[BITList] Resigned to the Chiltern Hundreds

[John Feltham]

 From another List



Hearing y'day morning that yet another British minister had  
"resigned," triggered a bell to sound in the depths of my mind  
reminding me that the terminology used in yesteryear for such events  
was the rather quaint  expression, "So and so has applied for the  
Office of the Chiltern Hundreds," or thereabouts .

In turn this prompted me to delve deeper into the curious saying, and  
you may learn, or refresh your memory, what I discovered at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiltern_Hundreds

How appropriate that the Chiltern Hills was "a hiding place for  
robbers!"  No wonder they prefer the more simplistic term  
"resignation" these days!

Should a little wisdom have prevailed, and the dearly departed  
ministers - who clearly made no positive contribution to society - had  
not been replaced, the savings resulting from not having to pay their  
salaries - Oh yes! and their dubious expenses  - would have surely  
more than funded the uprating of our pensions!
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