12 FEBRUARY 1937, Page 3

Some of the daily papers have been drawing attention to

absenteeism at Westminster. Their criticisms have certainly been justified in the last three weeks. Many Government supporters seem only to be interested in la haute politique and appear to confine their visits to full-dress debates. On Monday the House was nearly counted out during the discussion of Government business and only a last-minute sprint by Mr. A. P. Herbert enabled the necessary quorum to be obtained in time. The opposition parties are by no means blameless in this respect, particularly on Fridays, when Labour members depart regularly to their constituencies. It is a pity that the provincial Press has largely given up the practice of printing the division records of local M.P.s at the end of each session.