible for the Government to issue a White Paper detailing the results of the White Terror in Finland and the Ukraine as a parallel to their White Paper on the Red Terror in Russia?

Either the date is very wrong, or some of our Parliamentarians could have made a killing on the nags or the stock market judging from their ability to read the future.

Not especially time-sensitive, but plus ca change etc:

    Mr. SPENCERasked the President of the Board of Trade whether he can take any action to secure for Members of this House travelling on railways and holding season tickets the privilege of travelling on alternate lines?

    Mr. BRIDGEMAN  Regulations, of which I am sending the hon. Gentleman a copy, are in operation in. regard to the interavailability of season tickets, and I am afraid that I cannot secure their modification in favour of Members of Parliament.

    Major WOOD In view of the desirability of hon. Members being able to keep in close touch with their constituents; will the hon. Gentleman consider the desirability of giving them free passes?

    Mr. BRIDGEMAN

    I will represent to the proper authorities the desire expressed by my hon. and gallant Friend.

The doubtless gallant Major sat for Aberdeenshire and Kincardineshire Central (in the Liberal interest), so his desire for a freebie is understandable, if not wholly laudable.

Meanwhile, as an off-meter treat, readers should hie themselves here to see if there have been any parliamentarians sharing their surnames.  No matches for me, alas.  Our PM is the seventh Cameron, by the look of it.  There have been *ten* John Smiths, and three John Smyths.   And there have only ever been four Crooks in Parliament:

Reg was a Socialist, as is Doug, Joseph a Whig / Radical (nomenclature varies) and Chas was one of my lot, despite being elected to the less than leafy seat of  East Ham North in 1922.  

Labels: 1860, 1910, Parliament

MR. E. ELLICE (St. Andrews) said, he rose to ask the Lord-Advocate, Whether he intends at an early period to propose a Bill for establishing greater uniformity in the interpretation of the Law of Scotland as regards the definition of Lunacy; for removing doubts as to the obligation of Counties to provide accommodation for Lunatics; and for giving to the Commissioners in Lunacy extended powers with regard to the custody of Pauper Lunatics?

THE LORD-ADVOCATE said, it was his intention to introduce a Bill to remedy some of the defects which were found to exist in former Lunacy Acts, and he hoped soon to lay it on the Table of the House.

"MR. G. W. HOPE said, he rose to say a few words of explanation with reference to a statement he had made when moving for the production of the Civil Service Exanimation Papers a few nights previously. On that occasion he had said that in the case of the particular candidate of whose rejection he complained, there had been but one single mistake in his spelling. He had since been informed that there was more than one mistake. He had also stated that he was unacquainted with the names of the Commissioners. He had now ascertained that two of them were Sir Edward Ryan and Sir John Lefevre, and he might say that if there were any gentlemen whom he would entrust with the duties of such a position with confidence, those were the two he would select".

COLONEL LINDSAY said, he rose to draw the attention of the House to the system of cooking in the army invented by Captain Grant, and to ask the Secretary of State for War, if he intends to recommend that some remuneration shall be given to Captain Grant for the great services he has rendered in improving and economising the system. The hon. and gallant Gentleman observed that before those improvements were introduced the only means employed for cooking soldiers' dinners were boilers, and if the men desired to have their food baked they had to take it to an oven in the town where they happened to be, and to pay for it out of their own pockets...The expense of cooking at the present moment varied from ½d. per man per week to 5d. per man per week. But this last was an excessive charge. It occurred at St. George's Barracks, and was caused by the apparatus of cooking by gas, which for military reasons ought to be discontinued. The system which only cost a halfpenny per day per man was that of Captain Grant.  The Army Sanitary Commission...recommended that the means should be furnished the soldiers of having their rations cooked by baking, stewing, and frying.
....

Mr Cave....If a man invented a method of blowing a whole regiment to atoms, he was amply rewarded, and covered with distinction; but if he merely contrived a means of keeping them alive, he was not thought entitled to distinction or reward by the Government of the country. 

If an army does indeed march on its stomach, I pity our Tommies a non-stop diet of the boiled.


