14 FEBRUARY 1936, Page 3

Members are not a little shocked by the terms of

Mr. A. P. Herbert's Bill to amend the laws concerning public refreshment. The main clause- is to the effect that " the laws of England concerning the provision of public refreshment shall be made mantis mulandis the same as the laws of France," and the Ilome Secretary is instructed " to ascertain what are the laws of France at the date of the passing of this Act." The whole Bill in fact reads like one of Mr. Herbert's own articles in Punch. There is really no place in the House of Commons for the professional humorist as such, par- ticularly when his constituency is Oxford University.