cal activities of my hon. friend by the number
of questions he puts."

The Pensions Department at Chelsea is to be reorganised. Mr. HODGE
excused the delays by pointing out that an average of thirty-three
thousand letters a day is despatched, but, as he added that there is a
staff of four thousand five hundred persons to do it, it hardly looks
as if they were overworked.

_Tuesday, November 13th_.--The House of Lords was to have discussed
the state of Ireland, but, owing to the absence of its LEADER,
fell back upon the less exciting but more practical topics of
sugar-substitutes for jam, and barley for beer. It was cheering to
learn from the Duke of MARLBOROUGH that the jam-manufacturers gave
great care to exclude arsenic from their glucose, and from Lord
RHONDDA that there would be plenty of barley for both cakes and ale.

Mr. WARDLE is the latest example of the poacher turned gamekeeper.
A few months ago, as leader of the Labour Party, he was instant in
criticism of the ineptitutes of Government officials. This afternoon,
upon his old friend, Mr. TYSON WILSON, venturing to refer to the
"stupid decisions" of the Board of Trade, Mr. WARDLE was down on him
in a moment. With the air of one who had been born and brought up in
Whitehall Gardens, he replied, "Stupid decisions are not made by the
Board of Trade."

The Pacifists had rather a mixed day.

* * * * *

[Illustration: PENSIONS.

MR. HODGE.]

* * * * *

They were visibly relieved when Mr. BONAR LAW (supported by Mr.
ASQUITH) declined to admit into the Bill for extending the life of
this Parliament a provision enabling constituencies to get rid of
Members who had ceased to represent them. But they did not like his
contemptuous reference to their argumentative powers. Mr. TREVELYAN,
who regards himself as the representative (by literary descent) of
CHARLES JAMES FOX, was particularly annoyed.

* * * * *

[Illustration: _IN RE_ ADMIRAL JELLICOE.

MR. LYNCH. DR. MACNAMARA.]

* * * * *

As party-funds are rather under a cloud just now the Government
thought they might justify their existence by drawing on them for
the campaign against enemy propaganda. But their custodians thought
otherwise. The Tory Whip was prepared to make a small contribution;
the Liberal would give nothing, on the ground that the total requi