the "jarring voices" of Mr. SNOWDEN and others of his kidney
were heard in chorus, calling for the PRIME MINISTER. Mr. LAW paid no
attention to the interruption. He cordially thanked Mr. ASQUITH
for his speech, "the best possible testimony to the unity of this
country," and assured him that the Imperial Conference would be
primarily concerned with the successful prosecution of the War. The
GERMAN EMPEROR had proved himself a great Empire-builder, but it was
not his own empire that he was building.

Later on Mr. PRINGLE reverted to the absence of the PRIME MINISTER,
which he, as a person of taste, interpreted as "studied disrespect of
the House of Commons." In this view he was supported by Mr. KING. Mr.
LLOYD GEORGE must really be careful.

Strange to say, no public notice was taken of another distinguished
absentee--the Member for East Herts. A few days ago, after a violent
collision with Mr. JUSTICE DARLING, MR. PEMBERTON-BILLING announced
his intention of resigning his seat and submitting himself for
re-election. But since then we have been given to understand that a
vote of confidence proposed by PEMBERTON, seconded by BILLING, and
carried unanimously by the hyphen, had convinced him that, as in the
leading case of Mr. CECIL RHODES, "resignation can wait."

_Thursday, February 8th._--When we read day by day long lists of
merchant vessels sunk by the enemy submarines two questions occur
to most of us. How does the amount of tonnage lost compare with the
amount of new tonnage put afloat, and what is the number of submarines
that the Navy has accounted for in recent months? Mr. FLAVIN put the
first question to-day, but found Sir LEO CHIOZZA MONEY, who usually
exudes statistics at every pore, singularly reticent on the subject.
All he would say was that a large programme of new construction was in
hand.

Private Members blew off a great volume of steam to-day on the
proposal of the Government to take the whole time of the House.
Scotsmen, Irishmen and an Englishman or two joined in the plea that at
least they should be allowed to introduce their various little Bills,
even if they did not get any further. Perhaps if a Welshman had joined
the band they might have been listened to. As it was, only one of them
received any comfort. This was Mr. SWIFT MACNEILL, who was informed
that the Bill to deprive the enemy dukes of their British titles,
for which he has been clamouring these two years, would shortly be
introduced.