The Sun.
London, England, 1870-06-11 00:00:00

JUNE 11, 1870.

SKETCHES IN PARLIAMENT.
HOUSE OF COMMONS, FRIDAY.

The Whitsun hodidays came to an end, so far as the
Government were concerned, at four o'clock yesterday after-
noon, but certainly not so far as regards a large number of
M.P.'s. Rumour said that the Ministry intended to resist
Mr.. Crawford's motion, and that Mr. Glyn had been
using his whip in order to bring up unwilling Minis-
terialists from the country. If rumour was true the
crack of Mr. Glen's whip could not have been suffi-
ciently loud, for the house was very thin when Mr.
Crawford began to speak. This took place early,
shortly after Lord Mahon had taken his seat,
for the catechising was short. At that time
the benches below the right hand gangway which have
hitherto been more crowded throughout the session than
any other part of the House except the Treasury bench,
were almost empty. Before the recess they were filled
night after night by gentlemen who spoke with the richest
of brogue, and with that little party of Secularists who
believe that they are the England of the future, and that
it rests with them to say how the kingdom is to be educated.
Last night the Secularists had the block of benches pretty
nearly to themselves. The Irish members, wearied
out by their labours in helping or hindering the
Land Bill, denouncing with only half a heart the Coercion
Bill, and opposing with might and main until three in the
morning Mr. Newdegate's admission into nunneries, were
all away: Sturdy Sir John Gray, long-leggy, laud«

voiced Mr. Synan, aristocratic-looking Mr. Maguire,
plebeian-looking Mr. M`Carthy Downing, natty Mr.
Bryan, and all the rest of the Hibernians who used to sit
knee to knee, except (which was very often) when they
were standing to orate—all these were absent, taking a
well-earned holiday in the groves of Blarney or on
the shores of Killarney. Per contra Mr. Disraeli
was back in his place, blithe as though there were no
Blackwood ; debonnair as though there were no " wild man"
—smiling, in fact, in spite of the Anglo-American Pro-
fessor'g blow, just as Tom Sayers smiled after the blow of
the Hiberno-American pugilist.. The Treasury bench was
marvellously thin. Mr. Gladstone and Mr. Lowe were
for some time the only. occupants. To them came from
time to time Mr. Glyn, bearing news from the lobbies,
and I fancy not altogether encouraging news, for the
two chiefs of the Treasury talked vigorously together,
seemingly unmindful of the speeches that were being
made all around them, yet doubtless fully alive to the
fact that a little revolt was going on, and that it would be
dangerous to try too far the allegiance even of those who
had not joined the movement.
Mr. Crawford, the member for the City, was the ring-
leader. A weighty man is he in every sense of the word,
and one whose remonstrances are not to be treated with
contempt. He delivered a half-hour's speech, business-
like enough, but dry for the most part. Once or twice he
made a good point, as when dwelling on the fact that
the refiners had paid the duty on their sugar
in, advance, he said that their case deserved the special
consideration of a Chancellor who was living upon taxes
paid in advance. It was significant of the small love that
Mr. Lowe inspires among the Liberals that one member
after another, who_ opposed the Budget proposal at
issue, rose from the Liberal benches. Mr. Crawford, for
instance, sat on the row immediately behind the Treasury
bench. He was followed by Mr. Rathbone, the minority
Liberal member for Liverpool ; and Mr. Rathbone
by two of the members for Glasgow. Alderman Lusk
attempted to defend the Chancellor ; but he was effectu-
ally put down by Mr. Samuel Morley, who in behalf of
his constituents, the sugar men of Bristol, said amid
general cheering that it was a pity that a budget which
had been received with general satisfaction by the nation
should inflict hardship on any class. He was followed on
the same side by Mr. Magniac, M.P. for St. Ives,
who spoke fluently and with an evident acquaint-
ance with his subject, and by Mr. Grieve, of
Greenock, who, like the members for Glasgow,
spoke in behalf of the Clyde sugar maret.
All these were Ministerialists. Mr. Graves was the first
Oppositionist, and he spoke with vehemence and even
eloquence, so far as was possible with such a theme.
Then there were loud cries of "Lowe !" and after a little
coyness on his part, he got up and made a half-hour
speech. He pointed out a. technical objection to Mr.
Crawford's resolution at the outset, and then proceeded
to deal with the points raised by the various representa-
tives of the saccharine interest. I am not going
to reproduce his speech for it was dry and
sleep-compelling ; but, so far al I could understand
it in the intervals of successive nods it seemed that the
Chancellor, having had an unfavourable report from Mr.
Glyn, was really conceding nearly all that Mr. Crawford
and his sugary friends wished. But he was very severe,
and spoke with Spartan rigidity and sternness about the
grievous financial immorality of confounding refiners
and dealers, and treating the second on the same principle
as the first. _