In 1910, our Parliamentarians were mainly concerned with encomia to the lately deceased Edward VII, which does not lend itself to much amusement or facetious asides.  Mind you, how about this for flowery:

"The Douma of the Empire at its sitting of the 26th April (9th May) has charged me with the duty of interpreting to you the sentiments of profound condolence and of sorrowful sympathy which it experiences on the occasion of the decease of His Majesty King Edward VII. The mourning of your country has found a unanimous echo in the representatives of the Russian nation, which loses in the person of the late King a near relative of the Imperial family of Russia, a sure friend and constant well-wisher, a monarch devoted to the maintenance of universal peace. Please convey to the House of Commons the expression of the Sentiments which animate the Douma of the Empire, as well as the profound assurance which it feels that the bonds of friendship between our two countries, which received so powerful an impulse from the great Sovereign who has passed away, will not cease to be developed and strengthened for the greatest good of both nations.   ALEXANDER GOUTCHKOFF, "President of the Douma of the Empire

A bit late, Sandy, we know you volunteered for the Boers in that war.

Meanwhile this little nugget from 1960, prefacing a question about surplus army boots:

Mr. Norman Dodds  (Erith and Cray ford, LAB) The Sixth Report of the Select Committee on Estimates on Treasury Control of Expenditure reports that a very knowledgeable person, Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick, former permanent head of the Foreign Office, had called for a purge of top civil servants who squander public money. In fact, he asked that civil servants who waste public money should be sacked, and he said that many top civil servants are failing to keep a tight hand on the taxpayers' money and should be retired earlier, with revocation of honours granted. That is the view of Sir Ivone Kirkpatrick, who should know.

There are many thousands of people in this country who are asking why top civil servants are not penalised when public money is wasted. People want to know, and I want to know, what does happen to them when millions of pounds are thrown away or lost through lack of initiative or care. Are they punished, and if not, why not? I have asked this question of the Prime Minister, and there does not seem to be any record at any time in recent years of any top civil servant being sacked or in any way penalised when money has been spent and it has been proved that much of it has been wasted. 

I think it should be politicians first, then civil servants

Labels: 1860, 1960, Parliament

Starting in 1860.

"Mr Selwyn said, he wished to ask the Secretary to the Admiralty, Whether the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty intend to recal the Circular of the 2nd of February, 1860, relating to the rank of Chaplains in the Royal Navy, or to alter the Circular so as to make it accord with that portion of the Order in Council which relates to the same subject; and whether the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty are prepared to make any arrangement, in compliance with the request of the Chaplains, that in choice of quarters, sharing prize money, and taking a passage, they rank with Commanders afloat, or field officers when employed on shore?".

Lord Clarence Paget - With regard to the choice of quarters, by which he presumed the hon. and learned Member meant cabins, he had to state that Chaplains were always allowed one of the best cabins in the quietest part of the ship. With regard to sharing prize-money and taking rank as commanders afloat, he was afraid the Admiralty could not accede to that proposal. The Chaplains had never ranked with Commanders afloat, but had taken their rank with the Paymasters and Surgeons, and other Officers of that class, and the Admiralty had no intention of altering that arrangement.

Here's an idea:

MR. LINDSAY  said: Sir, I rise to propose the following Motion:— "That an humble Address be presented to Her Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to enter into negotiations with the Emperor of the French, with the view of making a Treaty for the reciprocal abrogation of all discriminating duties levied upon the vessels and their cargoes of either of the two nations in the ports of the other; and for procuring such alterations in the Navigation Laws of France, as may tend to facilitate the Commercial intercourse, and strengthen the friendly relations between England and France."

This might  have obviated any need for the Treaty of Rome, if multiplied a few times....  
How much did creosote cost?


Mr. FRANCE asked the President of the Local Government Board whether he would consider the possibility of extending the period of loan on creosoted fencing used in connection with small holdings to twenty-five years, in accordance with representations made by the Small Holdings Commissioners in different parts of the country, upon the strength of which rents had been fixed by county councils?

The PRESIDENT of the LOCAL GOVERNMENT BOARD (Mr. Burns) Perhaps I may be allowed to refer my hon. Friend to my answer given on the 21st instant to the hon. Baronet the Member for North Dorset, from which he will see that I have been advised that thirteen years is an adequate period to allow for the repayment of these loans.


And all this NOT from the known creosote obsessive of 1909, Mr Courthorpe


How about this for the British motor industry, erm, motoring?

Mr. BIRD  asked the President of the Board of Trade if he would state the number of motor cars with bodies and also of chassis without bodies, all of foreign manufacture, imported into this country during 1909; and the value of the above and the value of the motor car parts and accessories imported from abroad during the same year.

The PRESIDENT of the BOARD of TRADE (Mr. Sydney Buxton)  3,666 motor cars of a declared value of £1,223,053 and 4,855 chassis of a declared value of £1,321,596 were imported into the United Kingdom in 1909, in addition to other parts of motor cars valued at £1,771,960.

