Mr. Churchill at Edinburgh As Lord Rector of Edinburgh University,
Mr. Churchill last week drew for the students a doleful picture of Parliament in decay, with an electorate that would not even vote. There were no clear-cut issues. " A sort of universal mush and sloppiness has descended upon us." Mr. Churchill suggested, much as Mrs. Sidney Webb has done in a recent issue of the Spectator, that there might be " an economic Sub-Parliament " to deal with questions which, in his view, the House of Commons cannot tackle. He hinted, too, that a stronger Second Chamber was required and might be secured by indirect election from powerful local bodies like the London County Council or. the Parliament of Northern Ireland. We hope, however, that a re-formed House of Lords would not be elected, even indirectly. Any elected Upper House would excite jealousy and an unfortunate sense of rivalry in the Commons. There is much to be said, however, for en- larging the powers of the great municipalities and the county councils. Mr. Churchill would apparently create new bodies, "larger and more powerful than county councils," and free from the supervision of Whitehall.
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