The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1903-01-04

ish constitution would be fractured if
the house adjourned without the sand
glass being turned. 1t has been turned
regularly for the daily adjournment
since Charles I was king.
The speaker of the house of repre-
sentatives, as it appears tc me, is
hedged in with more dignity than the
members. With US the speaker gets
$50, 900 a year and mansion while
he is in Office, and when he retires
lie receives pension of $4,000 a year
and a peerage. But the speaker of the
commons is a very important person
age. He ranks Us the first commOner
in England. He has far, more influence
than the lord chancellor, who is the
presiding officer of the house of lords,
tor il is well understood that he is
chosen for his position by the repre-
sentatives of the prevailing sentiment
OF the country, while. strictly speak
ing, the lord chancellor is not. Mr..
Gully, the present speaker, was up to
the time of his appointment regarded
by the Irish members as one of their
English friends. OF course, as speaker,
he has to be strictly neutral. But the
Irish members have no fault to find
with Speaker Gully. He is a fine type
of the CULTURED English gentleman ana
IS highly respected by all parties III
parliament
BY the way, the Irish members of
parliament are not the viOlatOrs of
rules and order in some of the daily
sessions that the press reports would
have ii appear. The reports of the
trouble they create at some sittings are
eXag rated-well. | should say about
20 per cent. They are by no means
persistent disturbers of order in par
lament Feeling at times runs high,
f-aM #r-eT
mons chamber the Irish members are
treated both officially and socially with
the utmost courtesy. Even in our
contests on the floor, we are shown all
reasonable consideration
Mr.. BalfOur. the government leader,
is an open and fair fighter He fights
to win. but his methods are those of
an honest fighter. He is by far more
tolerant toward an antagonist in de-
hate that Joseph Chamberlain, who is
easily the first debater in parliament.
Mind, when I say debateT I mean a
distinction from an orator which Mr.
Chamberlain is not. His voice has a
harsh, steely tone, but woe to the
member who isn't equipped at every
point and who challenges him in de-
bate. Mr.. Chamberlain -fiuency is
rich, and he has a wonderful fund of
information about public affairs. 1t
IS q Quel 10 the uedLQ Wnen ne ac-
Cepts a challenge for a debate At
such times he shows no mercy to an
antagonist.
@ 9 9
"A personal experience Of my own
shows now the commons on strong
showings, in some cases, will rally to
the support of even an Irish member
Sir Matthew Ridley White, as home
secretary. brought in a bill to reform
the prison system. Now / have myself
served nine and a half years in
English prisons for doing political acts
that the government prescribed to
bring about home rule for my native
country. and / soon saw. when Sir
Matthew began speaking on the bill
that he knew very little about pris
ons or the abuses in them. Accord
ingly 1 prepared a good many amend
ments and urged them as one with
my prison experience could do. The
house finally seeing that L was about
the only authority on prisons in par
lament deserted Sir Matthew. so he
gave up and turned the bill over to
me.