Morning journal and courier., 1888-09-19
THE HAT IN PARLIAMENT.

The Important Part Nc Plays ln she
 Legislative Lffe Of Great Britain.
 Hats play by no means an unimpertant
 part in the procedure of the House of Com
 mons, says an English writer. When or
 why they were first worn, and how the prac-
 tics became fossilized into custom, re-
 mains mystery. At the meetings of no
 other assemblies in the kingdom, except the
 two houses of Parliament, is it, we believe,
 either good taste or indeed allowable to re-
 main halted. The custom may have arisen
 from trifing cause, as these things soms-
 times do. Perhaps some honorable member
 at some remote period asked MT. Speaker for permission to wear his hat on account of
 draughts, which are not altogether unknown
 in the house, and precedent being once es-
 tablished-and in Parliament precedents are everything-it became the rule, and not the exception, to remain, covered during the sit- tings of the house. $ sz
 A strict etiquette governs the wearing of hats in the Commons. An honorable mem Der who, ignorant or forgetfuF of the forms. of the house, attempted to walk to his seat when covered would be met with loud cries of "Order, ,@a and although an absent minded member sometimes does so he has never been known to repeat 1t. He must only wear; his hat when seated Directly he rises he must dof it, though he may ygonly wish to speak to a. member behind him. or to get 8 paper from the table. If any bill or resolution for which he is responsible is mentioned by the speaker member raises his hat and does not rise, and the same is done when another member elludes to him in the course of a speech or answers 8 question which he has put. If he Is not wearing his hat at the I time he immediately puts it on and then ' raises it in acknowledgement.
 ! This practice has given rise to some family contretemps, ss when an honorable member, who was remarkable for very small head, unconsciously picked up the hat of the mem Der next to him in mistake for his own. | This member happened to be chiefly remark l able for very large head, and his hat WAS ! like an extinguisher when put-on his fellow | member, and had very ludicrous effect.
 Of course member never speaks in his
 hat except on one occasion, which we shall ! notice presently. He generally places it l carefully on the seat he has just vacated. If he is going to make long speech, and his ! throat requires fabrication, his hat Is the re- eeptacle for glass of water, which is rs- plenished from time to time by attentive friend. Members are generally collected enough to remember, when they sit down, to be careful to remove their hats from the bench.
 This is not invariably the case, however, ! for an honorable member a short time ago acquired universal notoriety in the house as 'tthe member who sat on his hat" He l had just finished maiden speech of some | length, and in the excitement of the moment l entirely forgot that shiny and well brushed | ''tile" occupied his seat. He sat down sud- | denly, rather more suddenly perhaps than he had forseen-for maiden speeches are famous | uncertainties-and he sat unfortunately on his hat. We are not aware that there was a glass of water in it, but there might have been, and the example should be borne in
 mind by rising, or perhaps we should say l sinking, orators.
 We have intimated that there is one ocea- sion on which 8 member can, or rather, ac- cording to the rules, must address the house with his hat on. This happens when the house has been cleared for division and when a member desires to raise point of order. To mark the fact that the debate has been closed and the interruption is purely in cidental, the member must speak sitting and with his hat on.
 In addition to the uses of hats in the
 house to which we have referred there is an- other and very common one. No member being allowed to claim as right the posses sion of any seat (the tenure by which they are held being priority of occupation), ex- oept in certain eases allowed as 8 matter of courtesy, the practice has arisen of members
 leaving their hats on the seats they desire to occupy during the sitting.