Marshall County Republican. (Plymouth, Ind.) 1856-1878, 1869-12-09
Reporting the British House OF Com.

n
has been on visit to the British House of
Commons, and from his description OF
what he saw there we extract the following:
TUE REPoEIER's GALLERY.
The reporters gallery is directly in front
of the gallery where l am sitting. There
are fifteen boxes for their use to write in,
each reporter citing separate from his
comrade, and riiting characters for dear
life. These boxes resemble private boxes
in orr Opera House, with the difference
that they have no roof above them, and
are open to the public gaze. Behind these
fifteen boxes are seats for thirty more re-
porters. to take the place of those in the
boxes in turn as each reporter takes short
hand notes for 4 space OF ten to fifteen min
utes time, and is then relieved by his col
/ league, waiting above him, who steps into
his place as the other retires to the report
ers' room, in the corridor, to write out his
notes, and then To take them to the news
paper Office, or else. if he chooses, he may
send them by the small boys waiting in the
gallery, who are employed by the news
papers at salary of from eight to twelve
British shillings week. Latc at night,
it is customary for the reporter who has
notes of a very important speech which
he wishes to get to the composing
rooms to take cab from the Palace Yard,
where there are dozens of them always
waiting, and thus dash off to be in time for
the press The Times keeps thirteen re-
porters constantly IN the gallery, and the
Standard as many, if am not mistaken.
These men are all expert short hand re
porters, and get from five to eight guineas
per week according to their capability.
There is also a man who remains late to get
the gist OF what is said aud done in debate,
and from his notes he makes up a clear and
comprehensive summary. Then there is
the 'leader-writer, "the editor" proper,
and special reporter" who receive cards
of admission to that part OF the house IN
der the reporters gallery, and consequenui
on the floor of the House behind the Speak
er's chair. This is high favor, and only
granted most sparingly, and with discretion.
There are generally to be found about
twenty reporters in the gallery. but this
number is cieatly increased on 'field
night" when it is usual to find as
many as thirty-five or forty journal
ists in the gallery. From what have
seen of these parliamentary reporters they
seem very deliberate in their movements.
and do mot allow anything to hurry them.
They are nearly all, however, very pleas
ant gentlemen, and with few exceptions,
men of experience and scholarly attain
ments, two-thirds of them being men who
have taken honors at the universities, or at
Harrow, Eton, or Rugby, and in not a few
i distances they have begun life to go into
the church, and instead the charms of
journalism have taken them captive.
Some few of them are in the Inns of Court
as barristers during the day, and at night
the practice shorthand, earn q respectable
living, and gain experience from Englands 8
chosen representatives from their secluded
hooks in the gallery of the House. t was
not always that the press and its reporters
had such privileges as they now possess in
the House of Commons.
SAMUEL JOHNSON AS A REPORTER.
Before the adm; ;nistration of Sir Robert
Walpole there we no satisfactory records
of the debates inr the House. The fierce
contests between Walpole, Windham, Pull
teney and others, which had, indeed, for
some time before 1910 attracted attention
to the proceedings of the House, ana they
had been regularly reported in a confused
long-hand sort of fashion every month in
the Gentleman's and Londo n Magazine. the
former publication commencing the debate
in January. 1871, the latter in April, 1882,
but no attempt can be said to have been
the speeches until that department of the
Gentleman's Magazine was intrusted to
gruff old Samuel johnson, in November
1740. This is the commencement of the
era of parliamentary reporting in England.
Shorthand before that time is in
volved in chaos, and il is doubtful
if Johnson knew anything more than
the rudiments of the then crude system OF
stenography. Indeed, Johnson appears to
have given more of his own eloquence than
of what had actually been uttered in Par.
lament; but still what he did was in all
probability only to substitute one kind OF
eloquence for another better for a worse
or, 1t might be, sometimes, worse for q
better-and therefore, on the whole, the
speeches written by him, though less true
to the letter than those given by his prede-
cessors, may be received as a more living,
and, as such, truer representation of the
real debates than had ever before been pro-
duced. He would not take the trouble CT
be guilty of the absurdlty of expending his
lofty rhetoric upon the version of debate
or speech which had not really attracted at
tention by that quality, but suppose be
reserved his strength for occasions on which
those who had heard, or heard of, the or
igiual Grafton, would look for something
more brilliant than usual. 1t was not, how
eser, until after long and severe struggle
that the right of reporting the de-
bates of Parliament was gained
by the English press of that day. II is now
about 130 years ago, in the old days of the
Hanoverian and Pretenders troubles, that
anything spoken in the House was allowed
to be printed until after the session was
dissolved. The House, in its wisdom de-
nounced any carrier publication of the elo-
quence of the honorable members as a dar-
ing act of illegality. On the 14th of April,
1873, the House resolved that it is an high
indignity 10, and notorious breach of the
privilege ofthis House for any news mat.
ter or letters, or other papers, as minutes
or under any other denomination. or fol
anv printer or publ. her of any printed
NJ wspaper of any denomination to presume
to insert IL the said letters or papers, or tc
give therein any account Of the debates ol
or other proceedings of this House, or any
committee thereof, as well during the re
cess as the sitting of Parliament, and tha
this house will proceed with the utmos
severity against such Offenders The
House of Commons, it is needless to say
!. has progressed somewhat since then.
JOURNALISTIC PRIVILEGES.
1uO noutniy uidSaliurS, uotWltustauu
ing the resolution of the House, still con
tinued to print the debates, although fo
some time they took the necessary precau
ton of indicating the speakers by fictitious
names, to which they furnished their read
ers with key when the House became dis
solved. But it was not until the year It'll
; nearly a century ago, that the debates be
gan to be given to the public day by da,
as they occurred, and then the attemp
gave rise to contest between the Hous,
, and the newspapers, which occupied tn,
House, to the exclusion of all other bust
, ness. for three weeks, when a committe,
, was appointed, whose report, when it wal
read, two months after, suggested whethe
! it might not be expedient to order that tn,
offending parties should be taken into th,
custody OF the Sergeant-at-Arms Edmunt
/. .. Burke compared the decision, in his owl
brilliant manner, to the resolution of tn.
bewildered convocation of mice, that tn,
cat, to preven.her doing future destruction
should have bell hung to her neck, bu