Green-Mountain freeman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1844-1884, 1864-06-14
tflisGellallp.
The English Commons House and Its Mem
hare

The English Commons House and Its Mem
bers.
From the Correspondence Of the New Yorl Trlbune.
The House Of Commons s q most surprising
place to an American. Legislative assembages
being associated IN his mind with The vast ami
superb amphlthestres in which the national
business is transacted at Washington, he r.
stricken with astonshment upon being ushered
into the little room where the Parlmmet
Of the UnteI ktngdom assemblies that Is II be-
does get ushered IN for there is 10 prcparatinf
here for the people 70 enter, and sre and hem
what is going on. one aho dcarc- 30 c.tei
must have trend az Court. lhs ir-n1 muat
put hls name down upon lst tor ONE DAY
theioaitcr, az which Tine The r-uddate tor
admission must be prcslnt az Or nsar F. NJ ,
when Parllm'nt meets, or h's place VIII pas-
to the next 90 the lls'. Y pas 10 smait
'open hail Or rotIndt You Z ge y uf Gard io
tn door keeper ~ wr .c hand on af. pa 60
10 pbrcrve a whole raeA y cards which must
delivered before yours to the various IN inbefs
who rcpiesep, the throug OF patent -prlts out
side With this throng you then take your
stand under the aggressive protection OF BAT
hff, whose business II Is 10 push each parieut
breast Of least once, and tell TO " stand back
At last YOU see your member coming ut the sln-
gle door sou fig to him, aud lAlnttng 90 bic
breast, are borne 10 the Strangers gallery, Or, II
you are lucky, 10 the lnolUsure down on the
door. There ate nearly thirty millions Of IeJ-
pie in the United Kingdom Ol these about
three hundred may get into the "a lcrcs, &c
of the House a one time--tbs including the
report rs gallery. Ladies aIe not supposed 70
be IN III. House al ali Nevertheless, II you
are far-aighlod. you may see Up near the ceiling
something that looks like a tapcsiiy, and the
movements OF the figures on II suggest that they
may be ladies Tbey are. Up there, behind
thick grating, are the patriotic subjec'r sses o.
the Queen, peering through the httle holes 10 a
manner quite ludlcrous 70 behold. The HOus ,
though small is elegant andeyeywhero carved
oak. Through the keledesc1pe gass roof
streams down soft and charming light At
one END, under the reporters and ladle' lleries,
is the Speakers chair, in which be sits ike
statue of Old Time 10 = niche and he and his
clerks, with their great curled white perukes,
gowns, &c, aud the Keeper Earl RussulPa
bfother), with his little legs IN buckskln Tight
and buckle-shoes, and hair with extensive pig
tail, give you an idea that they have JUS popped
in from masquerade, and have not had time to
change their dresses The seats run at parallel
lines with each other from one end OF the
House to the other On these t-e members 81
close together, without table, desk or anything
else before them Not a book or a newspaper
can be seen near them. And as they SIT with
their hats on, they resemble nothing 30 much as
Quaker meeting. Here Doubt, e. the Quaker
idea originated As with them, here only he
who is absolutely speaking takes his bat on
and when he has finished claps it ON again with
enthusiasm. (lndeed the devotion Of an Eng
lishman 1t all tunes TO his stiff and cruel stove
pipe hat is that Of mother for her deormed
chiId.) On Monday evening was one OF the
lucky, and got into one OF the Enclosures on the
floor. These stand upon each side ol th9 door
by which the members enter Here my arm
rested uneomiortaby upon carved dragon,
which might have been very agreeable 10 the
eye alone My neighbor just IN front OF me
must rest his on a couohant lion and the ter
mt al sculpture is a rampant unicorn On the
opposite side are a surrlan modification OF the
dragon, a sphynx-like lion, and lion (rampan)
t match the unicorn on our side-a lion, by
the way, so exactly like that sterreotyped upon
Punch, that think it certain that Punch cop
led il. These carved beasts on each side have a
laughable correspondence with Palmerston and
Disraeli, who sil opposite each other In the same
way at the other end of The room, " lighting
for the CROWN The resemblance ls heightened
by that remarkable lock Of hair which, on the
bald space twlxt the side.vcks ot Dlsraeli S
head, llts stfy down coled like black snake,
las the Liberals sly) IN repose, but when attack
ing the Government, very much like the horn oi
the unicorn aforesaid.
The House is divided into four sections LIST.
The Government lsupposed to be hberaD aud its
supporters 2. The partial support
ers Of the GovernmAi 3. The Opposition AMI
Its straght-out supporters; 4. The partial sup
portefs OF the Opposition. The Government,
with Lord palmerston and the Cabinet, SIT on
the speaker right, the officers occupying the
first seat down on the floor flor the benches rise
higher as they recede TO the walQ This sec
ton attracts the greatest attention, although
perhaps the first inquiry OF every one who en-
ters the House is, " Which is Dlsraeli p Lord
Palmerstou couples he centre Of the bench,
where he seems to have been carved to stay quite
as much as that very dng-likc hon in oak at the
door. He sits there by night-that shrewd,
ready-wtted, reddish whlte-headed old Premier.
There is not sparkle about him, not tint tl
romance, not u trait Of her0ism lie is th tai'
representative of England in her sOlstice OF
England with no future before her but to bold
ON as long us she can 60 her past GA his lett
sits Mr.. Gladstone, with strong features and a
darkisb look. lie speaks with nerve, and, as it
we're, sends out little bullets of speech--one of
which was his famous declaration that the king
OF Naples has erected Atheism into system OF
Government" Next is Mr. Layard, solid,
burly Engshman, with a Dat voice, graylsh
hair large mnstache and beard, and a" spruced-
up" dress lie has great deal more humor
than his position will allow him TO display, Mr.,
llorseman has just asked him il the Government
has heard OF the report that ship is going out
from Liverpool to capture the Alabima, and
whether the Government will take the same
care to prevent that that it has TO prevent the
departure OF ships for The Conl,deraoy. Mr..
Layard rises and says he has OILY read some
thing OF the kind IN the newspapers. The pa
per in which be read il had asked whether 1t
was Confederate dodge liz that case, the
gentleman (Mr. Horseman) would know more
Vt II than the Goyernmeol There wasa rolleiy
in Mr.. Layard's tone az he said shs, aud an ln'
yolun,ariness in the laugh which followed 1t
which made uorseman thoroughly snubbei
snd uneasy man for the next ten minutes. 0n
Pdlmers,ons right sat Earl Gray, man in
appearance very much like Horace Mann during
the last years OF his life lie has, however, a
poor voice, which Horace Mann had not, Earl
Gray Is evidently sincere man, and laborious