The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1871-07-08 00:00:00

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SATURDAY, JULY 8, 1871.

PARLIAMENTARY WORK.

We have now arrived at the fag end of a ses-
sion which was opened with a royal message
giving promise of abundant legislation, and )et
which has produced as little legislation as any
session within the memory of most readers, and
which bids fair to end in more or less disappoint-
ment both to legislators and public of all poli-
tical parties. There may be more special causes
for the specially slow progress which the legis-
lature bus made this session—for the much cry
and little wool that has been its characteristic.;
but supposing this to be the case, these have but
increased certain evils which are the ordinary
conditions or parliamentary labour, and which
are of sufficient public importance and interest,
quite irrespective of party politics, to demand
consideration.

We think it will be generally admitted that
there has been of late years a tendency on the
part of Governments to pooh-pooh and snub
the introduction of bills by private member,.
The country soil the House of Commons are not
exactly toll to shut their eyes and open their
months, and see what Government will give
them ; but practically there is a good deal ti
this sort of advice. If a private ntenelnr tries
to bring in a bill lie will very probably find that
Government contemplated dealing with the mat-
ter of that bill ; or that a select committee on
the subject has not yet made its report; or that
the pressure of Government business is so gr, at
that the private member cannot get a day named
for the second reading; or that in smile aid::
way his progress is nude extremely (finical:.
And to a large extent the House of et,A:111021
itself aids and abets this Government snabliiruf
of private members and this tendency to hie, ,;
the Ministry of the day with a monopoly of k-
gialation.
This state of things is hardly consistent with
the representative character of the House ol
Commons, which contains litany members quit,
as competent to initiate legislation as are the
members of the Government. A bill introduced
by a private member has, as a rule, a far greater
chance of being judged on its merits than a Go-
vernment measure has. Let the measure he
what it may that is introduced by Ministers it
is immediately regarded as aparty measure, and
is opposed with all the virulence of party feel-
ing. Hence there is a greater difficulty in car-
ryiug it ; it is often defeated, and thus the
progress of legislation is retarded.
But there is one cause of the miserably small
amount of work actually accomplished in a ses-
sion, compared to the amount of talk expended
ou proposed measures, more powerful than al,
the other causes combined, and that is the large
quantity of work initiated in the Commons, anti
the little that is commenced in the Lords. This
state of affairs has grown up by degrees, and is
not founded on any constitutional considerations.
There is no reason whatever why half-a•dozen
bills should not be initiated in the Upper House,
where now is but one. But instead of the pre
liminary work being fairly, or at least approxi-
wately divided between the two branches of the
Legislature, the Commons seem to incline to
monopoly of legislation. The members as such,
are not to be blamed for this, but the Govern-
ment are, and we do not mean the present Min-
istry only, but Ministries as a rule. l'he session
open h with a long list of subjects on which legis-
lation is to be attempted. Scarcely one bill in
a dozen is initiated in the Upper House, btu.
nearly all are commenced in the Lower; ano
while the Commons during the first two or three
mouths of the session are hard at work, their
lordships have scarcely anything to do. The
Lords begin the real work of the session so
much later titan the Commons, that it is not bur.
prising that about June or July their lordships
find an immense amount of work pressed upon
them, with little time to do it in, and with a great
deal more work to come, the accomplishment of
which seems almost hopeless. The present se,
sion is no exception to this rule, though we do
not insist on it as peculiarly illustrating it. Bui
we maintain that, the Government of the du;
undertakes to jo too much, and that they is
unequally divide the werk bete:cut two chain-
bers that equally possesses legislative functien,
'rhi s produces injurious elects in many way, :
___. . . .

it neces,dtates hate, excitement, and couftue,:.
in the Commons from the immense uumuLt
wolk devoted to a large number of bills pussin.
through their several stages; it results in the
Lords being asked to do in a few weeks what the
Commons have taken months to effect, or else
causes the Lords to be treated as though the
were irately expected to ratify the acts of the
representative Chamber; whin, all this haturall;
produces ill•feeling between the two branches ot
the legislature.

We —forbear to speculate on the results of all
this bad managoultnt during the current tit SSitTh
but at the preseut moment it is abundantly e.. -
dent that our oue-sided system is wrorg, and
that if the Li rds Lad more to do at the • •

uleheeeucht of the partiumeutary campaign w,
bilOWd, hut at ita close Lave to complain of to,
many aboiti‘e attempts at legislation.