16 APRIL 1937, Page 3

Sir John Simon obviously enjoyed himself to the full in

his introduction of the second reading of the Ministers of the Crown Bill, which makes provision for the raising of the Ministerial salaries. He has a real enthusiasm for constitu- tional history and he explained with infectious gusto some of its little-known by-paths. His speech indeed was really as much a fascinating lecture to a historical society as an explana- tion of a Bill before Parliament, and at its conclusion I almost expected a treasurer to rise in his place and remind us that there were still some subscriptions to the Society that had not been paid. But it had a remarkable influence on Mr. Greenwood, who altogether abandoned his accustomed invective and was at such pains to be restrained that he ended by being quite unnecessarily apologetic.

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