New-York tribune., 1911-04-17
FIGURES IN PARLIAMENT
A Constitutional Expert-Gueri|.
Ias-Lord HaIdane.
London, April &

London. April 3
The House Of Commons takes its con.
stttutional law from the Irish benches.
Mr.. Swift MacNeill, as preoccupied with
,ho bus,ness Of the lawmakers as Sir
charles Dixie used to be, and even mora
of y bookworm and hobby rider, Is the
bost informed parl!amentarian at West.
,,lrster Both the Speaker and the
Chairman OF Committee cast glance
! rurt,vely toward the veteran Dublin bar.
rister before deciding an important point
RI order. and whenever any obscure
question of precedent or privilege ia
roised the House turns to him with one
consent as an expert who can speak with
authority. His reputation for scholar.
chin was made forty years ago at Trim.
itv College. Dublin. and at Christ Church,
! oxford. where he was glutton for
work and an industrious. untiring reader.
When ne had carried off all the honors
IN sight he settled down In Dublin for
work at the bar and as professor Of con.
stitutional and criminal law at Kings
Inns. During his protracted term OF
twenty-four years in Parliament he has
been conspicuous for research work in
the library and a passion for the in.
vestigation OF musty documents. any
thing antique fascinates his irnagina-
tio1, whether IL is a fine point OF parlia-
rnentary procedure. a Celtic ruin or a bit
OF old china or plate.
It was this indefatigable explorer Of
the records Of Parliament who made the
discovery that the House OF Lords could
not undertake 10 reform itself without
obtaining the consent Of the sovereign,
and both Lord Lansdowne and the Cab
met acouiesced as soon as the point vas
made When a Tory zealot attempted to
exclude the Parliament bill from discus
sion on the ground that the consent Of
the King had not been obtained for It's
introduction the Irish expert rose with
! glittering eye and forefnger outstretched
to prove that the objection could not be
sustained. The Prime Minister had been
expecting to reply to the meddesome
interloper and the Speaker had been
boxing UP the precedents, but when Mr..
Swift MacNeill intervened without spol.
ogy the House listened with respect 70
his commentaries on the procedure and
readily accepted his conclusion that the
consent Of the Crown TO the introduction
Of the measure had not been necessary
and that the Prime Minister could have
vouched for II In any event since this
was a government bill mentioned in the
Kings speech. The Irish members book
knowledge about Parliament is as accu-
rate and comprehensive as his informa-
ton respecting his famous ancestors
the last Laird Of Barra, Speaker Lenthall
Of the Long Parliament and Goodwin
Swift, Dean Swift's guardian.
Learned, eccentric and genial, this
Protestant Home Ruler has been one OF
the most astute parlamentarians on the
Irish side. That is saying much for
since Parnelrs time the Nationalist
have been expert tacticians. with abso-
Lutte knowledge Of the rules procedure
and precedents OF the Commons. His
pre- eminent ability as a student and an
investigator IS now one OF the strongest
resources OF the coalition. Ministers
need the services Of this old parliament
tary hand. who is constantly rumrna zirg
among the shelves Of the library and the
back numbers OF the official journal.
They have taken into committee this
week a bill filing barely two pages in
print and the members in Opposition,
| with facility ,r,a- .la
tionaists used TO display in obstructing
legislation, have fled over nine hundred
amendments, making as many es
seventy-four pages in the record. Per-
haps Mr.. Swift MacNeill can tell min.
isters how to force the bill along without
all-night sittings, but with scientific use
Of the kangaroo closure" with It's sho-:
Jumps and rapid action. Possibly he can
find In the musty files a precedent for q
short propagation Of Parliament which
will enable the government to re,ntrc-
duce the veto measure after II has been
rejected outright by the Lords and 10
carry IL by means Of heavy battalions OF
dummy peers.
Lord Hugh Cecil has thrown himself
into this constitutional conflict with
characteristic ardor His close allies,
Lord Castlereagh and Lord Helmsley,
hover about him and take orders from
him. and the three titled Commoners are
constantly making Short. effective
speeches and exposing the Parliament
bill to destructive criticism. 1t is not
yet Fourth party. since no D'Artagnan
has been found 10 match the Mousoue-
taires and 10 complete the fighting quad
ri!ateral, but II is a gallant band Of
guerillas leagued together for relent-
less warfare al every vulnerable point.
Mr.. Balfour. who in his younger days
forced the fighting with a similar group
OF free lances, when the party leader
ship was ineffective and sluggish. well
comes this timely reinforcement. Lord
ltush Cecil does not head a revolt
| against him, but lends powerful aid IN
! putting fire and spirit into the cam.
| paign against single chamber govern.
ineht Especially pleased is the leader
"hen the youngsters run afoul of Mr..
/ winston Churchill. the Prime Minister'S
chiet lieutenant In forcing the Parlia-
ment bill through the Commons. Most
| courteous debaters are both 3Ir. Balfour
ana Lord Hugh Cecil, but their resent
ihent is kndled whenever that aggres-
\ S!Ne ana daSling VOuug Minister. their