New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1875-05-03
THE BRITISH PARLIAMENT.
QUESTIONS OF PRIVILEGE AND JURISDlC-
TION.

LONDON, April 1.-The house OF Coninhohs
attack on the press has ended in the complete dis
comiture of the assailant. Before Friday night
came. everybody in the House, Mr.. Dsrael and Mr..
Charles Lewis included, had discovered that the
House had taken up not merely an undigrifed but
an impossible position. There stood the order for
the appearance of the printers of The Times and The
Daily Nelcs to for the publication of letter
communicated to them by Committee of the
House. The printers would of course appear But
already, on Thursday night, Mr.. Disraeh had
announced that on Friday he would move a resolu-
ton that the Committee report to the House the cir
cumstances under which the letter of Mr.. Herran
had been supplied to the papers in question This
was the signal for retreat all along the line. Great
the anxiety to get Mr.. GoOdlake and Mr..
Hales the two printers, before the House. the anXi
ETY. to get rid of them greater still and
it took the most comical shape. Poor Mr..
Lewis was Obliged last night to make his
motion that the printers who in attendance be
called in. At the time he was under orders to
state that when he took the course he did Tues
day, he took it without any conference with the
Government Now, he intended to leave himself
wholly in the hands of the Government, and he
eager state that he moved for Che appearance
of Mr.. GOOdlake and Mr. Hales purely a matter
of form. To do Mr. Lewis Justice. his speech and his
motion were az Pickwickian as possible. The Press
has dealt with him gently; perhaps cOntemptuousy
and don't suppose either Mr.. GoOdlake or Mr.. Haies
themselves, two very harmless gentleman, cherish
any anmOsity against him for the sudden publicity
into which he has brought them.
Mr. Disraeli rose at once to throw Mr. Lewis over.
He did il without single expression Of conjunction.
He had to get himself out of scrape, and to show
the whole House the way out Of that into which he
had led it, Naturally he had time to waste on the
single member whose excessive zeal had been the
fountain Of the mischief The Prime Minister proved
himself on this occasion, he has on Others the
counterpart of the Heather Chinee. He was chldke
and bland. He owned his mistake. He had had no
time for preparation. 1t all Mr.. loves fault.
Mr.. Lowe ought never to have received such letter
He ought never to have given it TO the papers. He
ought to have told the House he had given it. 1t was
ms fault that the House found itself in such a diem
ma and he proposed TO get out of it by requiring Mr.
Lowe and his Committee to state whether the letter
of Mr. Herran was read before the Committee and
what was done about IL.
The temptation to have another fling at Mr. Lowe
was, suppose too strong for Mr.. Dsraeli to resist
but he would better have let alone The blot in his
statement was too obvious and Sir William Har-
court there TO point il ont. Beginning with the
remark that they must all sympathze with Mr.. Dis
raelrs effort to extricae the House from the undig
niied mess into which the Prime Minister and Mr.
Lewis had got il, Sir William TecOunted with painful
clearness the facts we already know then said in
substance; The House could not be too solicitous
10 repair its blunder, but the method Mr.. Disraeh
proposed was only adding another. The House had
voted on Tuesday that the reading of the letter made
part of the proceedings of the Committee; now on Fri
day, Mr.. DsraeH says, Let us inquire whether that
is fact which on Tuesday we unanimously declared
was a fact We have summoned the printers to the
hnr to rbpth thora
any reason for summOning them at all. Why not
ourselves right in straightforward, manly wayf
Discharge the order for the attendance of the
printers; then if you want TO pursue your attack
the Committee, 90 so without subteTfuge." Sir
William HarcOurt's speech was very lucid recital
of the essential parts of the case. and a very good
example of the wit and satirical humor and
talent for hard hitting for which its learned author
has a deserved reputation.
There were a number Of other speeches, but it il
needless 70 go further details Ar Lewis closed
the discussion by smart retOrt Sir William Har-
court then the motion to call in the printers was
negatived Mr. Disraelis resolution being next of
fered as a substantive motiOn-which seems an odd
way of doing Parliamentary business-SiI William
Harcourt proposed his amendment to discharge the
original order. This rejected by 166 TO 231-a
party division. Mr. Disraeli's motion was then
agreed TO without a division and he thereupon
renewed Sir William Harcourt's motion
which, amendment TO Mr.. Dsraeis
the House had immediately before rejected, and
which il now adopted Well might members ex-
press, than one of them did, fear lest the
house becoming the laughing stock of the
nation. 1t has got of its difficulty 1t has
jured down the appartOn had conjured up. 1t has
made it's submission the Press sought coerce
But II has done IL all in the most shutting way and
has regaincd its liberty of action without regaining
the respect it had forfeited by its attack on the
liberty Of others And this il to he sincerely re-
GREETED The British House of Commons has long
been the first Assembly in the world it is buwark of
Parliamentary institutions, and who believes
in representative government take pleasure in
seeing it's fame impaired by it's own willfulness OF
carelessness or still worse, by an attempt at the
exercise of arbitrary power The only party 10 the
transaction which comes out well is the Press 1t
has been temperate and firm, and it's position is dis
tinctly improved by it's successful resistance to a
usurped jurisdiction. For though 1T admit
ted the technical right of the House to
treat the publication of the letter as a breach
of privilege, it showed throughout that it
did not mean TO submit to substantial injustice
Oh the plea of technical liability.
A case of scarcely less importance possibly
of more, since it decided the wrong way
was the Prittlewen petition. A number of
the people of that place-a dingy little parish
in South Essex-lately signed a petition TO
Parliament im1uGning Il take Mr. Disraeh's account
of III the conduct of the three judges who presided
at the Echborne trial and praying for their removal.
The petitioners further state that they have heard
with alarm and surprise that the Speaker Of the
House had announced that petitions complaining of
unfair trial would not be received They then pro-
coed, says Mr.. Disrsel "in a style of intense
invective, and end by prayer for the impeachment