1954-03-06 — Page 13

*IT WAS HARD HOLDING

'EM OFF, BOYS, BUT I DID IT! WE DON'T

HAVE TO MOVE OUT!"

"THE PEACE-AVOIDING PEOPLE"

THE CHINA MAIL, SATURDAY, MARCH 6, 1964.

World Cynght by annagement with the Monster Gran

HOUSE OF

Take Off Into Space With Science Fiction

By LES ARMOUR

dre keenly interested in the

Mr Carnell cronkéd up the

London, fying world of a thousand lurarians, and writers mostly— HE rain pelted down in years hence. An inky darkness. We wore

in excellent phenomenon, Mayfair was a blur of hands. Our space pilota dime machine and whliked us scurrying pedestrians and were John Carnell, princi- Back to the 1020's, Science honking cabs.

pal architect of the current Fletion was pretty queer stuff in Inside No. 7, Albermarle boom in Science Fiction; those days.

Anothing might happen: Street, damp members of Arthur Clarke, chairman of gusar pressed the switch de- the National Book League the British Interplanetary tivating her hi- energiser and sat in a dim eighteenth- Society; and John Wynd- shot through space-time of a echtury drawing room hum, novelist and expert, on pood approximating the cube ruminating on the state of what he calls "the more root of the square of the speed

of light.... literature, the attractive humdrum warta stretching It was deinitely stuff for the' blonde about as far as the moons Initiated and mostly "sheer. usherette, and the rain. of Jupiter"

Publisher Robert Lusty Then there Was W.B. Spirit, Method

nesk of the

#

TÖÖNIMÉTING.”

Then the publishers divined that there was little money to

lasued a frosty smile from Stevenson, Ibrarian of the the rostrum and command- Borough of Hornsey. He ed: "Fasten your safety was there to effect a crash be made out of this class of belts, ladies and gentlemen. landing.

roader and began to improve The Journey had a serious and refie We are about to take off."

their production. Science went out purpose. And off we

Fiction has Selentists were hired to work the Western put the plots and literary men into the echoing reaches of already deposed

and it is maxing serious inroads at brought us to Arthur

to give it depth. the galaxy peopled by gang- sters, gun molls, and weird

Clarke's trick at the wheel:

"Nowadays you have to know machines; the exotic, stupe. Book

abdub science something write Science Fiction not the letter of science, but the spirit When and method of science. the history of space-travel 19 Written, a lot of the detall will have to come from today's Balence Flution.

on the sales of Who-Dun-Its.

The members of the National League - publishers,

COMMONS IS

BECOMING A DULL PLACE

R

EADERS of the Lon-

don Letter will

know how deeply 1

admire and enjoy

the British Houses of Par- Hament.

By BEVERLEY BAXTER, MP

Even though it well as autocracy must have kindness.

may mean weary late hours its symbols.

I never lose the feeling of

or

Bul 11 is not ducive to kreat

thoughts verbal splendour to be regard

That is cd as Lobby fodder.

drama when I see the light the Old Mother of Parlin. what we are, and I agree that

in the clock tower proclaim- ing to the world that the House is still in session.

But all is not well with

It suo one's fault.

ин

Even

the

ments.

A

on

the

Yet why, why, why have our to their pro- debates declined

the

Where

oner

19 drove

did by night until we almost Away with sleep. But of course Cleavage was the tremendous there. What we had to deter- mine was the economic phil- sophy under which Great Bri- the tain would advance into future. Eventually two General Elections

and 1951 in 1960

the brought down

huge So- cialist majority and then turned it into

The a minority.

had lasted tury

of Socialism for six years.

cen-

to

"Scichce Fiction is helping

us to understand the modern world.

On that note, we passed to novelist Wyndham who pressed disgust at much of the terrard

wo bave covered "A nightmare world, this, governed by the laws of violence. In much of Selbace Fiction, if somebody

gets in that

way, your

you atomise him. old

Interested

tha But human problems of a now But I'm a conservativo world. man. I never travel to tho outer edge of the galaxy. Lots

India? There was an almost indecent haste in the WRY

to Attles handed it over self-infatuated mystic and Harrovian, Pandit Nehru. the Tories also knew that the of the centuries could march not be held up indefnitely.

Attlee's Korea?

response to Truman's action was brave and immediate. Again there was no cleavage with the Tories.

Im-

115

cer-

nor

of room here."

Crash

Landing

Then librarian Stevenson took over for the crash landing.

"How do you Judge Hilera- ture?" he asked.

incidents.

of life la

But what of the British Com-

look "You What

at the plot, the characterisation, monwealth and Empire?

nn.d the has happened to the days when

criticism of life. Bolence Fic our opponents denounced us as

tion usually has ho plok

IDE Jingoes and as out-deled

of mostly a disconnected series perialists? They might call

The characters arė

the many things today but

criticism neither could tainly

two-dimensional, Jingoes

childish. In the world rabid Imperialists.

of the future we are usually in the

the spider control We have shown a patience 10-

from Jupiler

the wards Egypt which makes Jobmon

hot-head by robots from Mars. Society i impetuous

We even out-most often cruder than we know comparison.

