The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1888-02-18 00:00:00

-Stourbribge 6115erbev

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1898.

PRIVILEGE OF PARLIAMENT.

THE first fight'of the res tuned session in the
House of Commons was over the sacred
question of privilege of members daring the
sittings of Parliament. Mr. Pyne and Mr.
Gi!hooly, a pair of Irish Nationalist M.P.'s,
had for a long time evaded arrest on war-
rants issued against them under the Crimes
Act, but had left: pit: concealment to do
their duty to theionstituencies at St.
Stellen's \lien the faithful Commons there
Executive, not de-

siring t,, have the law brought into con-
tempt, promptly procured a li,ndon endorse-
ment of the Crimes A.ct warrant, and made
arrangements
.for the capture of the wanted
representatives on their arriving at or leav-
ing the House. Mt.. Pyne, who • had for
weeks laughed at Mr. Balfour and the con-
stabulary from the safe seclusion of an odd
castle, was taken into custody on the steps
ot.the Cock Tower entrance to the House,
.and some of his adherents assert that the
arrest was effected w:thin the sacrel precinct
—inasmuch as, according to their contention,
one foot was over the thrcsilold and t!tat
the member for West IV tterford was, in
point of fact, forced ba3k by policeman, and
at once secure] by other olicers. This was
grievance numb:H. one. M. Gilhooly, like
Mr. Jasper Pyne, had given the detectives
leg bail, but the next night he also was
taken in charge by the police, amid a wild
scene of excitement, on leaving the House.
Meantime Mr Patrick O'Brien, who had
himself been twice convicted under the

Crimes Act, was mistaken by watchful
detectives for the member for West Cork,
and taken towards Scotland-yard under the
idea that he was Mr. Gilhooly. The blandei
was diseoverdd en route, and the merober
for North Monaghna was apologised to by
the officers and set at liberty. He refused
to be satisfied with etplanations and apolo-
gies, however, though Inspector Littlechild
waited upon him with expressions of official
regret later on. The whole vast constitu-
tional question of privilege was raised by
the Nationalist m-nubers and their friends of
the Opposition on the incidents hero re-
ferred to; and there were hot party sneeches
and legal arguments on either side by pro-
minent statesmen, and finally a fight in the
Division Lobby, in which Ministers scored a
signal victory, after refusing to do more than
ad.d the Home Secretary's personal apology
to Mr. O'Brien to the regrets already
tendered to him. The:- House *ould not
affirm the indignity offered to Mr. P. O'Brien
to be a high infringement of the priviloge
of Parliament, and declined to stand between
Mr. Balfour and Messrs. Pyne and Gilhooly.
It is clear that the Irish members who h tve
fallen foul of the Crimes Act during the
recess were. wrong in considering themselves

ewitied to immunity from arrest &trim, the
sitting of Parliament ; and it is well, for the
Ivl old eilA.;n3. of exempting representatives
of the people frdm the oonsequeuces of mis-
demeanour, triad in some cases of downright
crime, is bc.st honoured in the breach. A
111 Iker of the law should be always 'amenable
to that law ; and a member of Parliament
ought to be the first, when he transgresses,
to submit to the penalty. It has not always
;wen s;o, for one John Smith, returned mem—
her for defunct Carnelford in 1558, who was
guilty of some very questionable. transac-
tions, claimed and received privilege of Par-
liament, and was protected agsinst the
wrath of those he had cheated by the action
of the Home. Thera are records, too, of
persons in the ante-Reform days purchasing
-seats for pocket boroughs, so that privilege
plrould set them free from the King's Bench
Prison; .where they were incarcerated for
debt . Though such dishonest practices were
. pos7iible eighty years ago their toleration
wiltnover return ; and the Honse of Corn-

mons did well in the instances which have
given rise to what we now write to refuse to
lightly establish Ne, hilt might have been a
dangerous precedent. The House of Com-
mons, to its honour, when it has been moved
to official action n regard to the question of
pric-ile.tri.., his in most cases taken a firm
stand for justice. A case in point was the
historically noteworthy arrest of Lord Coch-
rane at the right hand of the chair in the
Lower House, prio: to the reading.of prayers.,
lie. then a pri,oaer for debt, having escaped
from durance and prepared to take the seat
to whie.hi he had been elected for Westmins-
ter. The Rouse, though the question was
r_oy: red to a Committee of Privilege, would
not interpose between the member and the
consequences of his pecuniary ex'zavagances.
An nnprineipalled attorney named Asgill got
himself elected for Bramber, to.defeat just
•nruids, bat W7IS expelled the House as far
bJ as. I 707. Those who think Messrs.
O'Brien, PYtte, and Gilhooly have been
liarilly.dealt with wiil see no relevance in
lookin:.; back at elves such as thean and
others of minor net;.l which might be Foferred
to. They e,outend that to find Ary incident
at all important enough to tneni;.. parallel
to tilt. indikojity i bey have stifferid, we must
r,s-crt to King Charles's attempt to arrest
five of tho—ruost
.popular members of the
'House of Commons, an unWS:Trantable ont-•
r3.4e which .dic!.. much towards costing the;
n'tortainato Stnaet .sovereign 'him ltead. But
tjes• a mieltest adhetents of essrs. Pytiie
iI (Tiityloly sy4hl scarcely compare t
nrabo
_gentlemen for sta testi) anship
•• Llnmpden .; and evcn Mo. Pat
Would not proend to the irapozC
use a tb9 tiara OtQO QbAQS