On the motion for the adjournment of the House till
June 4th a debate on the administration of the Insurance Act was initiated by Mr. Worthington Evans, who condemned the rushing tactics of the Government and the deluge of reports and regulations issued every day by the Insurance Com- missioners. His denunciation of the leaflet issued by the National Insurance Committee brought up Mr. Booth, who attacked the " medical syndicaliste," who, he alleged, had persecuted and neglected one of their profession in Devon- shire, and Mr. Ohiozza Money, who charged the Opposition Press and Unionist organizations with grossly misrepresent. ing the facts of the Act. Mr. Masterman, in his reply, advised the Tory Party to readjust their attitude towards the Act before 1913, by which time the maternity benefit would have been received by at least 900,000 mothers, sick pay by 2,000,000 men and women, and sanatorium benefit by at least 250,000 more. He declared that negotiations of the most amicable character were pro- ceeding with the representatives of the doctors. Later on the subject of the prosecution and treatment of political offenders was discussed by Sir J. Rees, Mr. Ramsay MacDonald, and Mr. Keir Hardie, and after tLe Attorney-General Lad defended his decision to prosecute Mr. Tom Mann, the Home Secretary stated his intentions with regard to the classification of prisoners. For the moment he found it impossible to pro- mise any remission of sentences in the cases of Mrs. Pank- hurst and Mrs. Pethick Lawrence, but he undertook to examine the circumstances without delay and to give favour- able consideration to the claim that the prisoners should .get all the advantages of the new prison rule. The motion having been agreed to, the House adjourned till June 4th.
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