The second contentious measure passed was the Metropolitan Police Bill.
This measure owed its smooth passage to the general conviction that something is wrong in some places with the Police. The piloting of the Bill, however, needed courage and Sir John Gilmour was not found wanting. He is rather inarticulate for a politician of the front rank, but has won great respect in the House and is a popular Minister. His fellow-Scot, Major Elliot, who is the reverse of inarticulate but equally popular, had a field-day on fish last Tuesday. His familiar policy of restricting supplies in order to better wholesale prices ran on this occasion in double. harness with the scientific object of preventing over- fishing of the North Sea and the landing of poor quality fish from there or anywhere else. He pleased the House by enlivening his speech with a psycho-analysis of the sole and of the plaice, from which it appeared that the sole is a perfect Jack Sheppard at escaping, whereas the plaice is at best a fatalistic weakling. Major Elliot's real triumph was outside the House in securing the assent of the British fishing industry to the enforcement of larger-meshed nets and the assent of the foreign. fishing countries to a measure of restriction of their land- ings here. * *
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