Show TALES OF THE DAY Some Crushing ucstions A simple question put In parliament a few ycats ago caused a laugh throughout through-out all England and defeated a great measure Mr Curzon then under secretary secre-tary for India was making a long and elaborate speech against a measure urged by the opposition regarding that dependency depend-ency as certain tp rebuJ in a loss to the government of many lacs of rupees Ho repeated with cm1basit I ConRlder Not J Q d I pounds nor guineas but lacs df rupees A quiet voice on the opposition benches asked Exactly haw much is a lac of rupees Mr Curzon opened his mouth stammered stammer-ed grew red and then with English can I do said I really dont know The house laughed and in that laugh he lost his cause A somewhat similar scene occurred I many years agoIn congress A present I of Arabian horses a sword etc arrived I I from the Imam of Muscat for President Adams recalls the Youths Companion I IA I I western member with ome heat I moved that the gift should be sent back j wth a letter from congress informing the ruler of Muscat that the president of the I United States was no king but the servant j I serv-ant of the people and was not permitted to give or receive presents r Another member rose Such a letter Mr Speaker he said can easily be I written But where is it to be sent Vhere Is Muscat I There was no response Apparently not a member of the house was prepared to I answe nor could Muscat then be found I in anr alias published in this country It was found at last on a German map A I civl1 answer was returned and the I geographers made haste to insert Muscat in the next addition of their maps I I Nothing perforates bombastic oratory like a sharp question When Burke in I i the height of a labored peroration In parliament par-liament against France drew a dagger i and threw It on the floor somebody made the act absurd by saying Yes thats tho knife AVheres the fork Evially sharp was the reply of Pope Plus IX when the cardinals met and eloiently condoled with him on the suffering suf-fering In certain villages from earthquake earth-quake and famine How much are you sorry my brethren breth-ren he said How many lire does ours our-s mpath weigh The only answer possible to this question ques-tion was the relief of the villages |