The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1904-06-25

How comes it that ministry with
majority of over 100 is left in minor
ity of eleven, as took place last week?
How, in fact, does it come at all that
a ministry is defeated? This is a ques-
tion which must often have occurred
to those outside the House of Commons
during the last week when the world
was ringing with the news that Mr..
Balfour had been left in minority,
and that the most powerful Of modern
ministries seemed for the moment to
be 'toppling down to the abyss says
T. P. O'Connor, in NJ. P. A.
1t is not less difficult to understand
why ministry should ever be beaten
if you be member Of the House of
Commons. For here YOU see the huge
network Of interests and forces that
always stand between ministry and
destruction. In the first place the min-
listers are always sure of between
twenty and thirty votes from their
own ranks.
In addition to this fact there is the
even more momentous consideration
that the government Of the day has
the great patronage of an Empire
worldwide and infinitely ramified-at
its disposal. There are viceroyalties:
there are judgeships; there are bishop
rics; there are thousand and one
things which a ministry has to give
away, and which hundreds of people
are anxious to get. have spoken of
the ramifcation of the empire; very
often one remembers some of them for
the first time when it is announced
that some member of parliament has
been appointed to foreign post. One
day you hear that member has been
made consul in some South Ameri-
can city: the next day you read it in
the papers that some young barrister,
whose practice has been ruined by at
tention to his Parliamentary duties,
and whose small fortune has been
wasted in Parliamentary contests, has
been appointed chief justice or at
torney-general to some colony, the
name of which possibly, you had never
heard before. India, alone, has hun
dreds of rich prizes for those who de-
sire to give up active politics, and to
obtain some easy and well-paid post.
The Grown colonies are a very net
work of all kinds of Offices; and so
one might go OH heaping up lists of
places which governments can give to
those who support them. In fact of
such mighty patronage, it is difficult to
understand how it is that they are ever
allowed to leave office so long as they
have q normal majority.
And yet, in spite Of all these things,
and of the majority of 100, the gov
ernment was defeated last week.
Where is the explanation to be found
First one must look at the bye-clec.
-tions. If bye-elections begin to &c
against the government, their major.
ity soon dwindles. The average par.
iiament man thinks first of himself
and then of his party; and if he de
sires to return to the house of com
mons again, and if he sees that the
bye-elections are going against his par
ty, he begins to get slack in his at
tendance, and he is especially slack
when some question is under discus
sion which evidently exists a good
deal of hostile feeling in the constit
uencies. Very few of these members &C
the length of voting against their party
and against the government. That
10 IN extreme step which is rarely TAX
en-, unless a member has definitely de
.cided to change his political party and
to go over to the other side. For the
member knows very we'll that, if his
vote helps to destroy the ministry OF
which he has been supporter, he is
sure to be disowned by the party or.
ganization in his constituency, and
that another man will be chosen in his
place to fight the conservative or Lib.
eral battle. And therefore, as I say,
unless he has made up his mind to
change his side very few members will