27 NOVEMBER 1915, Page 2

In the House of Lords on Wednesday Loyd St. Davide

read out the passage in his former speech which had to do with the presence of ladies at the front, and then added sortie words of explanation. The names of the ladies, so he told the House, of whom he was thinking had been in the papers at the time their visit IVREI. paid. "They are ladies so absolutely above reproach that it is not necessary to go farther into it than this," What was in his mind was that it was not a proper thing when this great tragedy was being acted that it should be used as a kind. of peep-show for ladies. He thought then that it was not decent, and lie thought so now. That was all he meant to say. In the rest of his speech he complained of club gossip and condensed reports. The unfortunate shorthand reporter and the sub`-editor are always the last refuge of a man who- has made a foetid) speech, but we are bound to tell Lord St. Davide that, making every allowance for the spoken word, hie speech was most unfortunate, and has left, and was hound to leave, a ve ry disagreeable impression. Whatever his intentions, the effeet of the speech was a gross injustice to a body of men who are working hard under great difficultieu, and who, instead of mockery and censure, deserve all our support and encourage- ment.