– in the House of Commons at on 24 March 1943.
Sir John Mellor
, Tamworth
asked the Minister of Supply why paper has been made available for the publication by Bombing Restriction Committee, of 49, Parliament Hill, N.W. 3, of a 16-page protest against the danger caused to German civilians by British bombing methods; and whether he will stop this waste of paper?
Sir Andrew Duncan
, City of London
No paper has been specially made available for this booklet. I am having full inquiries made into the circumstances of the publication and shall communicate with my hon. Friend as soon as possible.
Sir John Mellor
, Tamworth
Will the right hon. Gentleman examine how it so often happens that a few cranks can obtain a liberal supply of paper while responsible organs are kept extremely short?
Sir Andrew Duncan
, City of London
Without accepting those designations, I would reply that that is part of the inquiry which I am making at the present time.
Mr George Strauss
, Lambeth North
Can the Minister give an undertaking that any censorship imposed by the Government will be through the proper channels and not through restriction of paper by the right hon. Gentleman's Department?
Sir Andrew Duncan
, City of London
No censorship will be imposed by the Ministry of Supply.
Mr Campbell Stephen
, Glasgow Camlachie
Is not the hon. Gentleman who put the Question one of the most notorious cranks in the country?
Mr Reginald Sorensen
, Leyton West
Is not the right hon. Gentleman aware that the term "crank" as used by the hon. Member could therefore be applied to Sir Gilbert Murray, and others [HON. MEMBERS: "Hear, hear"]—that, of course, is the Tory mind—who agree with the purposes of this Committee? Can we have an assurance that Fascist methods will not be employed to suppress allegedly unpopular opinions?
Sir Andrew Duncan
, City of London
I have already said that it is no part of the function of the Ministry of Supply either to suppress or to censor. Our business is to see that our conditions are complied with.
Ministers make up the Government and almost all are members of the House of Lords or the House of Commons. There are three main types of Minister. Departmental Ministers are in charge of Government Departments. The Government is divided into different Departments which have responsibilities for different areas. For example the Treasury is in charge of Government spending. Departmental Ministers in the Cabinet are generally called 'Secretary of State' but some have special titles such as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Ministers of State and Junior Ministers assist the ministers in charge of the department. They normally have responsibility for a particular area within the department and are sometimes given a title that reflects this - for example Minister of Transport.
The political party system in the English-speaking world evolved in the 17th century, during the fight over the ascension of James the Second to the Throne. James was a Catholic and a Stuart. Those who argued for Parliamentary supremacy were called Whigs, after a Scottish word whiggamore, meaning "horse-driver," applied to Protestant rebels. It was meant as an insult.
They were opposed by Tories, from the Irish word toraidhe (literally, "pursuer," but commonly applied to highwaymen and cow thieves). It was used — obviously derisively — to refer to those who supported the Crown.
By the mid 1700s, the words Tory and Whig were commonly used to describe two political groupings. Tories supported the Church of England, the Crown, and the country gentry, while Whigs supported the rights of religious dissent and the rising industrial bourgeoisie. In the 19th century, Whigs became Liberals; Tories became Conservatives.