And

Mr. BIRD asked the right hon. Gentleman if he will state the value of British-made motor cars and chassis exported from this country during 1909 and the actual total of British-made cars produced in 1909, according to the returns of the British Society of Motor Manufacturers?

Mr. BUXTON  Two thousand five hundred and eighty-three motor-cars and 219 chassis of United Kingdom manufacture were exported in 1909, their combined value being £1,037,787.

Having overturned the Treaty of Rome, maybe Beveridge could have been spared his report:

 Mr. HUGH LAW  asked the Prime Minister whether, in considering the amendment of the Old Age Pensions Act, the Government will bear in mind the desirability of making provision at an earlier age than seventy for persons suffering from permanent physical disabilities?

The PRIME MINISTER  I do not think that this is a matter which should be dealt with by amendment of the Old Age Pensions Act. The Government have had under their consideration for some time past the framing of a contributory scheme for insurance against sickness, invalidity, etc., which it is hoped will to a considerable extent meet cases such as those described by the hon. Member.

As in truly contributory, rather than via a governmental Ponzi scheme.

And so to 1960, wherein Marcus Lipton finds American architectural adornments not his cup of tea.

Mr. Lipton (Lab, Brixton) asked the Minister of Housing and Local Government and Minister for Welsh Affairs when planning consent was given to the erection of an aluminium eagle with a wing-span of thirty-five feet on the American Embasy Building in Grosvenor Square, London.

Sir K. Joseph The design approved by the London County Council included a large cartouche on the facade. It is now proposed to substitute an aluminium eagle. The planning authority is being consulted.

Mr. Lipton Will the hon. Gentleman say what on earth London will look like if all the foreign Governments represented here stick up monstrous national emblems on the buildings they occupy? Is not London already defaced and scarred by all kinds of architectural eyesores and so-called planning improvements, and has not the time come to call a halt?

Oh I don't know Marcus, I think it might be rather fun.


An unlikely take on the position of South Africa in the Commonwealth from a Labour MP:

Mr. Speaker, I have to ask you very kindly to switch your attention from pigs and eggs to the problems of some films, bad films. I think the vast majority of people in the country and in this House are very concerned with the growing wave of crime and brutality that there has been since the war. That crime wave has been particularly evident among the young people of our nation, the people to whom we have to look for the leaders of the future.

I quote, first, from a review appearing in the Sunday Express of 27th September, 1959. It referred to a film called "The Mummy," at the London Pavilion, and the following sentences are germane, I think, to what I am putting to the House. The review states: But we are now given a flash-back of Princess Ananka, describing the circumstances of her death. The only reason for doing this, as far as I can see, is to give you a close up of the way to cut off a man's tongue. Why put that in? Because the film's makers (Hammer Films), who have made a lot of money out of doing this sort of thing, believe that you will pay to see it—especially if it is in Technicolour. My second quotation is from the Daily Herald of 29th October, 1959, and refers to a film called "Eyes Without A Face," at the Cameo-Royal. It says: The daughter of a famous French surgeon is badly injured … and has 'an enormous wound instead of a face. Only the eyes are intact.' While she lopes about the house wearing a mask, Dad lures girls to his clinic, where he removes their faces and tries them on his daughter for size. He has already been successful with the same trick on dogs. I apologise, Mr. Speaker, for reading some of these details, but the review goes on to say: Finally, the daughter goes mad, and lets loose the dogs, who tear Dad to pieces … The lingering and obscene eye of the camera focusses on the following: The daughter taking off her mask (in close-up); the surgeon drawing a pencil round a girl's face as she lies on the operating table, then tracing the line with his scalpel (in close-up); the surgeon beginning to peel off the girl's face (in close-up); the face of the surgeon after a score of dogs have got at it (in close-up).'Eyes Without a Face' is a piece of revolting, pandering evil rubbish.  The review very rightly comments 'Eyes Without a Face' is a piece of revolting, pandering evil rubbish."

...

Mr. Vosper I was coming to that point. My hon. and gallant Friend referred to horror films. I think the public, on the whole, regard the horror film as a film of a Dracula type. Despite what my hon. and gallant Friend said, and despite the Press criticisms, I think these are somewhat infrequent nowadays. The Board accepts what it regards as legitimate horror films, but it removes scenes which appear to it as disgusting or repulsive, and it invariably places horror films in the "X" category, which means that they must not be shown to children.

