The Daily bulletin. [volume] (Honolulu [Hawaii]) 1882-1895, 1886-04-24
SATURDAY, APRIL "a, 1886.
SUPREMACY OF PARLIAMENT.

not yet reached the zenith, even in |
England-the fatherland of repre-.
sentative government. Lately Mr..
Henry Richard, M. p. for Merthyr-
Tydvil, brought forward a motion
condemning declaration of war, or
completion of treaties, or annexa-
ton of foreign territory, without
the previous sanction of Parliament.
On a division being taken the motion
was rejected by majority OF six.
This was a close enough shave for
privileges of the executive branch
privileges, it cannot be denied,
which place enormous stakes in the
hands of Ministers, in the intervals
between parliamentary sessions. 1t
is true, the Ministry must give an
account of its doings in those inter-
walls, on the earliest opportunity, to
the representatives of the people.
Yet, all the punishment that it is in
the power of those representatives to
impose upon the Ministry will avail
nothing to repair any damage that
may have been wrought to the
nation in the meantime. Examples
made of the executive by the popu-
lar branch of government, in such
cases, can at the best be valuable
only for their exemplary influence
upon future Ministries. Such a
beneficial effect may be very great,
although in no way redemptory of
the blunders and malfeasances that
are past.
The subject, however, as it has
come up in England, seems to in
volve more a question of popular
privileges in the abstract, in the
light of modern constitutional de-
velopment, than the ultimate popu-
lar welfare. The reasoning upon it
must be subordinated to the doc
trine of the comparative infallibility
of parliament, that, as representing
the people, forms the final court OF
resort in responsible government.
To discuss the relative merits OF
the executive and the legislative
branches, as to which is the safer
repository of the "greatest good OF
the greatest number" would be to
open the floodgates of controversy
as profound as, and in some degree
identical with, that which ragged be-
tween Macaulay and the Utilitarians
respecting the disposition and the
capacity of absolute rulers to dc
either good or ill to their subjects
For it cannot be contended tina,
parliament, the arm and mouth o
the popular will, is infallible, any
more than the people themselves
Parliament may do serious damage
in acting upon proposed "declara
tions of war, or completion OF trea
ties, or annexation of foreign terri
tory" Still, if parliament is tn
incarnate popular will, it may b
the right thing, according to tn
genius of the age, to recognize it
supremacy to the full, or for itsel
to enforce such recognition. Th
Ministry being, however, only
"committee of parliament" unde
the British system, the questio
resolves itself into one of utility
Can parliament afford to hamper it
chief committee to the extent il
volved in the motion that so nal
rowly escaped passing into law
the House of Commons? England
parliament may be educated an
trained to the point when it ma
safely assume to hold the executi'
in such absolute control.
There are other countries, ce
tainly, with representative instit'
tions, where parliament has a goc
deal to catch up with, in its undi
puted functions, before being justifit
in going the length of the propos
Just defeated in the British Hou
of Commons. First of all, parli
ment should be free and indepen'
fnt. It should honestly and disl