Watertown republican. [volume] (Watertown, Wis.) 1860-1906, 1880-07-21
Scenes in Parliament.
TLondon Paper.1

[London Paper.1
Judging from scenes which have taken
place already, the new Parliament is like
ly to be sensational one. The Home
Rulers have been largely reinforced, and
their tactics during the last Parliament
were SO thoroughly to the liking of their
constituents that 1t may be presumed
they will pursue them with fresh en-
thusiasm in this House. Moreover, al.
though Valley, Onslow and DR.. Kenealy
are gone, there is an exceptionally large
number of members who are possessed
by missions or who possess hobbies.
There are atheists, Ultramontanes, Orange.
men, extreme Radicals, high Tories,
rabid Dissenters, Fenians and Jingoes,
and the legislation to which many of
them are committed is of the "extra
hazardous" class. 1t is safe to say, how.
ever, that whatever may occur, Sir Frs
kline May, the Clerk of the House, and
perhaps the greatest of Parliamentary
writers, will be able TO find q precedent
for it, and for its treatment also, although
Mr. Gladstone has contrived an unprece.
dented method for suppressing Mr..
O'Donnell. Should that Home Ruler be.
come intolerable, however, there is the
case of Hemming. a Wiltshire member, In
1910. Grafton, in his Chronicles" says
this honorable gentlemen sin the Par.
lament Hous (beyng sobere) did spreade
abroade lewde aud sedicious converse.
tione, and being thereof detected, he was
sett on the pillory in Chepesyde in Lon.
don"-a base and Saxon method for sup-
pressing free speech which the member
from hungarian would not relish.
Should MIR. Bradlaugh and the Radicals
attempt to cut down the Queens privy
purse and deprive the poor German Prin.
ces of their allowances, there is the case
of Queen Henrietta, Charles Us consort,
who, under somewhat similar circumstan.
ces, instructed the Attorney General to go
to the House "and pull the rogues who
scoffed at Royalty out by the ears"
Pepys describes scenes not likely to be
paralleled in the present Parliament, with
all It's turbulent elements. Here is one
under date of the 10Th of December, 1906
My Lord Buckingham was leaning rude
ly over my Lord Marquis Dorchester,
when my Lord Dorchester removed his
elbow. The Duke of Buckingham asked
whether he was uneasy. Dorchester re-.
piled that he burst not do that anywhere
else. Buckingham said he burst and that
he was better man than Dorchester.
Dorchester said that he lied. With this
Cu Ills uht auu look
him by his periwig and pulled 1t aside
and held him." Both were sent to the
Tower for this breach of the peace; but
their conduct was not SO unpleasant as
that of Sir Allen Brodericke and Sir
Allen Apsley, who, says Pepys, ibid
come drunke the other day into the
House, and did both speak for half an
hour together, and could not be either
laughed or pulled or bid to sit down and
hold their peace" There was q dreadful
row in 1875 over division on the recall
Of the English regiments with the French
army. The tellers were charged with
fraud, and members mounted the benches
and hurled epithets of insult and threats
of defiance at one another. This lasted
half an hour, when Mr.. Speaker restored
order and motion was passed pledging
the members to secrecy.
In those days the opponents of I'm.
perialism were in imminent peril. John
Coke, the member for Derby, protested
against the arbitrary conduct Of James
II.'s Ministers, and was met with cries OF
"Take down his words ~ "To the Tower ="
etc, and to the Tower he was sent.
Collisions between the two Houses were
of frequent occurrence. In 1772, Burke
complained that he had been kept three
hours waiting at the door of the Lords
with bill sent up from the Commons.
The Commons were so indignant that
shortly afterwards when bill was brought
down from the Lords to impose bounty
on corn they rejected it by unanimous
vote; Mr. Speaker tossed it ross the
table on the floor, and the members rush.
ed forward and kicked it out of the Cham.
Der, almost rivaling the fierce scorn with
which Mr.. Bronson Alcott prodded with
his umbrella the volume which Mr.. TO-
seph Cook had cast upon the floor. The
rules which existed in the reign of James
|. against abusing freedom of speech were
intolerably severe. Mr.. Floyde, an Eng.
lish member, for scoffing at the Kings
relatives in language much more circum.
spect than Sir Charles Dixie used a year
ago in discussing the Royal Princes, was
deprived of his civil rights, fined SIS 900,
whipped at the CARTS tail, pllloried, and
sent to Newgate.
William Goblet was probably the first
obstru ctionist. He delivered his maiden
speech In January, 1888, and in the open.
ing sentence declared that he had heard
"a great deal of vain, ridiculous and un-
profitable talk" Thenceforth he was
marked man, and whenever he rose the
Chamber resounded with shouts of
HoSSItOA oAA OI0CI3 Uut AC always
warned them that If they would not hear
him then he would speak the next day,
or the day after that, and his tormentors
gave up in despair. Another hard man to
put down was Mr.. Duncombe, the mem.
Der for Pontecraft. One day he de-
nounced a certain speech As 'base and
wicked calumny," and refused to retract
On another occasion he offered to fight
the House single. handed. and in a com.
mittee-room hurled an ink stand at the
Chairman, who had accused him of be-
ing mo gentleman" Mr.. Pllnket, whose
descendants are now on the Tory side,
was another irrepressible. Upon some
one asking e Speaker to take down his
words, be cried out, "Stop, Mr.. Speaker,
and you shall have something more to
take down." and then followed torrent
OF vehement and indignant description of
the wrongs of Ireland.
The worst prosecuted man that ever sat
In Parliament was John Ppm, the popu-
lar champion in the reign of Charles l.