The Sun.
London, England, 1863-05-05 00:00:00

THE CHURCH RATES DIVISION,
AS REFLECTED IN " THE MIRROR."

The Speaker proceeded to put the question. It
was now about five o'clock. The benches were over-
crowded, and the " whips" were übiquitous. The
hackneyed character of a church-rate debate has
driven a number of members to the " subterranean
regions" adjacent to the river terrace. As soon as
the bell rings for a division, a dense crowd of mem-
bers pours into the lobby and enters the house, up
to the moment when the last sand in the minute-
glass run out. The Speaker again put the question.
It is well understood on these occasions that the
first contest on a division is one of relative strength
of lungs. The Ayes try to out-shout the Noes, and
the Noes in turn seek to convey the idea that the
voice of the Ayes is but the whisper of a faction.
The country gentlemen generally gain this victory,
and to-day is no exception to the rule. The friends
of the bill cry Aye ! with something of factitious
vehemence—it is a sudden burst of sound that no
operatic composer has ever rivalled. But the ex-
plosion of Noes is as the bellowing of a herd of
bulls,—mighty, deep-mouthed, sonorous, indignant,
and protesting. "Ayes to the right; Noes to the
left," says the Speaker." " Tellers for the Ayes,
Sir John —." The rest of the sentence is lost in
the confusion and hubbub. The gangway are at
this moment filled as by bees, and slowly, on ac-
count of the press, the friends and opponents of the
bill file off, up and down the floor, to the two lobbies.
It is long before the tellers can make their report
to the Speaker—never heard except by a teller or a
stranger----" The House is clear, Sir." The Speaker
makes the usual rejoinder, " The tellers may pro-
ceed to tell." The clergymen and Dissenting minis-
ters in the galleries draw a deep breath, and
await the issue in great excitement. A few
members enter the House after the division ; then
comes a steady stream from both lobbies, until by
degrees the House becomes densely filled, and an
almost impassable crowd collects behind the
Speaker's chair, and below the bar, so that the
respective tellers can hardly force their way
through to the table. By a singular circumstance,
the tellers for the Noes first present themselves to
the clerk, who with pen and slip of paper is ready
to make the usual memorandum, to be handed, in
due time, to the senior teller of the victorious party.
It is generally assumed that those who have fewest
votes to count will be first at the table, and, for a
few moments, the friends of the bill make them-
selves pretty sure of a triumph. But the tellers for
the Ayes are seen marching up the floor from the
bar. They go to the tabie and whisper to the
clerk. This is the critical instant. If the Ayes
have it, the paper will be handed to Sir J. Tre-
lawny. It is handed to Colonel Taylor, and a
deafening shout is sent up from the Conservative
benches. It is continued as the tellers range them-
selves on the floor, and prolonged even when they
come to the table, so that a few moments elapse
before the extent of Colonel Taylor's victory is
ascertained. At length he announces the numbers,
in a clear loud voice :
Ayes _
Noes
Majority against the bill.. —lO
This is progress; and again and again the reite
rated cheers of the Opposition ring through the
House. The Speaker, according to custom, repeats
the numbers, whereupon the cheers break out with
renewed vigour, until it occurs to the victorious
army that others are entitled to rejoice with them
over the discomfiture of the Abolitionists. There
is, thereupon, a rush to the clubs and the telegraph
offices ; and many a rector and vicar in cathedral
city and distant country town receives the welcome
news as he sits down to dinner, that the obnoxious
Church Rate Abolition Bill is again thrown ou
this time by a majority of ten.