The Press.
London, England, 1853-07-16 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

LETTERS FROM A SILENT MEMBER.

LETTER IV.
TO THE EDITOR OF " THE PRESS."

WHAT are House of Commons' speeches made fie •? Ido not of course
mean Ministerial statements such as those four Sir CHARLES WOOD
had to make when he brought forward four Budgets in one year ; but
to whom, and with what object, are speeches, properly so called.
addressed ? The only speeches which have influenced a division
during the present session were MACAULAY'S and DRUMMOND'S, on the
Bill for doing to all Masters of the Rolls what Devonport did to
ROMILLT. But, as a general rule, speeches move the Members about
as much as they do the Benches ; and a man who is " doubtful,"
though ho may be flattered by the Whips, is about as much respected
by the House as one who should order a chair and table for himself in
that anonymous little street between the Carlton and Reform, because
he could not conscientiously join either club. Every man, the House
of Commons being in its normal state, is supposed to have firmly
and irrevocably made up his mind on each important subject before it
is debated. The more important the subject debated the more (leaf
ought he to be to all and every argument adduced ; though not till his
leader has spoken, just previous to) the division, has he learned all
the reasons which induced him, before the debate began, to adopt
such an inflexible determination. This may read very absurdly,
but I defy any one to deny that such is the practical theory of our
present system. When his iron discipline and our entire surrender of
private judgment to him had brought Sir RonEwr PEEL into office, were
the young members ever warned not to listen to Lord 3ons ? You
might just as well have told them not to call the Premier by his
Christian name. The two things were voted equally impossible.
Most of us believed that his Lordship had a cloven foot (though his
boot hid it). Suddenly, however, during some division, it was ru-
moured that one of our men had gone into Lord JOHN'S lobby ! One
of owr men? Impossible! FREMANTLE searched the cake-stall and
every other receptacle, and found the hideous rumour was too true.
An explanation, ad earn*, was needed ; so Sir 6 C— shook
his official head and
,ejaculated, " Poor fellow ! but there was always
madness in his mother's family!" No other explanation could be
given of the hallucination of such a vote ; and, as the moon was full at
the time, none of us walked home with the dangerous member that
night, little foreseeing how often PEEL would have to endure a similar
defalcation,

" When that rash humour which our mothers gave us '
Made us forgetful "
of all but our principles and convictions.
The audience in this House is divided into three classes. The
Members themselves form the largest, but except during r.rsonal
attacks no one speaks to them. Then come the strangers. Why are
they to be ordered to withdraw when the one thing is about to happen
which they could not interfere with, even if they wished ? Our
Select Committee has reported that " strangers who have been suf-
" fered to be present during debates have uniformly conducted them-
" selves in an orderly and becoming manner." Alas ! can we say as
much for ourselves ? How, therefore, if they remained during
divisions for our ensample ? Reporters constitute the smallest class,
those links between the speaker and the world ! To them every sen-
tence is really addressed, although few members look directly upwards
to their gallery, as Mr. Moseicros Mn.NES does, " the poet's eye in a fine
frenzy rolling." And here lets me offer a hint—not to you, Mr. Mu.Nzs,
for you would never take it—but to you, inestimable reporters.
A demonstrative, not to say ostentatious, pause among your
swift-moving pens is sometimes highly useful to the House and to
the empire. I have myself whispered to a floundering friend of mine
when he began his third orange, "The reporters are not noting you ; go
at once to your peroration." He, sucking, looked upwards, perceived
the truth of what I said, perorated at once, and has hated me ever
since; but I have borne more than this for my country, and I am
ready, with your aid, gentlemen, to bear as much again. Farmers of
Cambridgeshire, honour to your member ! Mr. BAIL might have spoken
twice on his malt-tax motion, but he saw the time was favourable for
a division, and refrained : a triumph would have been his but for the
support (! ) of the Westminster 'Failure. By-the-bye, both the ship-
owners and the farmers had their matters discussed on Tuesday : each
claimed a boon because of free trade, In the morning the House per-
mitted the shipowner to man his own ships as he phased, and yet in
the evening refused to let the farmer malt his own barley. A wash
of words was poured forth of course ; but these two decisions during
the same day must appear somewhat inconsistent, logical reader, toyou
as they did to A SILENT MEMBER.

A PEACE CONGRESS.
SFSETUT. of the real guardians of the peace of the world being now
assembled at Spithead, it is proposed to transfer to them the duties of
the defunct Peace Society. The ships might all be painted drab, and
double•shotted guns with the plugs kept in would much lesemble
Quakers. The Duke of Wellington might then he called the Joseph
Marge, the High Flyer the John Bright, the Arrogant the Richard Cob-
den, he.; and we should have a more influential peace congress at
Portsmouth than ever aseesulActl in Leaden or Paris.

" PLENTY OF TUESDAYS."
The Honourable Member will have plenty of Tuesdays for resuming the debate ua
this motion.—Lord Palistersies, Jade 5.
Plenty of Tuesdays, PALMERSTON states.
Remain for resuming adjourned debates.
Oh ! horrid news for each jaded member
Who has sat till July, since last November,
Hoping for few more Tuesdays, if any.
Pienty of Tuesdays! good Heavens ! How many?
Is the end of the session beyond our reach
Tin 'ATARI/ is suffered to make his speeeh—
Till I►uii.ev's debating has grown delightffil—
Till Admiral BERKELEY has reused to be spiteful—
Till * # has satisfied all his thins—
Till PHINN has reported about his nuns—
Till WiwAms shows breeding or CARDWELL wit--
Till SHELLEY, at last, has made a hit—
Till YOUNG has gained readiness, MoLeswowr
HALL a peerage, or Mosca a place—
Till Comma thinks of the honour of nations,
Or KEOGH of election adjurations—
Till Sir BALDWIN perceive, and Hype PARKER avow,
That the word " confidential " meant somewhat—till now—
Till Ei.cao, poor EAIrI.AXE's too kind patroniser,
Shall have cleaned our old pictures or painted some Weer—
Till reason penetrates Puensu:s skull—
Till JOHNNY grows lively, or" WE" grow dull—
If we sit till all this happen, tell us, PAM, whose days
Shall witness the end of your " plenty of Tuemilsys"?

gnLee,