TALKERS AND WALKERS

Evening Star, Issue 17928, 25 March 1922, Page 9

TALKERS AND WALKERS

BRITISH M.P.S.

There is a story, apocryphal no doubt, of an M.P. who opene his lips only onqe in the House of Commons (writes “X,” in the London ‘ Daily Mail ’). When, after all the business had been disposed of evening, the Speaker rose with the familiar phrase, “ Tho question is: That this House do now adjourn,” .the hero of this story inquired: 11 When till? ” and having achieved this ungrammatical effort ho ever after held his peace. Modem M.P.s aro not quite so shy of speech as all that, but among them there are many who aro far better pedestrians than pulpiteers. Tramping through tiro division lobbies in tho ranks of tho Government legions is far more congenial to them than addressing tho House, and they will walk for tho Government when they won’t talk for it.

It may surprise some who conceive of M.P.s as babbling all day at Westminster to know that during tho main session of last year—from February to August—a rough one-third of them never contributed a single speech to any of tho debates. Out 3 of 707 M.P.s only 405 spoke, according to the careful tabulation of tho ‘Parliamentary Gazette.’ Deducting the seventy-three Sinn Fein members, who did not put in an appearance at all, this makes the number of silent members 231. A few of them have put an occasional question, but not one of them made a speech filling even so little space as a column of the Official Report, which occupies only two or three minutes at the most.

It is a melancholy thing to see a member walking out at tho close of a debate with the notes of an, undelivered speech sticking out of his tail pocket, He may be a man whoso word is law over 10,000 acres, or a hustling business magnate with 6,000 men on the pay roll, one _ whoso secretaries jump at the sound of his bell. No matter. If ho fails to catch tho Speaker’s eve the speech which he has prepared so carefully must go into a pigeon hole. Speaking generally, however, any member who wishes to address tho House has opportunity of doing eo. The less frequently his voice is heard the Die Speakerwill feel inclined to give him a chance. An opening is always found for a memberwishing to make a maiden speech, and the House "is invariably courteous and attentive to the tyro. For a member to interrupt, even with a correction, a colleague who is addressing tho House for the _ first time is to transgress one of the unwritten laws of debate, and is certain to bring reproof. Outside tho occupants of the Ministerial bench, who have to speak, of course, the bulk of the speeches come from 100 members or so. If it lA the Navy that is underconsideration you know for certain that a. set half-dozen men will address the House if they can in any way manage to drag themselves down to Westminster. Their names crop up in every Navy debate.

It is the same with the Army, education, trade, India, or agriculture. Each subject has its leading spokesman, for and against; they expound regularly the views that aro expected of them, and the rest of tho members arc content to leave tho case to them.

Commander Kenworthy is tho present champion talker in the House. _ _Ho is a prominent member of the Opposition, and exercises to the full the privilege of tho Opposition to» oppose. A versatile man, ho is a ready speaker on a variety of topics,- and in tho last session ho filled 387 columns of tho Official Report. Reckoning four minutes to a column, Commander Kenworthy was speaking for twenty-fivo hours in the aggregate. Ho was 100 columns ahead of Mr Chamber-lain, tho Leader of the House, who suoke 260 columns.

Mr "Lloyd George’s total was no more than 226. ,