Both 'Eyes' and 'The Mummy' are available on DVD with '15' ratings.....

Labels: 1860, 1910, 1960, Parliament

The things we were teaching in the colonies:

Sir HERBERT ROBERTS asked the Under-Secretary of State for India whether his attention had been called to the fact that the syllabus of temperance instruction issued by the Board of Education last year was being translated into the vernacular and adapted for use in schools in Burma; and whether the Government of India had under their consideration the desirability of taking similar action in the other provinces of India?

The UNDERSECRETARY of STATE for INDIA (Mr. Montagu) The Secretary of State has no information regarding the action said to have been taken in Burma. As regards the latter part of the question, an inquiry made in 1907 showed that in three of the provinces of India lessons on temperance were already included in the 725 books read in schools, and that such lessons were about to be introduced in two more.

I believe William Hogarth, the patron saint of these parts, had London rather than Rangoon or Calcutta in mind when he drew 'Gin Lane'....





They shoot boil horses down for glue, don't they?

Mr. BYLES asked the hon. Gentleman whether he could give the House any statistics of the export trade from this country in decrepit worn-out horses; whether the trade was increasing; and whether the attention of the authorities was vigilantly directed to prevent cruelties and to punish offenders?

Sir E. STRACHEY We have no statistics as to the number of decrepit worn-out horses exported from this country, but the extent of the trade will appear from the fact that 16,420 horses, valued at less than £5 per head, were exported in 1909. The trade shows no signs of increasing. (etc)

Special pleading corner:

Mr. WILKIE asked the Postmaster-General whether, in view of the dislocation of business, the financial loss, and the exasperation caused by the recent-failure of the telegraph to Dundee and the North-East of Scotland, also considering the frequent recurrence of these breakdowns, he will implement his Department's qualified promise of a year or two ago, and now without further delay have these lines placed underground?

The HON. MEMBER further asked whether, in view of the statements of members of the Government that they recognise their liability to the unemployed 741 workers of the country, he will now make financial arrangements whereby the work of placing underground the telegraph lines to Dundee and the North-East of Scotland could be at once proceeded with, and thus provide work of general utility and national benefit for some of the unemployed?
 

The POSTMASTER-GENERAL (Mr. Herbert Samuel) I would refer the hon. Member to my reply yesterday to questions on the subject of underground cables. I much regret that, in view of the very heavy cost of laying these cables and the many claims which have to be considered, I see no present prospect of laying lines to Dundee and the North-East of Scotland. The hon. Member doubtless realises, however, that a considerable part of the expenditure on underground cables already incurred—over £1,500,000–is on the line from London to Edinburgh, by every mile of which Dundee and places beyond benefit.

I will pre-empt by noting that Dundonians, or at least their representative, wanted jam....

Strangeways, here we come:

Mr. SNOWDEN asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department if he was aware that certain of the visiting justices of the Strangeways Prison, Manchester, were recently convicted for an assault upon a woman prisoner; and could he say what action had been taken to remove these men from their positions as visiting justices and as magistrates.

Mr. CHURCHILL I am not aware of any proceedings of the nature indicated by the hon. Member. A prisoner discharged last year from His Majesty's prison at Manchester did, however, institute an action for damages against certain of the visiting justices. It was held by the court that a technical assault had been committed on the prisoner, but that, the justices having acted in good faith and on reasonable grounds, and no substantial injury having been done to the prisoner, the damages should be merely nominal. The proceedings afford no ground for action on my part, and, further, the selection of justices for appointment on the visiting committee for a prison is not a matter over which I have any control.

The mind boggles.  And then boggles a bit more.


If you have tears, prepare to shed them:

Mr. FRANCE asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer if any complaints have reached the Treasury from Inland Revenue officers now acting as pension officers with regard to the increase in their work without regular increase in remuneration?

The FINANCIAL SECRETARY to the TREASURY (Mr. Hobhouse)    The introduction of Old Age Pensions threw a considerable amount of new work upon Excise Officials, and complaints on the subject have from time to time come before the Treasury. Many of the causes of complaint have been remedied, and others are still engaging the attention of the Chancellor of the Exchequer and myself and our advisers. As the hon. Member is possibly aware, a Committee, under my Chairmanship, will shortly inquire into the conditions of service of those Officers of Excise and Customs who are affected by the recent amalgamation of the two Departments.

Have their been *any* redundancies at tax offices since the advent of internet filing?


