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152 
WESTM NSTER HAUL
Page 7
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THE BARONESS Stedman is a maid-ofall-work. As a Baroness in Waiting—a Government Whip—in a House where there is not a Minister to answer for every department, she is called upon to deal with a variety of topics which would have a lesser mortal— say a Minister in the Commons—turning pale. On one afternoon last week, for instance, she dealt in succession with questions about the financing of consumer councils and the French penchant for shooting every bird.
And it was not just a matter of reading out a brief given to her by some civil servant, for the questioning was pretty wide-ranging. Baroness Stedman coped.
As she has been doing admirably since 1975 when she was made a Whip — the year after she first entered the Upper House along with such people as Lord Elwyn-Jones, the Lord Chancellor, former Transport Minister Ernest .Marples. Lady Falkender and — though this was a re-appearance — Alec Douglas-Home.
But her main business over the past few weeks has been the Transport Bill, a measure which has had the experts floundering at times and it was her performance during last week's Committee Stage that won her well-deserved plaudits.
A woman who was a librarian for seven years, a wartime group officer in the National Fire Service and a county councillor is obviously a person of resources, and she master-minded the whole committee proceedings in one session.
True, it lasted longer than anyone had expected—Lady Stedman thought it would all be over by about half past six—but it was gone a quarter to nine before the last word.
But at least one peer—without naming names—had his own ideas about who had stretched out the proceedings, and it was certainly not Lady Stedman.
In fact this particular nobleman—Tory Lord O'Hagan— spoke of an enjoyable committee stage, and was most concerned because Lady Stedman had missed her train.
Then there was Lord Lucas of Chilworth, not harbouring any grievance because he had failed to have that five-mile diversion business deleted from the Bill.
He noted that the noble Baroness had been in attendance on peers for six and three quarter hours, and put forward the proposition that she must be Tuesday's child—full of grace.
In an assembly where courtesy is always— well, nearly always — the watchword,'Lady Stedman was equally gracious, thanking members on all sides of the House for the co-operation they had shown over the Bill, both inside and outside the House.
May Bill Rodgers be as lucky when the Bill goes back to the Commons!