Gilpin observer., 1899-06-15
THE DUTIES OF A WHIP.
HIS Influence Il Creator Than That Of
Most Cabinet Miniaterr.


HIS Influence Is Greater Than That Of
Most Cabinet Ministers.
There Is nothing more curious In
English politics than the position of a
successful whip, says the London Spec
tator. He Is as completely unrecog-
nized by the constitution as the cab
met is and is usually paid either as
patronage secretary to the treasury"
or through some sinecure office, but he
Is, when efficient, one of the most i'm
portant wheels in the political ma
chine. He writes no reports; he ex-
ercises no patronage of any moment;
he is responsible for no measure, and
he is rarely one OF the speakers re-
lied on by the government. The pub
lie seldom knows anything about him,
and he is, as rule, only criticised in
the newspapers when he has made a
blunder; but he has more influence in
shaping the internal policy OF the
country than any cabinet minister
outside the two or three who really
rule. He is the true power behind
the throne" and many a project has
been bafded, many grand programme
drawn up, because a whip has shaken
his head or has urged that on such and
such matter Something must be
done"
His business is not merely, as the
public imagines, to warn members Of
important divisions, and so keep the
party together and enable business to
get on, or even, as Sir William Hay
ter once defined it, to conciliate the
real masters by persuasive words.
small concessions, pleasant arrange
ments, or whispered promises OF polit-
ical or social advancement. He per-
forms those functions, 1t is true, and is
lucky if in performing them he does
not become something of a cynic, and
doubtful of the perfectibility of hu-
man nature; but he has a higher func-
tion than that. 1t is his business to
gather up in intimate conversations
the true sense of the house of COM
mons, and especially of his own party
In 1t, to understand why a proposal
will not "go down." to detect the half
formulated wish of majority, to pen
citrate. in tactic tnat inner wall which
so often controls the conscious will,
and which is possessed not only by
most strong individuals, but by all
great corporations. He confldes his
opinion to the cabinet, and especially
to the premier, and unless the head Of
her majesty's government is a man Of
very resolute and independent judg-
ment, or the cabinet possesses within
itself born whip. his report has
greater weight than almost any speech
or even vote. The first contingency,
which practically reduces the use of
the whip to the smaller business of
legislation, is not, however, SO COM
mon as one would expect, the strong
premier being often aware that he is
little out of touch with the average
members, and sometimes distrusting
his own social knowledge. Both
Sir Robert Peel and Lord John
Russell are said to have felt a GER
tain deficiency in this latter respect,
akin, perhaps, to Lord Melbourne's,
who, man OF the world as he was,
could not comprehend why members
cared so much about the things they
asked for. The second contingency is
less frequent, but it occurs. Lord
IdiHerSlou, LOT example, always put
in the cabinet, If he could, Mr.. Ver-
non Smith, man whom the public,
and in lesser degree the house, con-
sidered well-dressed fribble He was
not a fribblc. by any means, bat a
cool-headed, observant man of the
world. with weak will. but possessed
of power which Lord Palmerston,
who understood men, had early de-
tected. He had some faculty in him,
probably based ca sympathy with the
average political mind, which enabled
him to tell almost unerrlngly what
the house of commons was thinking
and would think, and his chief trusted
and, after his manner, nob,y repaid,
his friends acumen. In the absence
OF such man within the cabinet, a
good whip who can be trusted to know
in a crisis what the majority think,
what is wanted. possible or impossible
the house at this moment wants i'm
possible, because contradictory, things
in China-is invaluable. and wields q
secret authority which has often seri-
Gus effects upon the course Of events.