Thursday, April 17, 2008

The Churchill Series - Apr. 17, 2008

(One of a series of weekday posts about the life of Winston S. Churchill.)

A commenter yesterday mentioned guns in connection with Churchill. I'll post a few thoughts tomorrow in response. In the meantime, I thank the commenter.

As for this post today, I hope you all agree that while it's brief, it's also comprehensive.

On May 21, 1952 during Prime Minister's Question Time, Labour Member Colonel Lipton asked:

“Will the Prime Minister state which Commonwealth Governments have been invited to send observers to the British atom bomb tests in Australia?”
Churchill responded:
“None, sir.”
Lipton pressed just as we see members do now on C-SPAN’s replays of PM’s Question Time:
“Is it not desirable when the economic and other relationships between the Commonwealth countries are more disrupted than they have been, that they should be brought into consideration which would enable Commonwealth observers to be present?

May I ask the Prime Minister if he will condescend to answer that question?

If he is not interested in the matter, then of course he need not answer the question."
Churchill:
“It was after full consideration of all those points that I gave my somewhat comprehensive or rather exclusively comprehensive answer, ‘None, sir.’”
____________________________________
The Churchill Centre, Prime Minister's Questions.

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