A shocking failure at the dept of tractor statistics:

Mr. MASON asked what had been the decrease in the output of coal in the United Kingdom during the last six months of 1909, compared with the same six months of 1908?

The SECRETARY of STATE for the HOME DEPARTMENT (Mr. Churchill)   I am unable to say what has been the output of coal during the last six months of 1909, as the returns which are furnished to the Home Office in pursuance of the Act give only the total output for the year. The output for the year shows an increase over the whole country of two and a quarter million tons, seven districts—including Northumberland and Durham, where the Act was not in operation—showing increases and five districts showing decreases. The figures will be published in the course of a few days.

C'mon Winnie - 'we have exceeded all norms because of the efforts of heroes of labour in the nation's coalfields'.


Nothing new under the sun dept:


  

Sir JOHN JARDINE asked the Lord Advocate whether any rule has yet been made to allow or forbid the disclosure of the names of recipients of old age pensions to persons applying for the same?

Mr. DEWAR I am informed that pension officers are expressly forbidden by the Board of Customs and Excise to disclose information of the nature referred to by my hon. Friend.

Sir J. JARDINE Is the hon. Gentleman aware of the systematic sending of circulars to old age pensioners at the last election?

Mr. DEWAR I have no such information, but I shall be glad to consider it.

Mr. EUGENE WASON May I ask whether he does not consider it desirable that other persons who may possess the same information as the pension officers should be forbidden to disclose the names of pensioners?

Mr. DEWAR I think old age pensioners' private affairs should be treated with the same consideration as those of anybody else.

And a late breaking find:

Mr. GIBSON BOWLES May I ask whether there is any prospect whatever of the restrictions being removed from Russian sugar, Russia being the largest beet-growing country in the world, so that we may have cheaper sugar in this country?

A Man of the Year candidate, I would think.

Labels: 1910, Parliament

Autre temps, autre moeurs:

MR. W. WILLIAMS  in rising to call the attention of the House to flogging in the Army and Navy, said the system was most injurious to those services because it prevented respectable men from joining them. Upon their soldiers and sailors the country depended for fame, for honour and for security, and yet under the existing practice our soldiers and sailors were liable, for trivial offences, to receive worse treatment than that given to convicted criminals and felons. By the present law no culprit could be flogged in the public streets except one who had actually threatened the life of the Queen.

Crikey.

The officers who opposed the abolition of this punishment were influenced just as the Judges and Recorders were influenced when it was proposed to humanize our criminal code. "If," they said, "you do away with the penalty of death for a vast number of offences, the country will be overwhelmed with crime." Yet the result had been a diminution instead of an increase of crime throughout the land.

Intriguing, no?

Colonel North (no relation...) took up the 'it never did me any harm approach':

"The hon. Member had year after year complained of flogging in the army and navy. If the hon. Member, or any other civilian who joined in his complaints, could devise a punishment which, while it was, severe, would keep the soldier only a short time away from his duty, he would be hailed with the greatest gratitude by the whole army and navy. What was wanted was a punishment that would not throw extra duty on the well-behaved soldier. He had known many men who did not care for being three months in confinement; and while they were there, who was doing their work? Why, the good soldier, who ought to be protected by the officers instead of having the duties of his disorderly comrades thrust upon him in addition to his own. The hon. Seconder of the Motion had stated that in the Trench army there was no flogging. Did he inquire how crimes were punished in that army? If he had done so he would have found that where we flog the French shoot. Would the English public like a man to be shot for knocking down a non-commissioned officer? Do not then talk about our treating men as brutes, when the French shot where we flogged"

Captain Vernon would not seem to have an opinion of 'our boys':

He need hardly inform the House that those who went to sea or who followed the drum were not the best part of the community, but were men who hung loosely on society, and those men into whose hands arms were put had to be controlled by necessary discipline. The fear and dread of punishment made soldiers good, just as it did civilians. The soldier was a very different man, when once he became a soldier, from any other person. He (Captain L. Vernon) had seen a man shot in the West Indies for doing that for which any hon. Member of that House who was a magistrate would have fined a civilian only 10s. in this country. But why was the man in question so dealt with? Because, the regiment to which he belonged being in a state approaching to mutiny, he struck the adjutant in the presence of his colonel.

A small gem of an anecdote from Lord Russell:

LORD ROBERT MONTAGU  said, he would beg to ask the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs, "Whether Her Majesty's Government have received any communication from the Government of the Two Sicilies, complaining that agents of the Government of Sardinia have been trying to excite a mutiny in the Troops of the King of Naples?

