§ Mr. SPEAKERPerhaps I may be allowed to claim the personal indulgence of the House for a very few moments. I may say I have been strongly recommended by my medical adviser to take a somewhat more prolonged holiday than the House is prepared to allow to itself at Whitsuntide, and I propose, if the House will give me its assent, to take a few extra days before and after the comparatively short holiday the House is going to take. [The House signified its assent by general cheers.]
I thank the House very much for its kindness, and I am sure the business of the Chair will be very ably and quite 593 adequately performed by the Chairman of Ways and Means, who is kind enough to say he will add this duty to the many other duties that fall upon him.