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I have not heard for some time a more brilliant or devastating speech than Lord Samuel delivered on the Bankside power-station project in the House of Lords on Monday. The Liberal leader is always an impressive but usually a rather unimpassioned speaker. This time he displayed a quite unaccustomed verve, force and wit which evoked rounds of applause and laughter on a scale far from customary in their Lordships' House. A convincing citation of measurements and figures in relation to the power-station in com- parison with St. Paul's was effectively lightened by a tactful sentence describing how in years to come a guide 'to tourists from abroad would explain as they journeyed up the river. "On the right is the famous Cathedral of St. Paul's, 5i5 ft. long, built by Wren in such and such a year. On the left you see the Bankside power-station, 450 ft. long. Its chimney is well known as one of the tallest in the world. It was erected in 1948, and is usually known as Silkin's folly." But I still believe, as well as hope, that Silkin's folly will never materialise.
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