The daily morning journal and courier., 1899-08-25
THE LADIES' GALLERY,


 First Admitted.
 The ladies gallery is a singularly un-
 comfortable place and far too small for
 the purpose for which it was built. It
 is an extremely good thing that crino- lines belong to the past and not to the present If they were the fashion now
 l am afraid that half a dozen ladies would be as many as could get into the
 gallery at cnce. As it is, lady wear ing dress which takes up a lot of room
 has much difficulty in preventing her. | self from being the cause of annoyance
 to other ladies. The gallery is divided
 into two parts. The smaller, on the
 right as you enter, is nominally the pr-
 vate gallery of the wife of the Speaker. Here have sat all of the great women
 of the day--the Princess of Wales, the Duehesss of York, other Princesses of
 our royal family, members of other roy
 al families, Viscountess Beaconsfeld,
 Mrs. Gladstone, Lady Harcourt,
 Mrs. Chamberlain, and many more. There is accommodation for eight or nine ladies here, but on very big night I
 have seen crowded together nearly for
 ty ladies, each of whom lived in the lap 1 of luxury and comfort.
 For the larger part tickets are obtain
 ed through members, who ballot for
 them. With this the wives and daugh-
 ters and friends of the members who
 are not leading politicians have to be
 content, and it is in this portion of the | gallery that l have spent so many en- | joyable and instructive evenings. There
 is room for forty ladies, but any number 1 from that up to about eight often l manage to squeeze themselves in. The | wealth of dress which one sees in the course of an evening in the gallery is remarkable. Ladies coming from din- ner parties or waiting for their hus- bands to take them on to an evening party or ball drop into the gallery for half an hour while their consorts re- cord their votes in the divisions or get leave to go from the whips.
 The history of the admission of ladies into the House to hear the debates is interesting, almost as interesting as
 the history of the attempts which have been made to open the doors of the House itself to them- For many years it was the practice for ladies to take their places with gentlemen in the pub | lie gallery, and it has often been sug- gested that the public gallery should again be used for the mixed gathering. The ladies of the last century, so differ ent to those of our time, misbehaved themselves in the House. It happened on a certain day in ITS. A member, by name Captain Johnstone, was bring ing before the House pet theme of his, and was particularly anxious that the public gallery should contain as many | as possible of his gentlemen friends.
 Judge, therefore, of the chagrin of Cap tain Johnstone when he arose to address the House and found that the public gallery was full of ladies. His subject went completely out of his head and all he could do was to move 'that strangers withdraw The motion was carried. but the ladies refused to move. Per suasion, gentle and otherwise conquer ed in the end, but it took two hours and I do not know how many officers, to empty the gallery of it's obstinate occupants.
 The incidents of that afternoon cost the ladies a great deal, for they were forbidden to enter the House again. Not woman was seen listening to the debates in the House for more than half a century. In 1884 the Houses of Parliament were burned down, and Barry in his new building mode place for the ladies The old order was for gotten, the misbehavior forgiven, and ladies were allowed to hear the debates behind peculiar sort of brass trellis- wark, which has come to be familiarly known as the Grille Now, I do not think that there is any part of the beau tful buildings which we call our Houses of Parliament which has been so much discussed as the"Grille." De- bates take place on it, or rather, about it, every session, and sometimes more than once during a session; leaders are written about it in the newspapers; and
 it is considered at almost every lat home'' at which the House of Commons and the ladies gallery are mentioned.
 There are many objections to the Grille Members object to it because 1t prevents them from seeing the occu- pants of the gallery; ladies object to it because it shuts them out from the view of the members. Then there are some who protest against it's removal because they regard it as most conven- tent arrangement, enabling ladies to leave when they like, or to have a little quiet chat together when some uninter- esting member is on his legs. I often wonder what Barrys Idea was when he put the Grille there, but I cannot say that l regard it's removal as abso- lutely necessary, or even desirable. It l does not interfere with the view or the hearing of the occupants of the gallery, | and I am not sure that the snembers | are really anxious to see the ladies who | are behind the Grille" Then it shuts | the gallery off from the House, which | is good thing, in my opinion. l hope | to have the pleasure of making many | more visits to the House, and I sincere | ly hope that I shall never arrive to find | the Grille" gone, Much of the char acter and attractionof the gallery | would go with 1t, I am afraid.
 Ladies have a privilege which is &C., | corded no other visitor of the House. | They are allowed to listen to the Chap | lain reading the prayers at the com- | mencement of the sitting, and to the res pOnSes of the Speaker. | have heard |