The times., 1899-05-31
THE PARLIAMENT GRILLE
An Iron Screen which concenI~ All
Lady Visitors
lFrom the London Mail. }


(From the London Maa)
Colonel weiby persists in his gallant
attempt to free women visitors to the
House OF Commons from the tyranny Of
the grille.
His tactics are cautious. He 6oss not
ask outright for the removal CT the grid
IRON That would be too drastic a revo-
luton for the feelings of the House. He
Goes not even ask for an alteration OF pat
tern. tie merely asks that the iron bars
shaii De OF thinner metal. the increased
freedom FOR the women being that result
ing Rom the difference in the width OF the
bars
But the first commissioner OF works
hardens bis heart. and the members make
elaborate Jokes. and the women come no
nearer to the legislators, even by single
bar They try annually just as they try
for woman suffrage. aud the House smiles
at both proposals.
strong minded women fume in whispers
behind the grille They dream OF the
days when every part Of the House will
be open to them. including the Speakers
chair; and in those blessed DAYS should
tne grille still be In existence. a CHASTITY
doom awaits those who oppose its remov-
al now
The House OF Commons is the only
legislative chamber in the world where
women are imprisoned behind screens and
bars. The peers are less susceptible to
guiles and smiles. or less afraid of their
susceptibilities. In the House Of Lords
women sit in an open gallery, in full view
OF everybody, and On big days. when they
glitter with diamonds and gorgeous raj
ment. The scene is attractive and imposing
Nor were the Commons always so mod
est. Before the present house was built
the women shared the liberties of the es-
VakI f.k..
went so often. and in such numbers. that
in 1919 the Lord Shaftesbury Of his day
protested
He said II had become the custom for
members to hire or borrow their friends
handsome sisters to present petitions to
them and give them the benefit OF beauty's
smile.
Then the women abused their advantage,
With disastrous results. One night in I77q
there was an interesting debate. Crowds
Of strangers attended, OF both sexes. The
women swarmed and surged in such num-
bers that the Speaker. a gallant man, de-
termined that they should have all the
available space
He cleared the house of all male strang-
ers More women came. They filed both
galleries and all the seats below the bar.
Then uprose member. whose male friend
had been elected and he made such a
grievance. of 1t that the Speaker ordered
the house to be cleared Of strangers alto
sether.
The women refused to CO. They re-
monstrated. and struggled, and called the
officials horrid beasts. or whatever the cpl
thet of the time might be-
1t took two hours to clear them out, and
the members were so hurt about 1t that
for the future women were vigorously ex-
cluded. But what are masculine fats
against female wits? The Duchess of Cor
don and Mrs. Sheridan dressed as men and
went to the gallery. The house had no
means of detecting the fraud and so the
bar was broken.
Probably Parliament did not intend to
protect itself quite so effectually when the
present house was built. 1t was more like
ly that the screen was made so massive
for architectural reasons. to be in keeping
with the rest of the chamber. The women
say it is a heart-breaking and eye-re-
straining contrivance.
"A visit to the gallery" writes a wo-
man contributor, lis an awesOme business.
The attendant conducted me to my chair
with his finger on his lips. and l realized
that 1 must not talk.
"a confused humble reached my ears
from the floor of the House and l realized
that 1 must not listen. The grille frowned
and obstructed my ~iew and / realized
that l must not look. At first l felt like
a lion in cage, until the rules and regu-
latiOns rose up and crushed NE, and then
my feeling was that of mouse in a trap.
After a while it was not so bad The
attendant crept softly behind. and in a
stealthy whisper announced that the
speaker was the Right Honorable the
Chancellor of the ExcheqUer.' | selected
the largest aperture l could find and glued
my left eye to it. Things came into their
proper focus l saw the reporters in their
boxes and the back of the Speakers head.
advancing by degrees. 1 discovered the
orator. and at last l heard his speech
That was better and began to enjoy my
self. But | could not make up my mind.
and l cannot yet. whether was a dan
gerous person to be watched or thief
who crept in by Stealth
OF course the reasons against the re-
mOval of the grille are absurd and not
meant to be taken seriously. Members OF
Parliament are human, after all. and would
probably speak better rather than worse il
they saw the eyes of fair critics upon
them.
The real explanation of the chambers
fondness for the gridiron is that 1t is there.
In matters concerning itself there is not
a more conservative body in the world
than our democratic House Of Commons.
The middle seat OF the front row OF the
gallery is sacred to Mrs. Gladstone. She
sat there night after night during the
home rule debates.