Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-01-08
LENGTH OF PARLIAMENTS.
The Longest and Shortest-Some
Christmas Day Measures.
From the London Globe.

From the London Globe.
The shortest parliament on record is
that which. September 30, 1890, deposed
Richard II. The very act OF deposition
dissolved the parliament, and six DAYS
later Henry called together. without the
formality OF an election. all the old men,
bers He gravely styled it new par
lament. The fourth parliament of
Charles sat only for three weeks, and
this after the country, had been without
the blessings Of representative govern
ment for eleven years. But his fifth par
Lament atoned for the brevity OF the
previous one. It sat, on ana on, for
nineteen years. "a parliaments which
many. before that time, thought would
never have had q beginning, and after
ward 1t would never have an end" Opin-
lion. as we know. din9red as to the char
acter Of this renowned long parliament.
Macaulay declared it to be entitled to our
gratitude and reverence while Corbett
described 1t as the ''scourge Of the
nation
One of the shortest-lived Of administra-
tons was the ministry OF all tho tai
ents." which only lasted thirteen months.
1t was on February 8. 1903. that 0reville
formed his cabinet, which had to include
Charles James Fox. King George III Is
minister: MIR. Fox, little thought that
you and I should ever meet again In this
place: but have no desire to look back
upon old grievances; land you may rest
assured that i shall never remind you of
Them. Fox died in the following au-
tumn. When the king demanded an as
surance that the premier would initiate
no measures for the relief Of the Catho-
lies GTey shsd resigned This action
known many men knock their heads
against wall, but never before heard
of a man collecting bricks and building
a wall for the express purpose of knock
ing out his own brains against It,"
The shortest period that member Of
parliament has represented a constituency
is two hours this remarkable record being
achieved by the Right Hon. Lord George
Hamilton. Having been reelected as
member for the Ealing division OF Mid
dlesex on his having been appointed Sec
rotary OF state for India in 1895, the par
lament to which he had been elected was
dissolved within two hours OF his cleo
ton. Sir Matthew White Ridley, who
had been appointed the new home secre-
tary. ran him very close, for he was elect
ed to the old parliament and again to the
new parliament for the Blackpool division
of Lancashire in the same week, in both
cases unopposed Mr.. C. T. Richie was
returned July 5, unopposed, for Croy-
don, his reelection having been necessi-
tated by his appointment to the post of
president of the board of trade. Parlia-
ment was dissolved July 8. SO that Mr..
Richie only represented his constituency
for a whole week end.
The shortest-lived party" that ever OBJ
tanned a footing in parliament was the
Tichborne claimants counsel, DR.. Ke-
Trent. in February. 1875. solely on the
Tichborne issue. polling 6,11O votes to the
liberal candidates 1853 and the conserva-
tive's 1901. He lost no time in carrying
out his mandate, moving, April %. for
the reopenng of the case before a royal
commission. But in spite of all his elo-
quence he and Mr.. Whalley of Peter
borough as tellers for the motion. would
have had no one to count IL Maj. O'Gor-
man had not himself taken pity on them,
and the noes were 433.
Although the pollings in connection with
the present general election are timed to
conclude prior to Christmas. there is no
likelihood of the new parliament being
summoned to meet until after Yuletide.
The long parliament made point of
meeting on Christmas day itself. On the
Christmas day of 1647 a resolution was
adopted deciding that power be given
to the committee of plundered ministers
to put in due execution the ordinances
for abolishing the observation Of holy
days: and on that of 1916 the house read
for the first time "A bill for the abolish
ing and taking away Of festival days.
commonly called holy days" On the
Christmas day Of 1913 the commons
passed resolution ordering for the same
afternoon a meeting of the committee
appointed Ito consider how to proceed in
way of justice against the king and
other capital offenders" At the only
Christmas day division of which there is
any record, over two hundred members
took part, very large number consider
ing the troublous times and the small
size of the house. But after the commons
had been cleared OUT by the army in
the autumn of 1853 they never met again
on Christmas day. Though in recent
years there has been no instance of a
Christmas day or boxing day sitting, on
two occasions the members of the house
of commons have sat on Christmas eve.
The first was in 1852 and the other in
1883. The 1852 instance is the only one
during the last hundred years on which
members of parliament have only been
allowed three-day holiday at Christmas.
Not Interested.