Mossadegh waited

in Persia,

it now, more hopeless than we but time was on our

side in his can Imagine. the great Lord terrible." When case. Falmerston set foot in Еигоро,

Everyone of knows that is true.

sent pallor? To change the public gallery of Commons is only half full metaphor-where is the cut and most of the time and fro thrust of argument?

ยามเ the passion there is only quently

to personal inembers almost

It is to the eternal credit of violence? And where are the us sprinkling of MP's

the British character that such tremendous figures, not neces- to benches.

a convulsive revolution whose inter- the For example, take the much sarlly ministers,

in Rub vention

debate could have taken place with so little when

damage to the nation. But men various trumpeted debate

Butler returned from

the change is whole course?

like Attlee, Ernest Bevin, Sydney conference. There were

Cripps, Morrison unti Ede show reports that a group of Tory

ed a sense of responsibility that rebels would charge him selling the Empire down three

river, Lord Berverbrook's news- bo barded him day after day, declaring that he had Imperial Preferential bartered Tariffs for an illusory dream of world trade.

At six o'clock the other evening the silk stockinged Sorjennt at Arms from the House of Lords invited "The Other Place" to hear the giving of Royal Assent to bills that had been passed. So we made a procession, led by Mr Speaker. to the Upper House where Peers in their robes and cocked hats were sitting at the far end rather like three Tweedle Deen.

The clerk then read A from the Queen message

she could regretting that

not arrange to be present. As Her Majesty was at the other side of the world we understood her dilemma.

pupers

be

1.

with

the

I can remember even in my time when Sir Robert Horne, à powerful but only # private transcended the noisy claims of Member, stood up and said that the House would not accept platform oratory. Neville Chamber) 'n's Budget and forced the Government to and retreat. Yet Horne was a Tory and good one, Later on when the whadow of Hitler was on us, Churchill

Lord

or

"And the grammar is simply

the whole continent trembled. But, bad grammar or no, Mr Now, say the wits, when the Stevenson buys lots of Science British Foreign Secretary seta Fiction for his library,

for attacked Y Sozialist

why in thore years of foot in Europe, the whole of "I have a big shelf marked

Chamberlain the Tory without mercy.

the

rule

there Britain trembles. It is not quite 'Science were

Fiction. But there's then whereas fair, but

wit is seldom never anything on it. The de- have fair.

mand is ferocious,"

debates, the Torics

with

this

tiny majority

pallor strange

In

own

only

there and de

lost

such fety ΠΟΥ that And I have БОСТА

Government க great THE debate was on a Thurs- Lloyd George in my time sway a

a debate, although he led only vote would day and no taken. The House was a tiny squad of disappearing cline? Have the Socialists

faith

their

creed? packed to hear Butler Liberals.

Is I possible that they have re- But in the message Her when he roso at 3.30 tn

alised that Socialism is a polley Majesty informed 1 that the afternoon, but when

that only works in opposition? his winding-up be Foster began she had appointed h loved uncle, the Duke of speech as Under-Secretary

Commonwealth Affairs, there Gloucester, to sign necess» were exactly 12 MP's in the ary documents on her be Chamber. And when Foster half.

finished there were only 10,

John

for

What had happened? There 13 a partial explanation although a poor one. Finding that there three

would be no division a large

The clerk then rend out the

of the

names

The explanation is not quite so simple. If one goes deeper into the matter we might find thot neither unrestricted So- cialism nor unrestricted Capital- lam can ever again be a work- able policy for an Administra

lon. The Socialists nat

Therefore I come back to my original argument. Where there is so much agreement (tacit or the Conserva- actual) between

how Lives and the Socialists, can the House of Commons be a place of passionate debate? And if there bo so wide an area of agreement, why go through the motions of disagreement?

nationalised DASICALLY and

tempera-

I know the temptation of the veteran to say that things were better in the good old days. But that is not my point. Some- how there is no clash at pro- sent between the British po- litical parties comparable to the Forliaments of the past.

