30 OCTOBER 1936, Page 3

Members generally approve the structural alterations carried out in the

Recess to enlarge accommodation in the galleries for the general public. It is really an absurdity that with an electorate of over 30 million there has only been room for some 800 spectators, includ- ing Peers, Diplomats, ladies and officials. In the House of Representatives at Washington, where the proceedings do not attract a tithe of the interest that the debates in the House of Commons do here, there is seating room for nearly a thousand spectators. The congestion in the diplomatic gallery on Foreign Affairs debates has been a grave reflection on our conception of hospitality. Ambassadors have had actually to form a queue outside the door in order to be certain of securing a seat.