Washington standard. [volume] (Olympia, Wash. Territory) 1860-1921, 1882-10-13
The Speaker OF the British House of
Commons.

The Speaker OF the British House of
Commons.
MIR. Brand has been Speaker of the
House of Commons now for nine years,
and the moral suggested every time he
takes the chair has lost something of its
sharp point. But it is undoubtedly .
notable thing, remarkable tribute to
the high tone Of English political par
ties, that MIR Brand snomination to this
Office should have been received with
out dissent, and that his conduct in the
chair should never be seriously called
in question. MIR. Brand commenced
his political career as ''whip' of the
Liberal party. There is nothing ques-
tionable in the business arrangements
of a whip. at least in the present days.
Tbs -ss.,.iiof Ohhiviai name of this minister
indicates possibilities of transactions
shat would not always bear light. AS
Patronage Secretary it was not only his
business to whip up men who were
willing to vote for conviction. but to
buy up others whose votes were pur-
chasable. A whip of to-day has no pat
rOnage to dispense. Still, there remains
to him duty of arranging for good di-
visions, and he must do what he can to
bring them about. He is, in the fullest
acceptation of the term, partisan.
Naturally he believes that his party and
She State are synonymous terms. and
regards as tautology Macaulay' lament
for the days "when none were for the
party, but all were for the State" We
have in recent times heard of the con-
sciences of Lords-in-waiting being
troubled. and Gold-sticks have resigned
because of difference of opinion with
her Majesty's Government on questions
Of high policy. But no one ever heard
of q whip resigning because he thought
chat on a particular line of policy his
colleagues should have done something
else. In respect of all decisions, his not
to wonder why. His rather to bring up
the full voting power of the party, and
be ready to account for every absentee.
1t was after holding position of this
character that MIR. Brand was nominal
ed and elected to the chair. No longer
stride could be taken in Parliamentary
life. At q single bound he passed from
strictest and most unquestiOning parti-
san into the seat of the judicial head of
the House. the absolutely impartial die
tator OF the mOmentous questions mo-
mentarily arising in the procedure of
the assembly. This happened in 1872.
toward the close of the life of the great
Parliament of 1868. 1t seemed a bold
step, but it has been fully justified by
events. bir. Brand is certainly the best
Speaker the present generation of men,
bers can call to mind. He has a pecu-
larly dignified manner. full resonant
voice, and q deliberate. not to say sol.
emn, intonation. These are qualities
Of manner and appearance which have
. great deal to do with the successful
ful6llment of the Office. But Mr.. Brand
has the additional qualities Of mind aud
temperament which complete the char
acter OF a model Speaker. Flo is a per-
feet master of the laws, traditions and
customs which he has to administer. l
do not remember his ever being caught
at disadvantage in this respect. Yet
the circumstances under which he is
put to the test are fuller of difficulty
than pertains to most offices of simi-
lar character. The rules of the House
of Commons go back over two hundred
years. They are themselves numerous.
and in minuti;e intricate. To master
them is. of course, a matter of applica-
ton. What changes is circumstance.
A man may have the rules of the House
of by heart, but he can not foresee the
considerations of circumstances that
suddenly arise and demand instant de-
cision from the chair. The House may
be proceeding drowsily through debate
The horizon may seem as clear as it did
20 MIR. Hammond when. on the eve of
the outbreak of the war between France
aud Prussia, Lord Granville consulted
him on the state of the political wealth
sr. In moment, in the twinkling of an
eve. a storm may break forth. All the
benches may be in uproar, half dozen
members may be on their feet at one
time, and the Speaker may be called
upon without a moments hesitation to
decide a knotty question involving the
necessity that he shall have paid the
closest attention to what has been said
during the whole of the earlier part of
the sitting.
These crises have more frequently
occurred in the time of Mr.. Brand than
OF any preceding Speaker. His term
OF office will be forever memorable bv
reason of the birth of Irish obstruction
He has had to grapple with this in its
manifold and always virile forms. 1t
is too much to claim infallibility for any
man. and there may possibly have been
occasions when, the episode complete
and time for reelection afforded, wise
people have been able to point out
wherein the Speaker would have done
better had he done otherwise. But the
Speaker unhappily has not these ad-
vantages of opportunity for reflection,
and of consideration of the episode as a
whole, including the consequences Of
the step he may take. He has to deal
with the case rs 1t arises and while it is
developing itself, and MIR. Brand never
fails to satisfy the sense of justice and
the general intelligence of the vast ma
jority of those present at the scene
The Speaker of the House of Com
mons has salary equal to that of the
Prime Minister. Both cultivate poll
tics on $4,000 year. In addition, the
Speaker has within the precincts of
Westminster a pleasant town house
looking out ON to the river. On the
whole. the emoluments of the chair are
not lncommensurate with its duty and
Its dignity. Both these arc met with
rare excellence by Mr.. Brand, and it
will be great loss to the House when
the inevitable time comes that he shall
leave the chair without intention of ever
more taking it. In Mr.. Brands case
there are more than ordinary chances
OF this calamity suddenly arising. In
addition to the ordinary chances of
humanity, Mr.. Brand may any morning
wake to find himself a peer of the
realm. He is heir-presumptive to one
of the Oldest baronies of the kingdom,
and his brother, Lord Dacre. is seventy
three.-Henry W. Lucy, in Harper's
Magazine.
Statistics appear TO show that Ger
many surpasses all other countries in
the consumption of matches, the number
used there daily being as great as from