National Republican. (Washington City (D.C.)) 1872-1888, 1874-04-06
"oRDER" IN PARLIAMENT.
A SCENE IN THE HOUSE OF LORDS
FORTY YEARS AGO.
tFrom the Pail Mall Gazette.J

| ... EORTY YEARS AtO.
tFroui the Pail Mall Gazetts.J
Ia his speech upon Mr.. Brands reelection,
| Lord George Cavendish revived the memory Of
the severe warning once given to the Com
mons-less they should be as disorderly as the
members of another house. The seems Lord
George Cavendish had in mind was probably
that which occurred in the House Iof Lords in
April, 1881, when William ". was suddenly
brought BY Lord Grey to see the necessity of
dissolviEg Parliament, and burst of enthu-
sissm declared he would 60 down to West
minister at ouse-"Eever mind the royal cas:
riages; send for hackney .coachp' While the
King was coming, the angry peers who opposed
thls exercise Of the royal prerogative were so
disorderly and spoke with such violence Of the
ministers that the Duke of Richmond, men,
Der of the government, moved that the stand
:ng order against offensive speeches should be
read. -s
It was an order passed in 1926, and runs in this
quaint form: To prevent misunderstanding
and for avoiding offensive speeches, when mat
tiers are debating either in the house or at COM
mittees, 1t is for honor's sake thought fit and 50
ordered, that all personal, sharp, taxing speech
es be forborne; and whosoever snswereth an
other mans speech shall apply his answer to
he matter without wrong to. the person; and
as nothing offensive is to be spoken, so nothing
is to be Ill taken If the party that speaks t shall
presently make fair exposition or clear de-
NAL of the words that might bear any Ill con-
struction; and If any offence of this kind be
given, as the house itself will be very sensible
thereof, so it will sharply censure the offenders
tand give the party offended at reparation and
full satisfaction" But the reading of the or
der by the clerk at the table did not prevent
continued wrangling.
The records Of the time show that there was
CRUSHING and busting" among some of their
lordships, with shaking Of handsome say
| As-in each others faces, while Lord Mans
lid, who was on his legs when the royal pro-
cessiSc entered, could only be stopped by vio-
lent hands, which pulled him back into his
place. It is true that in the Commons at the
same time there was hardly less excitement
while discussing the question of dissolution or
no dissolution. Lord John Russell could not
be heard above the Storm. Sir Robert Peel,
Lord Althorp and Sir Francis Burdett were
cup" at the same moment, each gesticulating
violently; and when "Black Rod" came to
summon the Commons, Sir Robert Peel, usually
the most impressive and orderly Of men, could
only be brought to his seat, like Lord Mans
field, by less heated friends, who hauled at the
skirts of his coat. Still, it was agreed that the
indecorum of the Peers was lower depth to
which the Commons did not on that occasion
sink.
| On other occasions the Peers, presumably Sc
date by reason or age, and grave by sense Of
high position and dignity, have forgotten them
selves sadly. Sir Erskine May, in his Consti-
tutionN History, collects some examples of
their rough invective. Thus, in 1776, the
Duke of Richmond hoped the Peers would not
be brow-beaten by an insolent minister-a
speech which, as Horace Walpole alleges,
drove Chatham from the House of Lords dur
ing the remainder of bis administrator. The
following denunciation of ministers in ITS does
not err through mildness: "Who can wonder
that you should try to negative any measures
which must annihilate your power, deprive
you of your emoluments, and at once reduce
you to the state of insignifcsncef Tor which God
and nature designed you"
e Lord Mansfield, having been charged by Lord
shelbourne with drawing up certain bills relat-
ing to America, declared that his accuser had
uttered the most gross fslseboods. and said the
charge was as unjust as Il was maliciouslv and
indecen.Iv urped' In the same debate Lord
IvttIeton imnuted To Lord Camden profession
al subtletv and low GINNING. and in 1777 Lord
Chatham accused Lord Cover Of netnIance and
rno1irnont r,I0renressnt.tion T. =. clear that
the GOOD old or5er acoinst n nersonaI sbarn
Or teriny snaacbes,; was not then of rnncb
oyoil Yst va do m. tno1v chat this 1onono ,e
ia STRONGER tina. Lord Broupham used in the
Honse of Commons 6ftv wears later. when.
sneaking of the Duke of WELLINGTON. he notnt'
ed to Sir r. Peel and his colleagues and ex-
claimed: "Him accuse not. Il is Won &C.
cuse. vor his Aatterers bis mean, favrin,
nsras,tesp, ~
The unreformed House of Commons was
great in inarticulate sounds, such as Drawing,
baaing and mewing, which led to Mr.. Brough-
ANS remark, when thus interrupted, "that by
a wonderful disposition of nature every animal
had peculiar way of expressing itself, and he
was too much of philosopher to quarrel with
such noises" The Peers have used hard words
of each other and on one occasion literally
booted the members of the Commons from
Nry7n