Cheyenne transporter. [volume] (Darlington, Indian Terr.) 1879-1886, 1881-10-10
PARLlAMENTS OF THE PAST.
Notable Ones in English History and
the Work They Did.

lament in English history will termi-
nate on Saturday. 1t is indeed anus
ing to compare its length, not only
with that of former sessions, but of
former parliaments in their entirety.
The most famous of short parliaments
is that which deposed Richard H., thus
laying the memorable constitutional
precedent afterward followed with
such benefit to the natiCn in 1889. 1t
is true the convention parliament did
not technically depose James II hay
ing decided that the fugitive king had
abdicated; but it could not be pretend
ed that the infant Prince of Wales
the "old Pretender"-had abdicated
his rights, SO that parliament virtually
effected the transfer Of the crown from
the legitimate head to another head-a
perfectly legitimate one, but only so
by virtue of the new law of the
land.
Prorogations were not much resorted
to in the olden time, and for the sim.
plest of reasons. Till the house of
commons became power, it was inn
material whether parliament was pro-
rogued or dissolved. In what was
then, in reality as well as title, the up
per chamber, the component elements
remained essentially the same, and the
king, having got as much money as he
could out of parliament, thought it best
to put an end to its existence altogeth-
er. Henry Wills first parliament met
on the 2lst of January, 1910, and was
dissolved on the 23d of February fol-
lowing. His next parliament, howev-
er, lasted no less than two years and
one month. BY and by we come to
what may be called the Reformation
parliament. 1t met on the Sd of No
vember, 1880, and was only dissolved
on the 5th Of April, 1886. The Sd of
November is notable date. Exactly
ITO years later met the long parliament,
the expressed purpose of whose men,
bers was to complete the work of their
ancestors who met in 1880. After dis
solving the parliament that had helped
him to "break the bonds of Rome" as
the mild Gray puts it, the majestic
lord" summoned another parliament,
which met on the 9Th of June, 1886,
and was dissolved on the 18th of the
following month. The pastors and
masters of Edward VI. summoned two
parliaments in his name. The first
lasted four years and half; the second
exactly thirty days, March to March
81, 1858. Mary's first parliament lasted
two months and day. In her reign
OF little more than five years, Mary
summoned five parliaments. Accord
ing to Hallam, her government was the
first which recognized the growing i'm
portance of the house of commons, and
sought to influence it in various ways
chiefly by the creation of constituencies
under orders from the crown--in other
words, rotten boroughs.
During a reign which extended to
its forty-fifth year Elizabeth convoked
nine parliaments in all. The longest
was that of 1872, which lasted till
1886, or about fourteen and one-half
years. One of the shortest, if not the
very shortest, assembled on Monday,
the I'd of April, 1871, and dissolved on
the 29th of May following. 1t was on
the opening day of the said parliament
that the queen, speaking from her ''re-
gal seat" willed the lord chancellor
(Sir Nicolas, father Of Francis Bacon)
to show the cause of its assembling,
Thereupon the lord chancellor spoke,
declaring that this assembly of parlia-
ment was for three causes called
namely, for the glory of Almighty God,
for the health and preservation of her
majesty, and for the welfare of the
common veal" The welfare of the
state evidently came second in the