Nashville union and dispatch. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1866-1868, 1868-06-21
MANNERS OF THE BRITISH Pan
LAMENT


The Saturday ReuieD Is very bitter on
the House Of Commons for ils want Of
manners. IL SAYS ..
For pretty nearly this whole session the
House Of Commons has gone az nearly as
possible 10 the verge Of the manners and
language Of what used to be called bear
garden. What the manners and language
Of a bear garden were we have no means
Of knowing bul that Elizabethan assem-
bly, must have been very bad indeed if il
were worse than its Victorian antitype.
Acrimonious personal discussions, a scene,
free fight Of tongues at any rate-and it
is almost pity that il should not be Of
Gsts-this is The stereOtyped comment on
our living parliamentary manners. Pos
sibly there Is no provocatiOn for all this.
The taunts generally have something Of
substance TO Justify them. When men are
in a false position, is undoubtedly the
case with the Ministry and Mr.. Dsraelps
supporters, they are apt to feel 1t.
II is not in human nature, when ones en-
envy is covered with mud, not 10 remind
him Of his dirty coat; nor is il in human
nature, when ones coat is dirty, and every
body points IL out, not 10 feel sore and show
ones soreness. And on the other hand,
when you know that y0u are only one Of a
rabble, and WREN your beat, if your most
insuierably candid friend, assures YOU Of
the fact, this conviction hardly tends 10
good humor, because il certainly damages
personal selfrespect. So that il comes b
this-that both sides Of the House not only
are, but know they are in a false position,
and resent it accordingly. Their resent
meut takes vulgar form because, nnfOr-
tunately, it represents a state of things in
consistent with selfrespcct A man is al
ways petulant, irritable and offensive when
be knows that he Is in discreditable posi-
ton This is the case Just now with the
House of Commons. Last year it passed
a reform bill which hree-fourths Of the
House disliked or vehementy sus-
peeted This year the Opposition has
affected a false and A simulated una
nimity in favor Of a measure for which
there il little enthusiasm, and which, had
they been in Office, they never would have
proposed; while, as regards the Ministerial
benches, there is an al but universal feel
ing that great constitutional party Is being
once more tricked. And il ia because the
other side chooses TO avow its secret con-
..T victions that IL shows on every ocCasioni its
soreness and spite and sense Of humiliation.
Coarse language, unieeling and precpi-
tate action, are only the outward form aud
expression Of a deep inward sense Of
degradalion. Parliament is ill-tempered
and ill-maunered because it knows that it
is in a false position. One member would
not call his friends rabble, nor would an
other Balute his allies rs yelping hounds,
unless the sense of humiliation was on
either side very keen and piercing 4 min
.au istry on suferanee rated, and compelled
to bear il with patient shrug, may per
-haps know that uilerance is 10 badge, but
Lido. can hardly he expected, with Shylock's
r treatment, 10 show other than Shylock's
temper The smiling cheek with which
Mr.. Dsraeli meets the Antonio Of Parlia
ment cannot be better than the goodly out
side faisehood hath; snd, 10 do Mr.. Glad
stone Justice, he reciprocates his rivals
temper, and he is as like i.H
To spit on him again and spuu him TOO,
for all Mr. Disrseli's smenity aud courlesy.