LORD JOHN RUSSELL  Sir, we have received no information of the kind referred to by the noble Lord, nor has the Government of the Two Sicilies made any complaint of the sort. At the same time, I should tell the noble Lord that that Government is not disinclined to make complaints. Not long ago I received a complaint that an English officer of marines, in paying a visit to a lady at Naples on her birthday, called in at a pastry cook's and bought a cake for her, which cake was said to have had on it three flags of different colours. The Government of the Two Sicilies complained of this as an attempt to excite an insurrection.

Recreation and improvemet of the people:

SIR JOHN TRELAWNY said, he had waived that part of his Motion on this subject which involved any allusion to the Lord's-day, and to the Resolution in its altered shape he believed that no opposition would be raised. His object was to obtain for the people the advantages of the expense already incurred in reference to such institutions as the British Museum and the National Gallery. If these places were open at stated hours on week-day evenings, as was the case now at Kensington, working men would be won from other pursuits highly injurious to their morals, and great benefit would result to the community.

I suspect that the 9th Baronet was being a tad optimistic.

Labels: 1860, Parliament

Marvel, shake your head or whatever at this one:

Mr. Biggs-Davison asked the Secretary of State for the Home Department the estimated number of tubercular and other hard core refugees to be admitted to the United Kingdom during the World Refugee Year; and the arrangements for their reception and settlement.

Mr. R. A. Butler Two hundred refugees, including eighteen suffering from tuberculosis, as well as others with a past history of this disease, have so far been accepted for admission during World Refugee Year. Details of the arrangements for their reception and settlement were given in my reply to a Question by my hon. Friend the Member of Lewisham. North (Mr. Chataway) on 30th October, 1959.

A bit of local interest pertinent to my new neck of the woods:

Mr. D. Smith asked the Postmaster-General the number of people in Brent-ford and Chiswick on his Department's waiting list for telephones and the number who share telephone lines.
 
Mr. Bevins  One hundred and nine are on the waiting list, and 240 applications are under inquiry or in course of being met. The number of people sharing their telephone lines is 1,736. During the past twelve months, 818 telephones were installed in Brentford and Chiswick.

Shared lines, eh?  Try explaining those to the youth of today....   Shared mobiles might force them to cut down on the texting, yelling and so forth.

Road safety:

Mr. Prentice asked the Minister at Transport whether the ideas incorporated in the Cornell-Liberty safety car in the United States of America have been examined by his Department in the interests of road safety; and to what extent, and by what methods, he will encourage the application of those ideas in this country.
 
Mr. Marples  Details of this imaginative research project were carefully examined by my technical advisers. Some of its special design features are of a practical character and are already incorporated in car models now being produced; some appear to be unsuitable or not readily adaptable for use on normal types of cars.
Extensive studies and research into safe vehicle design have been undertaken in this and other countries, and discussions by international bodies, with a view to reducing the risk of serious injury in the event of accident, are continuing.

And this is what it looked like, courtesy of this site:






Presumably the major feature was its extreme ugliness, which prevented folk from wanting to drive it and other drivers to want to be anywhere near it.  Attempted wit to one side, "The project discovered that an extraordinary percentage of injuries could be prevented by improved door locks, energy-absorbing steering wheels, padded dashboards, and seat belts".  Source.

Labels: 1960, Parliament

Yes they did:

Mr. Iremonger asked the Minister of Health what reports he has received from medical officers of health about the problems revealed at orthopaedic clinics caused by teen-age girls' footwear; and what action he proposes to take in the matter. 

The Parliamentary Secretary to the Ministry of Health (Miss Edith Pitt) References to foot defects caused by unsuitable footwear are made from time to time by principal school medical officers in their published annual reports. Local health authorities, with the aid of publicity material provided by the Ministry and from other sources, continue to give publicity to the importance of foot health. 

Nothing new under the sun, eh?

And it gets better:

Miss Pitt  My right hon. and learned Friend is certainly aware of the importance of this problem, but it is not an easy one because so often fashion is opposed to commonsense. My hon. Friend may be glad to know that an independent survey of the feet of children of various ages is to be undertaken as a research project. This is to be privately financed, but the details have not yet been fully worked out.

Well good heavens.  Who would have thought it?

Dr. [Edith] Summerskill Having regard to what the hon. Lady has said, would she not agree that this question should be very much on the consciences of fashion dictators, who are not all concerned about the crippling of young women's feet?
 