This in itself is odd. When the Liberals and the Tories were the two main parties they both represented private owner- the Railways, Electricity, Gas, mentally the differelicts Peers each one raising his number of Northern and Mil- ship and capitalist enterprise Coal, Mines and Steel. It hus arc Gull there. You may cocked hat in turn-who land members left for their yet they fought like the Lion, not cheapened any of these point Lo П cat and 我

thoro to

that homes to have an unexpected- BOC

Unicorn. CC and the

the dog snoozing I agree that things

amicably by a ly long week-end. And, after the Irish members set the pace, workers radiantly happy.

fireside but that does was done ac-

not evreything

all, they could

read the whole but the

and war of Asquith cording to custom. Where- debate next day in Hansard, Lloyd George against the Tories

But, to use a platitude much abolish their basic distrust and antagonism. Socialism cannot upon the clerk announced: but that is not the whole stor

story. was more deadly if not so beloved by politicians, you can survive if it merely becomes Now let us switch for a mo- "Navy, Army and Air Force

not unscramble an omelette. We pink Liberalism. Despite ment to the North Ilford bye- violent.

have denationalised Steel, but do not imagine that the Steel amiability and indeed the firms can do what they like: sponsibility of its present lead- Socialism must tako the control remains. Wo also de- road to the Loft or the road to nationalised Road Transport, the Right. And on both roads but private enterprise is being there are parties with priority very coy about it. They want claims the Communists and to mow it a Sociallat Govern- the Conservatives. mont would be willing to buy

were

ing.

ed the attendance thins

is no law that compels

out.

huge majority consisting mostly of Conservatives,

nor has it made

сго

the

том

That is the principal reason

Reserves, Licensing (Sen election in East London. Forty- the polling men's Canteens), National eight hours before

to Museum of Antiquities of the Tory candidate had

concel one of his two meetings Scotland" and two or

because nobody turned up. I three others equally puzzl- agree that the weather Was

TVEN

nad EVE when the Irish cold, but not that cold.

gone, ned Labour had be Day after day, night after gun ite great rise after the night, the House of Commons 1914-18 war, Parlament was them out again.

hot with con- debates go on and on, but when vital

and

As far as the Welfare State for the present unreality of the the opening speeches are finish- troversy. The financial

crash is concerned both Partles claim debater at Westminster, Ex- tho 1lowed foll

General the title of Santa Claus. "We termol events are

dominating FOR each bill the three

als Strike and we saw the tem planned the National Health internal policy, and not even Peers raised their hats, Thero

annihilation us to stay in the Chamber, and porary

of the Service" cry the Tories. "Ah," the letting in of Japanese ex- thus signifying the Royal admittedly we have committees Socialist Party. Baldwin and

"but who porta or the weakening of Im-

perial Preference brought it in?"

can produce Assent, and the clerk at the and other distractions or duties, his prisoner Hamsay Macdonald, say the Socialists,

more than a aham fight. table declared in Ancient but the undeniable fact remains led a National Government with

There is one more.contribu~ Norman that the Queen that our debates have on air a

of unreality.

tory muse to this inertia. With willed it so. Thus did Her

ail respect I refer to that im- Gracious Majesty indicate

mortal in our midst-Bir Win- ston Churchill. His retirement that the bills should praš

UUS you will realise that is openly and rather indecently. Into law.

firo on him with his Emp the battlefield on which the discussed. One newspaper ran a

two sides can fight le becoming publie

to opinion poll Junt When it was all over wẹ Aa scorching for the Free Trade guns. It was a more and more restricted As a paraded two by two back

of this we must tremendous battle in which, on cynical friend of mine sold the how Churchill that a majority agree that when a Govern-

of the nation wanted him to go. an Editor,

with other day: "The only difference At the same time there is con- 1. assisted to our own Ноиве where mant has only # small daily bombardment of the balween the Tories and Mr Speaker informed us of majority such as the written word. The whole nation Bonlaists is one of pace. The stant discussion as to whether Tho Eden' or Butler or Macmillan was alive with controversy an Socialists want to give every should coded himme what we had just seen, and first core of the Whips la to

The then we got down to buse the survival of the Ad- Beaverbrook waged his came thing away

ministration. The Whips am like palen with quite astonishing Torlem want to give ove

wrything

"For all these roksöris the Bris Simon Legree and we are the violence. Nor did ho lack vic hway ne slowly as possible?. tish Hout of Comisióna fal slaves. Sometimes in a lato tories.

But there remain the induli place, The, Intllektor, who I do not know how often witting and many divisions, Now let us skip a lot of pages mense problems arising out at that so and so is on his I have seen that quaint think we should go through the, and come to the election of the International fitation with but, the Med in the

room

tohot performance but it never Lobby like a chain yang ridging 1948 following the end of the it threat of war and world re-

special loses its mystic quality and Volga Bont Bonto Ho Ho war. Churchill and Une Tories Vojullon. Who brought. In son- leay Khel chairdes

were wrept out by a profeful - Worpion so soon. the de ponniet will come mainlan sts hthicsphere of the cens Votel To Ho Ho Votalna aleatorste, and pat the bonitry of just of - Dermany turies. Not even Angurin On duty the White of Sociallam had begun,

TOJA.

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Baldwin would have liked to sit back and use his majority to ertish ony moves by the Opposi

lon, but Beaverbrook

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