Debate on the Address.

Part of the debate – in the House of Commons at on 23 November 1922.

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Photo of Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy Commander Hon. Joseph Kenworthy , Kingston upon Hull Central

May I point out what has happened this afternoon? During most of the afternoon and evening the Government Benches have been practically untenanted. There are now on the Treasury Bench three Ministers, two of whom have just come in, and one of whom is, I believe, Treasurer of the Household. There has been no attempt to reply to my speech or to any of the other speeches that have been made. Apart from myself, hon. Members have come here with large majorities, and this is supposed to be a democratic Assembly; but there has been no attempt to answer the speeches at all. It is treating the House of Commons with effrontery. During the whole evening we have had no speeches from that great party, the National Liberal Party. [HON. MEMBERS: "Great?"] Well, I wish to be complimentary. We have had a few speeches from the Labour Benches. Let me point out to my hon. Friends above the Gangway, who have not room for me to sit there now, that here they have a day in which they can raise any question under the sun. They can raise the age-long grievances of the people of Scotland or of any other part of these islands. They can raise any subject they like, and heaven knows there are enough subjects that need ventilation and exposure in this House.

Here we are at ten minutes past nine o'clock, and we have come to a complete stop. The Adjournment was moved because nobody rose. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"] Nobody rose at all. My hon. Friend the Member for North Camber-well (Mr. Ammon) rose to move the Adjournment, and no did my hon. Friend the Member for Derby (Mr. 0. Roberts). In the last Parliament, we had a third of the present numbers in opposition, and my hon. Friend the Member for Govan (Mr. N. Maclean) and myself often kept the House going all night. If an impression is going to be made against the silent indifference and apathy and contempt for Parliament, hon. Members will have to keep it going much longer than this. I have exhausted my right to speak, but I am taking the opportunity of the Adjournment to give my hon. Friends on my right another chance to raise questions, in the hope that perhaps we shall then get a reply. We can speak, I think, for an hour, and I do hope hon. Gentlemen will support me in insisting on getting some reply from the Government benches. We have had the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Home Secretary here, and there is an hon. and gallant Gentleman whose office in the Government I have not yet grasped. I think it is the India Office—no, it is the Colonial Office. He has taken the place of the late Member for Dundee, Mr. Churchill. I do hope that hon. Gentlemen will support me in getting some reply. It is treating the House of Commons, and, what is more, the Opposition, with contempt, and we shall have to stand up to them. [Interruption.] Hon. Gentlemen who, like my hon. Friend opposite, are usually inarticulate. [HON. MEMBERS: "Oh!"] The hon. Gentleman never makes a speech; he is always inarticulate. We were a small opposition in the last House of Commons and had to put up with it. I do hope that we are not going to put up with it now. Never let us have the Motion for Adjournment passed without raising some of the crying scandals in the land. That is the only way we will got anything done.