l_ of the German fleet was
very seriously shaken." What a relief!

It seems that the Turks were informed in advance of the intention of the
Peace Conference to let them stay at Constantinople in the hope that they
would forthwith abandon their sanguinary habits. Instead of which they
appear to have said to themselves, "What a jolly day! Let us go out and
kill something--Armenians for choice." So now a further message has been
sent to them to the effect that the new title to the old tenement is not
absolute but conditional, and that one of the covenants forbids its use as
a slaughterhouse.

[Illustration: TAKING THE OFFERTORY.

_MR. AUSTEN CHAMBERLAIN_ (_as Sidesman_). "THE THREEPENNY-BIT IS
ECONOMICAL, PERHAPS; BUT A DESIRABLE COIN, FROM MY POINT OF VIEW, IT IS
NOT."]

A modest little Bill empowering the Mint to manufacture coins worth
something less than their weight in silver aroused the wrath of Professor
OMAN. The last time, according to his account, that the coinage was thus
debased was in the days of HENRY VIII., whose views both on money and
matrimony were notoriously lax. Other Members were friendly to the project,
and Mr. DENNIS HERBERT, in the avowed interest of churchwardens, urged the
Government to seize the opportunity to abolish the threepeeny-bit, the
irreducible minimum of "respectable" almsgiving. The CHANCELLOR OF THE
EXCHEQUER, however, stoutly championed the elusive little coin, for which
he declared there was "an immense demand."

On Captain HAMBRO'S motion deploring the action of certain trade-unions in
refusing to admit ex-Service men to their ranks the Labour Party heard some
very straight talking. The whips of Lady BONHAM-CARTER at Paisley were
nothing to the scorpions of ex-Private HOPKINSON, who has actually been
fined at the instance of the trade-unions because he insisted upon
employing some of his old comrades-in-arms.

Mr. SEXTON'S rather maladroit attempt to shift the blame on to the
employers only deepened the impression that trade-unionism is developing
into a system of caste, in which certain occupations are reserved for
certain people. Only an elect bricklayer, for example, may lay bricks--
though anybody can heave them--and the mere fact that a man has shouldered
a rifle in the service of his country in no way entitles him to carry a
hod.

_Thursday, February 19th._--The impending advent of a Home Rule Bill is
greatly perturbing the little remnant of Irish Nationalist Members