In the Commons an hour was spent in discussing the Government’s now customary motion to take all the time of the House.  Up got Mr. ADAMSON, to denounce it, now the War was over, as sheer Kaiserism.  Up got Sir DONALD MACLEAN to defend it as commonsense, though he induced Mr. BONAR LAW to limit its duration to the end of March.  Colonel WEDGWOOD pleaded that private Members might still be allowed to bring in Bills under the Ten Minutes’ Rule; but that Parliamentary pundit, Sir F. BANBURY, asserted that there was no such thing in reality as the Ten Minutes’ Rule, and pictured the possibility of whole days being swallowed up by a succession of private Members commending their legislative bantlings one after another with the brief explanatory statement permitted on such occasions.  Alarmed at the prospect Mr. LAW decided not to admit the thin end of the WEDGWOOD.

[Illustration:  ELEMENTARY ECONOMICS.]

The debate on the Address was resumed by Mr. BOTTOMLEY, who had a large audience.  During his previous membership, terminated by one of those periodical visits to the Law Courts to which he made humorous reference, he delivered some capital speeches; and it was pleasant to find that the necessity of constantly producing “another powerful article next week” has not caused him to lose his oratorical form.  His gestures are slightly reminiscent of the action of the common pump-handle, but his voice is excellent, and his matter has the merit of exactly resembling what our old friend “the Man in the Street” would say in less Parliamentary language, He has no hesitations, for example, on the subject of making Germany pay.  By one of those rapid financial calculations for which he is renowned he has arrived at the comfortable figure of ten thousand millions sterling as Britain’s little bill; and if you express doubts as to the debtor’s capacity to pay he replies that he cannot recall any judge who made an order against him ever prefacing his judgment with an inquiry whether it would be convenient for him to find the money.

Payment in kind is Mr. RONALD McNEILL’s prescription.  Let Leipzig library replenish the empty shelves of Louvain and the windows of Cologne make good—­so far as German glass can do it—­the shattered glories of Rheims.

Mr. CLYNES warned the Government against neglecting the legitimate aspirations of Labour, one of which, he had the courage to affirm, was access to more and better beer.  He also sought a clear statement of the Government’s policy in Russia.  This request was repeated by Sir SAMUEL HOARE, who, having spent a year and a half during the War in that distracted country, declared that “we must decide between Bolshevists and anti-Bolshevists.”  Unfortunately that is exactly what, according to the PRIME MINISTER’s reply, we cannot do.  The Allies are not prepared to intervene in force; they cannot leave Russia to stew in Her own hell-broth.  The proposed Conference is admittedly a pis-aller; and, if it ever meets, no one can feel very hopeful of a tangible result from the deliberations of the Prinkipotentiaries.