4 MARCH 1911, Page 2

The Second Reading debate on the Parliament Bill was begun

in the House of Commons on Monday, when Mr. Austen Chamberlain moved the Opposition amendment. Mr. Cham berlain began by criticising the view that the Government had a mandate for the Bill, which reminded him of the story in Carlyle of a boy of thirteen who appeared at I the Bar of the French Convention and there announced that be spoke in the name of three millions of men. After ques- tioning the Government's intentions upon the subject of reforming the Upper House, Mr. Chamberlain proceeded to point out that the two years' delay in passing measures was ; in reality no safeguard against the perils of Single-Chamber , government. He concluded by an appeal for a national settlement of the question in the spirit of the Conference.