The Montgomery advertiser., 1901-10-13
PARLIAMENTS RULES
HOW BRITISH COMMONS PUN IsHEs BREACHES OF
 PRIVILEGES.
The House Yields an Autocratic Authority over All subjects-Nu- merous Cases Preceding That
 of the London Globe.

London Chronicle.
 In a democratic country where for every
 hnry stnanes IS and in the fact that the House of Commons-the very body which personifes the liberties of the nation can yet by virtue of that mysterious power known as Parliamentary privilege wieid an autocratic authority uncontrolled by law cessity that the highest authority in the king dom should have power to uphold Us own Is obvious, yet the injustice of the same body being at once accuser and judge has led in the past to many strange conflicts. in which. by mons has appeared as the arbitrary oppressor, while its opponents have been sufferers in the Parliamentary annals furnish no more curl ous example of this strange perversion of the
 order shan the Sey case Of hs %
 Ayiesbury. brought an action against the re-
 tu ming officer for refusing his vote, and oh-
 however decided that an action did not lie~'
 as all matters relating to elections were under
 the direct control of the House of Commons;
 the Lords, to the great indignation or the
 Commons, Five more Burgessese then com,
 Lords, maintaining their novel character as
 resolution resolution that I the lights and freedom of Eng lishmen ought not to be subject to arbitrary ton ton put an end to the dispute. leaving the
 The The reign of George III saw several in
 iege notably the conflict with the city over the
 publication of the debates in which the cele. ,eo
 printers named, Thompson and wheble were
 ordered to attend at the bar or the House to
 for the tnsr
 Neither however, appeared. The messenger of
 the House went eight times in one afternoon
 he had just stepped out. but was confidently
 expected back soon. It is curious fact that
 break open a door to arrest a person he may
 not wait in the house if the person IS aosen'
 for the purpose of aTTes.,ns tsad nm n on s4a when Mr. Howard obtained damages against the Sergeant -at-Arms on this very account v The irritated Commons addressed the King who issued a proclamation for the apprenen. sion of the offenders. but in the meantime
 essnst sg %Sre prnters who ingly all summoned to the bar The question Ip was most fercely debated; the House sat tial
 We're lr tng taken o The difficuites in which tr.. House would be involved were clearly pointed l like Glendover; you can call spirits from the | vasty deep, but the question Is. Is. VIII the
 The spirits indeed, proved very refractory; .S Tho messenger attempted to arrest one or the
 printers. Miller who promptly s, gays h,M hn3ore | the Lord Mayor, Brass Crosby. and Aldermen | Wilkes and Oliver. and committed to prison l on the ground that he was not peace officer, i and that the warrant not backed by city maristrate The Lord Mayor. being ordered
 sis %oann n n,s of pvese | there by enthusiastic crowd who hailed nm
 the guardian of the c,sy f Tsh desote rh' sotS | the Mayor and Alderman Oliver were com
 mitted to the Tower Wilkes, the prime mover | the bar on Aug 8. but the Ministers: with
 more discretion than valor. adjourned the
 leased leased by the the propagation. when the whole | Common Council went in procession oI car
 riages to the Tower and fetcned nm t awAy y-,i m | triumph while salutes were fired by the City | Artillery Company and at night all London was illuminated ,..,,. Among the striking cases of privilege Tn more | recent times that of Sir Francis Burdett: who | referred to the House as "a part of our feilow fl ;s not necessary to describe" aroused the | greatest excitement. Sir Francis barricaded
 himself in his house against the sergeant at, military and discovered Sir Francis with 1 truly dramatic of the situation. teaching his little boy the provisions of Magma Charta. l Sir Francis was committed to the Tower: ana.
 er e,0a and the Sergeant at Arms the courts de | cided in favor of the House of Commons.
 conflict between the House and the ,craa. eSrTts.
 brought an action for libel against Hansard. | who pleaded the order of the House in defence. | The court rejected the plea, whereon Stockdale l was ordered by the Commons into custody.
 and on his bringing a fresh action against
 NsMsae whsre se soaeed hs by bringing yet another action. The Commons | did not proceed to commit the judges or the | Court of Queens Bench to prison though they could have found a precedent for doing so In the Stuart times, and the matter was settled by the passing of an act of Parliament to meet the difficulty.
 The last case of privilege in which offenders have been summoned to the bar of the House occurred in 1892, when the directors and man, ager of the Cambrian Railway were ordered to attend, and solemnly admonished by the Speaker for their action in dismissing one of their servants John Hood. for giving evi- dence before the Select Committee on the hours of railway servants.
 n old days offenders at the bar were com pelled to receive sentence on their knees put in I7Sl Mir Alexander Murray obstinately re. fused to adopt this humiliating posture, and though he was sent to Newgate for his con- tumacy the practice was never again insist ed on. |, Apropos of the present case of privilege It is curious to note that though it is breach of privilege to charge members with corrup- ton in the transaction of their Parliamentary | duties 1t has been formally decided that 1t is no breach of privilege to charge them with in- citing to murder in their private capacity. In | 9S7 the "Times' remarked on the inclusion | of Parliament of body of men whose po- | litical existence depends upon an organized | system of midnight murder" but the passage | being quoted in the House, the Speaker decided | that it did not constitute a breach of privi- | lege Truly. Parliamentary privilege, as was | remarked al tsa outset, is strange and in- | congruous thiRs,