during a fight round a house containing twenty armed men and much ammunition, and the other two were members of an ambush party which had been surprised by the police.

Towards the end of the month rumours became rife that attempts were being made to arrange a truce. Much attention was attracted to these rumours by a private and unofficial visit paid to Ireland by Lord Derby under an assumed name. He admitted that the Prime Minister knew of his visit though he had no commission from the Government. He did not disclose anything which he had seen or heard, but made a report to the Prime Minister.

Some discussion took place on Ireland in the House of Commons on April 28 on the vote to complete the sum for the expenses of the office of the Chief Secretary. The vote was for 65,2017. as compared with 56,8467. the previous year. Sir H. Greenwood explained that the increase was mainly due to the appointment of a Chief of Police and the creation of his staff. Mr. Lloyd George took the opportunity presented by this vote to announce that the Government intended to go forward with the elections for the Irish Parliaments. He said that if the people of Ireland refused to set up this measure of self-government which was offered to them, the responsibility was theirs. The Government were, however, still willing at any time to meet any representative Irishmen, not under suspicion of murder, to discuss any problem of Irish government without laying down any preliminary conditions. Captain Redmond moved the reduction of the vote by 1001. as a protest against the administration of the Chief Secretary. The amendment was negatived by a majority of 111 and progress was then reported.

During April outrages occurred from time to time in England which were set down to the activities of Sinn Fein. On the 1st 10,000 ammunition boxes were destroyed by an outbreak of fire attributed to incendiarism at the Hereford National Filling factory. On the 2nd a carefully planned series of outrages took place in the heart of Manchester. Abortive attempts were made to set on fire a number of hotels and suites of offices, while a police constable was shot at and seriously wounded. When the police visited an Irish Club in order to search for persons implicated in these outrages, they were fired upon from the door with revolvers and returned the fire. Three of the policemen were slightly wounded and about twenty arrests were made. On the 3rd the dead body of a man was found on a golf links in Middlesex. He had a bullet wound in the chest and a piece of paper was found near by bearing the words, "Let spies and traitors beware. I. R. A." On the 4th several more farm fires were reported from various parts of the country. On April 10 the trial was concluded at Liverpool of a number of men on charges of arson, conspiracy, and unlawful possession of firearms. They were sentenced to terms of penal servitude varying from five to ten years.

During the latter half of the month a new kind of outrage came into fashion. On April 20 windows all over London were slashed by an organised gang armed with glass cutters. Nearly every district in the metropolis suffered from their depredations, and over 350 valuable plate glass windows were irreparably damaged. On the following day about a dozen shop windows were scratched in the City, while many fresh reports of damage were received from widely separated parts of the metropolitan area. In Worcester similar outrages were perpetrated. Birmingham, Swansea, Cardiff, and other towns were also affected, while in London the campaign spread to the main thoroughfares, and the gang, which had previously worked by night, increased in boldness and attacked windows in daylight.

The resignation of Mr. Bonar Law from the Government led to a general revision of ministerial appointments, the result of which was announced after the Easter holidays. Lord Edmund Talbot succeeded Field-Marshal Viscount French as First Viceroy of Ireland under the Home Rule Act of 1920, and received a peerage with the title of Lord FitzAlan. The appointment of Lord Edmund Talbot was regarded as a historical event of the first importance, for he was the leading lay Roman Catholic in the kingdom and the first Roman Catholic to be Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. Sir Robert Horne became Chancellor of the Exchequer in succession to Mr. Austen Chamberlain. Captain F. E. Guest became Secretary of State for Air, and Mr. Stanley Baldwin President of the Board of Trade, while Sir Alfred Mond, late First Commissioner of Works, was appointed Minister of Health. Mr. Illingworth was succeeded at the Post Office by Mr. F. G. Kellaway; Dr. Addison, who had been Minister of Health, was appointed Minister without portfolio, an appointment which, as we shall see later on, led to much controversy and lasted only a short time.

The great increase in local rates-which has already been referred to-led to discussion in the House of Commons on various occasions during April. On the 6th Colonel Bowles called attention to the increase in rates, and moved that a Select Committee should be appointed to inquire into the incidence of local rating. The motion was resisted by the Government and defeated by only one vote in a very small House. On the 29th the second reading was taken of a Bill to prevent increase in local rates. The Bill was introduced by Lieut.-Colonel Royds, who explained that its object was to prevent the increase of rates by giving to all Local Bodies statutory Finance Committees; by transferring to the Treasury the powers of the Ministry of Health with regard to loans and the disposal of the property of Local Authorities; by setting up machinery to enable all Local Bodies to send to the Finance Committee of their County Councils a statement of their receipts and expenditure for the past year, and by providing that 5 per cent. of the

ratepayers might petition against a Bill before either House of Parliament. The Bill was opposed by the Government on account of one clause, but on assurance being received that this clause would not be pressed, the opposition was withdrawn and the Bill was read a second time.

The vote for the Board of Education, which was taken on April 12, showed an increase in the estimate for the current year of 5,000,0007. over that for the previous year. This increase was mainly due to grants in aid to the expenditure of Local Education Authorities. Mr. Fisher explained, however, in the House of Commons, that about 4,500,000l. of the whole sum might be considered as abnormal and temporary expenditure. The necessity for raising the teachers' salaries in elementary schools was being considered by a Joint Committee. Mr. Fisher said that there were not enough secondary schools to satisfy the demand.

The vote for the Ministry of Agriculture, which was taken on April 19, showed a reduction of over 2,000,000l. on the amount for the previous year. Sir A. Griffith-Boscawen, in moving the vote, stated that the fishery industry was suffering badly, for although prices had gone up over 100 per cent. the costs, chiefly in coal, had risen to 150 per cent.

