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[Illustration: THE GREATER NEED.

FLORA (_To Ceres._) "ENTER, AND TAKE MY PLACE. THIS IS YOUR YEAR."]

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ESSENCE OF PARLIAMENT.

_Monday, March 5th._--General cheers greeted Mr. CHAMBERLAIN'S announcement
that the Government of India had undertaken to pay the interest on a
hundred millions of war-debt, but when he proceeded to say that part of the
new revenue required would be obtained by an increase in the cotton duties
there was a notable cooling of enthusiasm among Members from Lancashire.
Mr. RUNCIMAN at once sounded the alarm on behalf of Manchester by asking if
there would be a corresponding excise duty on Indian cottons. "All India is
against it," replied Mr. CHAMBERLAIN, who is finding, as his father did
before him, how difficult it is to get Englishmen to "think imperially"
where their own particular trade is concerned.

There is no doubt that the FOOD CONTROLLER possesses a sense of judicial
humour. Complaints have been made of late that while the ordinary British
citizen was expected to confine himself to four pounds of bread per week
the pampered German prisoner, instead of getting less, was given nearly
three times that amount. Lord DEVONPORT has now approved a new dietary
scale for prisoners, under which the bread ration will be cut down to
sixty-three ounces, or just one ounce less than the allowance of the free
and independent Englishman. On the Army Estimates Mr. PRINGLE attacked the