Miss Pitt No, I do not agree. It is really a matter for parents and others who have responsibility for children to try to impress upon them the importance of good footwear.

Onward:

Mr. Wiley asked the Minister of Health whether the consumption of welfare foods in Sunderland shows an upward or downward trend; and what action is being taken.


Miss Pitt There was an upward trend in 1959 in the amounts of orange juice, cod liver oil and vitamin tablets distributed in Sunderland. It is our constant endeavour, by persuasion and appropriate publicity, to secure that welfare foods are taken by those who need them.

Mmm, welfare food. Yummy.   I think I might start referring to welfare foods in future, especially in front of food faddists.

Someone doubted the good faith of our friends on the far bank of the Rhine:

Mr. Frank Allaun  asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs why Germany is being allowed to commission a 2,000-ton submarine in contravention of the Paris Treaty of 1954 which limits German submarines to 350 tons.

The Joint Under-Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs (Mr. Robert Allan) There has been no contravention of the revised Brussels Treaty. By it, the Federal Republic of Germany undertook not to manufacture submarines of more than 350 tons displacement. The submarine of 1,600 tons to which the hon. Member refers is an old one that has not been salvaged for active service.

Mr. Allaun Is that not a quibble? Is the hon. Gentleman aware that this submarine has been completely re-equipped, carries six torpedo tubes and can be switched instantly to warlike use? Is that not as dangerous and as illegal as making a completely new vessel? Is it not another encouragement to Germany to break the limitations on arms which at present exist?

A submarine.


Still, there's more:

Mr. Shinwell asked the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs what is the policy of Her Majesty's Government within the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation on the subject of the provision of nuclear weapons by Western Germany.

Mr. Ormsby-Gore Under the terms of the Revised Brussels Treaty, the Federal Republic of Germany undertook not to manufacture nuclear weapons. That undertaking still stands.

.....
Mr. Shinwell That is all very well, but is it not a fact that the West German Federal Government are now to be provided, under the terms of the revised Treaty, with weapons of nuclear capability, and is that not altogether foreign to the policy previously declared by Her Majesty's Government and supported 100 per cent. by this side of the House? Is that not the position? Why this change? Can we trust the Germans with weapons of this character?

 

Labels: 1960, Parliament

This, from an 1860 Hansard:

Several Members came to the Table to be sworn, and Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid, Member for the Borough of Reading, having stated that being a person professing the Jewish Religion, he had a conscientious objection to take the Oath in the form required by the Act 22 Vict. c. 48:—The Clerk reported the circumstance to Mr. Speaker, and Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid was directed to withdraw; and he withdrew accordingly.

Resolved,— "That it appears to this House that Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid, a person professing the Jewish Religion, being otherwise entitled to sit and vote in this House, is prevented from so sitting and voting by his conscientious objection to take the Oath which by an Act passed in the twenty-second year of Her Majesty has been substituted for the Oaths of Allegiance, Supremacy, and Abjuration in the form therein required."

Resolved,— "That any person professing the Jewish Religion may henceforth, in taking the Oath prescribed in an Act passed in the twenty-second year of Her Majesty to entitle him to sit and vote in this House, omit the words 'and I make this declaration upon the true faith of a Christian.'"
Sir Francis Henry Goldsmid accordingly came to the Table, and was sworn on the Old Testament.

More on Goldsmid here.   Also, a list of historic and current Jewish MPs here, doubtless including ideological heroes / heroines for most respectable shades of opinion.

Labels: 1860, Parliament

The questions they ask(ed):

Mr. Hector Hughes  asked the Postmaster-General if he is aware that each of the 10s., 5s. and 2s. 6d. stamps in Great Britain depicts a Royal castle beside the head of Her Majesty the Queen; and if he will authorise the issuing of a guinea stamp depicting the birthplace of Robert Burns beside the head of Her Majesty.

The Assistant Postmaster-General (Mr. Kenneth Thompson) The Answer to the first part of the Question is "Yes, Sir," and to the second part "No, Sir."

Given that our MPs had pre-paid envelopes, perhaps Thompson was being a little presumptious.   The rather dull set of stamps in question can be seen here.    Burns has since made it onto postage stamps on numerous occasions.  Enough of ths philately.

Head in hands and gentle rocking time:


 

Sir F. Medlicott  asked the Postmaster-General if, in relation to the new design for telephone kiosks, he will consider the possibility of incorporating in a prominent position in the upper part of each box, on at least two sides, the name of the village, township or district in which the kiosk is situated.

