Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 26, 1919Various
General
Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 156, March 26, 1919
Various
English wit and humor -- Periodicals
BEFORE TAKING OFFICE ALL MEMBERS IN FUTURE WILL HAVE TO PASS A TEST OF
THEIR ABILITY TO SUSTAIN A PROLONGED FLIGHT, FIVE THOUSAND FEET UP, AT
A HUNDRED-AND-SEVENTY MILES AN HOUR.]
_Monday, March 17th_.--Mr. GEORGE TERRELL, always a little inclined to
look upon the black side of things, was apprehensive about the spread
of Bolshevism in this country. Not so Lord HENRY BENTINCK, who
genially exploded with "Is not Bolshevism in this country a pure
bogey?" Not quite that, perhaps; but I gathered that in Mr. BONAR
LAW'S opinion it hasn't a ghost of a chance.
Great cheers from the Wee Frees greeted the advent of Mr. A.E.
NEWBOULD, the victor of West Leyton, whose defeat of the Coalition
candidate has increased the size of their party by something like four
per cent. As the new Member is understood to be connected with the
film business his colleagues are hoping that they will soon have
Ministers on the "movies."
We know on high authority that evil communications corrupt good
manners. Sir ERIC GEDDES goes further and believes that they corrupt
everything. That was the text of his capital speech on the second
reading of the Transportation Bill. Dispensing on this occasion with
his usual typescript, he discoursed at large for an hour and a-half on
the paralytic condition of our railways, roads, canals and docks.
We all had our pleasant morning dreams, he said, but they usually
disappeared after we had had our cold bath; and the country, which was
no longer rich, but poor, must take its douche. His own dream is of a
beautifully centralised control, directing all our traffic agencies
(save tramways and shipping) into the most convenient channels; and he
won't be happy till he gets it. But judging by some of the speeches
that followed he too may have a frigid disillusionment when the Bill
comes up against the "interests" in Committee. Mr. T.P. O'CONNOR,
on behalf of Liverpool, described it as the product of "an old
bureaucracy and a young Parliamentarian," and Mr. RENWICK declared
that, if it passed, the Manchester Ship Canal would be "between
the devil and the deep sea," surely an uncalled-for attack on
Cottonopolis.
Upon the adjournment, Col. CLAUDE LOWTHER again raised the question of
the payment of German indemnities, and Mr. BONAR LAW again declared
that the policy of the Government was to demand the largest amount
that Germany could pay, but not to demand what we knew she couldn't
pay. It would have saved him a lot of trouble if at the General
Election the Government spokesmen had insisted as much upon the second
half of the policy as they did upon the first.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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