The Air Force estimates were dealt with on April 21. The vote was for 915,4677., including a sum of 4671. for the expenses of the Air Ministry. Captain Guest stated that Egypt would become the central flying depot of our Eastern activities. 167,000l. was being devoted to bettering the housing arrangements there for our personnel. An agreement, including a subsidy of 25,000l., had been made with Cross-Channel Companies to ensure an English service between London and Paris. The Bill for carrying into effect the Treaty of Peace with Hungary was read a second time on April 20, and having passed through both Houses, received the royal assent on May 12. After the second reading had been carried Sir Keith Fraser called the attention of the House to the disbanding of certain British cavalry regiments, insisting that this policy was contrary to the experience gained in the late war and inimical to the best interests of the defence of the Empire. After a short discussion Sir L. Worthington-Evans explained that the war had proved the vulnerability of cavalry from machine-guns and air attack, and it had therefore been decided to replace four cavalry regiments with tanks and armoured motor cars. This substitution was also in the direction of economy.

The Matrimonial Causes Bill went through its Committee stage in the House of Lords during April. Lord Buckmaster moved an amendment, which was carried, providing that three years' desertion should constitute a ground for divorce. A new clause was added, on the motion of the Archbishop of Canterbury, protecting the clergy from penalty or censure arising out of the refusal to publish banns of marriage or to solemnise

marriage between divorced persons. The third reading was carried on April 28. It was supported by the Bishop of Durham, but opposed by Lord Selborne. The Archbishop of Canterbury also opposed the third reading on account of the amendment which provided that desertion should be a ground for divorce. In the House of Commons the Bill was not proceeded with and ultimately it was dropped.

Immediately before the introduction of the Budget on April 25 in the House of Commons, the Speaker, Mr. J. W. Lowther, announced to the House his resignation of office. He pointed out that he had occupied the chair for sixteen years and had wished to retire two years ago, but under considerable pressure had then agreed to reassume the position of Speaker for one or two years longer. On the following day Mr. Lloyd George moved that the thanks of the House should be given to the Speaker for his distinguished services in the chair. Mr. S. Walsh seconded the motion, which was supported by Mr. Asquith and agreed to unanimously. The Speaker thanked the House for passing a vote of thanks to him, and a further resolution was then agreed to thanking the Speaker for what he had said that day to the House. The Prime Minister thereupon moved that an Address should be presented to His Majesty praying him to confer upon the Speaker some signal mark of his royal favour. This resolution was also agreed to unanimously. On the following day Mr. Lloyd George announced that His Majesty, having been informed of the resignation of Mr. Lowther, the late Speaker, gave leave to the Commons to choose a new Speaker. Colonel Mildmay moved that Mr. J. H. Whitley, who had an unrivalled knowledge of the rules and usages of the House, should be chosen for the office. The motion was seconded by Mr. Henderson. Mr. Whitley was conducted to the chair, and, after thanking the House for the great honour done to him, proceeded to occupy the chair. The Prime Minister and Mr. Asquith congratulated the SpeakerElect upon his promotion, and the House was then adjourned on the motion of Mr. Chamberlain. When the House met on April 28, and the Speaker-Elect had taken the chair, a message to attend the Lords Commissioners was delivered by Black Rod. The Speaker-Elect with the House went to the Lords, and, having returned, reported that His Majesty had been pleased to approve of the Commons' choice of himself as Speaker.

The Budget was brought forward on April 25 by Mr. Chamberlain for the Chancellor of the Exchequer. Mr. Chamberlain pointed out that the expenditure and revenue for the last year had exceeded the estimate, while the surplus was almost the estimated figure. The Consolidated Fund Services excess was accounted for by the increased tender of Victory Loan for Death Duties. The Supply Services excess was due to the Navy, Army, and Air Force. The Civil Services showed a substantial decrease, helped by the termination of the bread

subsidy. He said that the revenue had been adversely affected by the trade depression in the autumn and by the October coal strike. Spirits, tobacco, and wines fell short of the estimate by 15,500,000l., but beer exceeded it by 11,000,000l. The duties on imported motor cars and entertainments had also exceeded the estimate. The Inland Revenue had exceeded the estimate on every head except that of the Corporation Profits Tax, the deficit on the estimated yield of which was due to the initial difficulty in starting it. There had also been a fall in miscellaneous receipts. The Floating Debt had only been reduced by 37,000,000l. instead of by the 70,000,000l. which it had been hoped to achieve, but this was because there had been a larger reduction of foreign debt which during the year had been reduced by 117,000,000l., and because of the large amount of 28,000,000l. of maturing Exchequer Bonds which had had to be met. With the exception of 826,000l. to Sweden, not yet due to be paid off, the only external debts we now had were to the United States and to Canada. For the present year the Excess Profits Duty would not be renewed. The ad valorem surtax of 50 per cent. on cigars would cease, and only a specific duty of 15s. a gallon would be imposed on sparkling wines instead of the existing duty. It had also been decided to issue a new 3 per cent. conversion loan to holders of National War Bonds maturing between 1922 and 1925.

In introducing this Budget Mr. Chamberlain made a departure from British practice by dividing the expenditure and the revenue into two sections-ordinary and extraordinary. His estimate of ordinary expenditure was 974,000,000l., but the amount that the Government set out to raise was 1,058,000,0007. The Budget statement was very much what had been anticipated except for the new loan for the purpose of converting into a longer dated security some of the National War Bonds which were due soon to mature. The final balance sheet was as follows:

Land Tax and House Duty

2,500,000

Income Tax (including Super-Tax and Mineral Rights Duty)

410,500,000

Excess Profits Duty

120,000,000

Corporation Profits Tax

30,000,000

£632,000,000