Mr. K. Thompson My right hon. Friend is considering this matter and will write as soon as possible to the hon. Gentleman.

Sir F. Medlicott  Is my hon. Friend aware that many districts, especially villages and suburbs, are very anonymous at night and that a device such as is suggested would be of great help in enabling people, especially motorists, to know where they are and would also secure still further good will to his Department?

Mr. Thompson   These are among the considerations which we will take into account, but I must remind the House that there are some considerable arguments against the course proposed.

Doubtless children yet unborn will be lisping their praise to the successors in title to the Postmaster General for aeons to come.

Meanwhile, an opportunity for some gratuitous pics of aeroplanes:

Mr. Emrys Hughes asked the Secretary of State for Air what is his estimate of the cost of the new supersonic bomber TSR2; and when it is likely to be in operational service.

Mr. G. Brown  asked the Secretary of State for Air approximately when the new strike/reconnaissance aircraft being developed for the Royal Air Force is expected to be ready for service; what will be its approximate cost; how many will be ordered; and how its performance will compare with existing similar types of aircraft such as, for example, the United States Republic F.105.

Mr. Ward  As I explained in a written answer to the hon. Member for Lincoln (Mr. de Freitas) on 17th December, it has been decided to develop a new strike/ reconnaissance aircraft as a replacement for the Canberra. The cost will depend upon negotiations between the Ministry of Supply and the contractors. We expect the aircraft to enter service during the mid-1960s. It would not be in the public interest to give the numbers likely to be ordered.

In the reconnaissance role the TSR2 offers advantages over the F.105 and will also be able to operate from short improvised runways which the F.105 cannot use.




It never happenned alas.  Shame, as it was rather dashing:


Competition for the F-105 on the looks front, I reckon:



Double takes dept:


EUROPEAN MONETARY AGREEMENT
Blimey- "Bill to make certain provisions of a financial nature in connection with the operation of the European Monetary Agreement, and for purposes connected therewith, presented by the Chancellor of the Exchequer; supported by the Prime Minister, Mr. R. A. Butler, Sir David Eccles, Mr. Maudling, and Mr. Erroll; read the First time; to be read a Second time upon Monday next and to be printed". 
Well x3

And here's one for anyone who thinks privatisation of BT was an error (probably not many of my regulars fall into that corner, but just in case):

Mr. Body asked the Postmaster-General whether he is aware of the growth of demand for telephones in Basildon new town, due to the rapidly expanding population; and what steps he proposes to take to satisfy the demand pending the opening of the new automatic telephone exchange.

Mr. Thompson Yes. 270 new telephones were provided in the new town last year, and it is hoped to double that number in the next twelve months. New cables are needed, and these are being provided progressively in conjunction with new road constructions.

Nothing new under the sun:

Mr. Hector Hughes asked the Minister of Transport and Civil Aviation if he is aware of the danger and inconvenience caused to motorists and to motor coach and omnibus owners, drivers, passengers and the general public owing to the lack of co-ordination, uniformity of practice and timing by local authorities throughout Scotland and England in the way they in frosty and snowy weather spread or refrain from spreading sand on public roads, especially in the early morning; and if he will take steps to ensure that in these matters co-ordination is attained and greater regard is had to public safety and convenience.

Further evidence of nothing new under the sun, if under rather grimmer circumstances:


 And so back to the rather more amusing:

Unidentified Flying Objects:

Mr. Mason asked the Secretary of State for Air what specific instructions have been sent to the commanders of Royal Air Force stations to collect reports from air crews having allegedly sighted unidentified flying objects; what inquiries have been held following such sightings; and to what extent there is collaboration between his Department and the respective departments in Canada and the United States of America on this problem.

Mr. Ward  R.A.F. units have standing instructions to report unusual flying objects when they cannot readily be explained. Reports which may have a bearing on air defence are investigated. No special collaboration with Canada or the United States is required.

And to wrap up, from a debate in the Lords on giving female peers voting rights:

Lord Pethick-Lawrence -In connection with that, I should like to tell the House this true story of what Mr. Asquith once said to a person in private conversation. He was asked by a friend: "Why do you continue to oppose the introduction of women to the Parliamentary vote? Don't you think it just? Don't you think they are sure to get it?" He replied: "Yes, I agree that it is just, and I feel certain they will get it; but, please God, not in my time". That, I think, is the position of a great many people who are fighting a rearguard action in this matter of the admission into this House of those women who are Peeresses in their own right.

Labels: 1959, Parliament