On Tuesday, the House of Lords took the second reading
of the Electricity Bill. Lord Peel explained the Bill with thoroughness, but the most important technical explanation and defence of the Bill came from Lord Weir, whose Committee had inspired it. Lord Weir made the very interesting point that comparative statistics were unimportant since the real question was not how well Great Britain was doing in the development of electricity power, but how well she ought to be doing. The fact that mattered was that she was " behind other countries." Lord Weir also rejected the political arguments which had been brought against the measure. There was no issue, he said, of Socialism against Individualism, but only an issue between nation-wide efficiency and parochial inefficiency. The debate was more enlightening than any single debate which has taken place in the House of Commons. On Wednesday, after Lord' Carson had failed to get the Bill referred to a Select Committee, the second reading was carried by a large majority.
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