Burlington free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1827-1865, 1855-03-09
tConREsrON DENCE ~ tnE rrEE rntss.1
Letters hom England.
NO. XVIII.
The Ncio Houses of Parliament.

LONDON, January 2j, 1853.
It would be difficult to find on the earth spot |
of equal dimensions so crowded with histo-
rio interest to every one who claims an Anglo !
Saxon lineage, MS that portion of the City Of /
Wcstminstcr--a hundred rods square, perhaps
which includes the Abbey and the Houses of
Parliament, lie who can take u stranger
through the Courts, yards, cloistcrs, and in
tcriors comprised within that small area,
connect each foot of ground, each groin and
buttrcss, each inscription and device with its
appropriate scenery in history, art, litcra.
turc, and religion, portray with detail and
circumstance the transactions which the
walls have witnessed, and recall the words to
which the roofs have echoed, must be
master of English History. lie must begin
| far back before the time of mind i'm the
words Of an old writ, when " tho Kings
| Palace ut Westminster was buildcd and
edited by and nigh unto the Monastery
and Abbey of ST. Peter Of Westminster
| and further stil-at the time when that
Abbey was itself Duidcl and edited, and he
must only stop with that stone which pcr-
! haps moment ago was swinging upwards
over the heads of Lords and Commons in de-
bate.
Although the student Of English Histor
will remember many occasions when Parlia-
mcnt was in early times summoned to other
places than estminster-and will account
for this by considering that its original duty
was to attend upon The King and give him
aid and counsel in the high concerns of the
rcalm--yet it was generally convened here
where the King for the most part kept his
| Court. 1t should also be borne in mind that
not only the " High Court Of Parliament"
but the Supreme Courts of Judicaturc, were
parts of the Kings CouncH, and hence were
summoned to sit in the Kings Palace. From
the Conlcssor to Henry VIII, Westminster
was royal residence, Parliament and the
three public Courts, Of Exchcqucr, Kings
Bench, and Common Pleas sat in different
apartments Of the Kings Palace at West
n,inst,r.' Accordingly when Henry began
10 ,ancy the oil Palace somewhat too old
fashioned and runous Ion his magnificent
court, aud chose rather to fix his residence
at Whitehall ithen York Placc) II little far
thcr down the river, Parliamentary grant
extended the limits Of the Palace Of West
minister SO as to include Whitehall. These
facts will serve to explain the fiction by
which the new Houses Of Parliament are
called the d" New Palace of Westminster
And now as the visitor crosses the street
, from Poets Corner and stands in front of the
most magnificent specimen Of ornamcntcd
f Architecture in the world. what part will
he most desire to see Which room does he
, expect to ontnr with the most thrilling asso-
citations And which will he be most proud Of
D having visited Will it be- that gorgeous
, chamber of the Lords with it's gildcd and
iewcled throne it, rich cmhlnzonry, its freq
Goes AMI storied panucl> Or will it hot
rather be the other chamber, less brilliant
| but hardly less imposing in its dark carved
b oak than the former in its gliding, the cham
1 Der where a coronct is never seen, where
lawn never rustles, but vet where the real
noblemcn OF England have wrought out the
=, most glorious passages in her history.
An enthusiastic friend in America write,
u me that he thinks he should feel almost in
c spired, if he could stand whore Hampton, tn,
1 Pitts, Burke, Fox. and Canning pronounce,
= their great speeches. You must not under
stand me as intimating that a visitor can nov
see the identical House Of Commons whcr
y ,...-.-.. l.,..l"e u, tho history Of EngilsI
r liberty were fought. This House IN whicl
the Commons had sat ever since Edward VI
was almost entirely destroyed by fire in ls34
Remembering that the Reform Bill had heel
previously passed, and that with the cxccp
I ton Of the Corn Law agitations there la
been no great national contest since tina
, time, our chief interest as Anglo Saxons
]. gathers round that old chapel ofSt Stephen
P in which the Commons sat nearly three cen
turtles
The Commons first sat n separate bod
=, in the Chapter House of W Westminster Abbey
a There is an old story that they once got s.
noisy as to disturb the good Dean, and tina
c he unceremoniousy turned them out of HI
:, house, speaker and all. At the dissolution
c of monustcries, the chapel Of ST. Stephc
which had been originally built by that mon
arch and had long existed as part OF a mon
; astic establishment, was fitted up for tn
Commons. At the time Of the union Wit
h Ireland in 1900, the room WAS not larg
= enough to accommodate the 100 new mem
i bers, and the whole side walls were take
down. Ever after this enlargement, tn
chamber is described as small and indifferent
I l. ~.
$ taken up with the table and members "gree
5 benches" rising.in tiers one above anothe
Y around three sides, the whole is said to hay
t presented the close and busting appearance
c Of Il workshop. The clamor became genera
after time, that the Houses Of Pariamen
were disgrace to the nation, and when til
fire of 1884 destroyed the House Of Commons
d the opportunity was eagerly embraced 70
n urging the entire reconstruction Of the Palace
d After much debate, the measure was adou
o ted, and the "Ncw Palace. an cdifcc, r
y richly decorated, as to hc thought by som
n out of good tastc-is the result. The build
y ings are by no means finished, and cannot h
for many years to come, but tho Lords nm
. Commons have occupied their new chamber
h since 1876
F. Your Chroniclcr
GRIFFITH,
no. KIN.
LoNpoN, Feb. Il. s55.
4 To the Ed,,a, oftbo Fro Press.
r When an English Statesman is spoken {