When the Chancellor sat down, up rose that vir pietate
gravis, Mr. Thomas Baring, who though M.P. for the
tiny borough of Huntingdon, really represents the City,
and has all the influence in the House that he could have
if he. had been sent there by the votes of ten thousand elec-
tors. Mr. Baring was eloquently severe against the
Chancellor, and talked much about the sin of treating classes
unequally. It was nonsense for Mr. Lowe to say, as he
had said, that hon. members wished him to tell all
the world before-hand what fiscal changes he pro-
posed to make. They did not want to be in his
confidence, but they did want to have confidence in him
and in every financial Minister—confidence that whatever
changes were made, justice would be done. There was
great cheering as the great man spoke. He was followed
by Mr. Stephen Cave, who has a personal interest in
sugar, I beheve, and who was the only member of the late
Government to take part in the debate. When Mr.
Macfie got up, the House began to get impatient, and to
call for a division, for it was close upon seven
o'clock. But the end was not yet. There were
Mr. Crosse, and Mr. Orr-Ewing, and others to be
heard, and just about seven o'clock Mr. Gladstone rose.
He, like his colleague, was great, grand indeed, upon the
necessity of maintaining the distinction between the
dealer and the refiner, a distinction which itself seemed
very much like over-refining ; especially as the cloud of
words which followed was evidently intended to conceal
the Ministerial retreat. Mr. Crawford's resolu-
tions were three in number. Two of them
Mr. Gladstone yielded absolutely, the third par-
tially, but these in language that reminded
one of Falstaff's " not upon compulsion, Hal ;" he yielded
it, with a reservation as regarded his principles—
that is to say he could not in theory treat the dealers
in the same way as the refiners ; but he would con-
sider each individual case, even among the dealers, upon
its own merits. Mr. Bouverie then interposed, and advised
Mr:Crawford to rest satisfied with what the Chancellor and
the I'remierhad said ; when, amid cries of " Crawford," the
member for the City rose, and expressed his willingness to
witljdraw his resolutions if—and then followed an attempt
to explain Mr. Gladstone's explanations, which no one
could understand. As the rules of the House forbade Mr.
Lowe and Mr. Gladstone to speak again, Mr. Cardwell,
who', as the very impersonation of sweetness, should have
been especially qualified to speak on the subject, was put
up by his colleagues. He clearly did not understand the
subject, and had to be prompted by Mr. Gladstone. But
the end of it was that Mr. Samuel Morley, who repre-
sented the dealers, graciously nodded his satisfaction, and
Mr.; Crawford withdrew his resolutions, and members
passed out of the House to a half-past seven o'clock
dinner.
The sitting lasted for six hours after this. Several
notable incidents occurred. The most unusual was a
speech from the gentleman, who on the discus a non
Nand° principle, is called the Speaker. The House was
in committee, was under the presidency of Mr. Dodson,
that' is, therefore, Mr. Denison had the full right to speak ;
not but what he has a legal right to speak on all occasions
for or against a measure, but etiquette forbids. On this
occasion he came forward, arrayed in full canonicals, to the
front table, and amid the cheers of the House spoke in favour
of Mr. Gregory's proposal to exempt farmers' horses from
the 'duty which Mr. Lowe proposed to levy on them in
casetthey were employed to draw materials for repairing
the highways. Mr. Gregory, I should state, belongs to
the eminent legal firm of Gregory and Rowcliffe, and he
has taken a certain standing in the House during the
session and a half he has been a member of it. In fact,
he is a very welcome recruit to the country party. On
this occasion he led them to victory. After
the sugar discussion had been got rid of, mem-
bers no longer thought it neeessary to remain in
the House, and a large number of them left. The conse-
quence was that, when Mr. Gregory's motion was put,
less than 100 members took part in the division, and Mr.
Glyn and his supporters had the mortification of finding
themselves •hi a minority of 4 ; the Speaker
both speaking and voting against them. This was
the first Ministerial defeat of the session and was
received with as much cheering and laughter as fifty
Oppositionists could raise. Mr. Gladstone did not likethis,
and he assumed almost a menacing tone when he said that
Government must reconsider their position with regard
to this duty. The Opposition were not frightened by
the menace, but laughed again. We are not going
to have a, Ministerial crisis just yet. There is no need to
bring the Queen back from Scotland, as happened this
time four years. This was incident No. 2. Incident
No. 3 was a speech from Mr. Disraeli, as if to disprove
the very ominous rumours which have been spread
during the last few hours that he is dying of the
disease which killed Cardinal Wiseman. No. 4
was a burst of wrath from two members of the House
militant—Colonel North and bald-headed Colonel Stuart
Knox—who were very angry with the bearded Mr. Ander-
son because he wished to reduce the pay of staff officers.
Colonel North accused the member for Glasgow of the