The Birmingham age-herald., 1912-12-22
TYRANNY OF HAT IN HOUSE OF COMMONS Many Rules Have to Be Ob-
 served by Members SEEMS RIDICULOUS Reputed "Most Dignified" Legislative Body Is Slave to Many Rules Gov
 ering "Headgear, Which
 Are Downright Foolish

London, December 2f.-(Special. )--Onee more the tyranny of the hat was assert ed this week in the house of commons, which, though it claims to be the most dignihed legislative assembly in the world, is in many ways one of the most ridicu- lous. In the house nc end of fussy old traditions are kept up religiously which a really busness-like assembly would havo "scrapped" years ago, and there are ter rible outcries from the old fossils on both sides of the chamber when a new or ab- sent-minded member forgets some unim portant, if not actually nonsensical ''point of order" but most ludicrous of all is the part which the hat still is allowed to play in the legislation of the greatest empire the world ever has seen.
 It seems almost incredible that in the English house of commons no member can raise point of procedure during 'he division unless he Is sitting down w,th his hat on, but so it is solemnly laid down in the rules and it was for this rea- son that one silk hat had to serve threo heads during the debate on home rule a few nights ago. It Is the custom, of course, for members of the house to sit with their hats on (this legislative assern. bly being the only one in the world where such a fashion obtains), and many anG various are the rules as to when an M. P must keep his hat on and when ho must take it off. In the house of lords, by tho way, there is none of this hat nonsense, and how the commons evor came to let 1t become such a fetish is a mystery
 Rise and Remove Hat
 When a member of the house addresses that body he is supposed to arise and re- t.s- t..t hAfo hao rule that he must be seated and wearing his hat when he takes an exception to the ruling of the chair is an iron-clad one and even Gladstone at the top of his power was called to order on the one oc- casion when he forgot to observe 1t. Th's, if memory serves, was in 1884 or D, when the Grand Old Man was prime minister. and for some reason or other he thouSnt the speaker was not putting question in the way it should go, and therefore, aI.eI | the division had been called, he fatsed his point He did so seated, as per rule | but in the excitement of the moment even he yersed to the limit in parliamentary procedure, forgot that he ought to be hatted At once the inevitable shouts oi | 'Order. order" rang out and Gladstone looked around, first angrily and then
 with smile. to see what it all meant. ! Hat Hat" bawled the sticklers fol precedent, and as the prime minister hac ] no heaegear at hand, the late Lord Hers
 chell. then solicitor general. who was sit | ting beside him. handed over his own tile which barely covered the topmost portie' 1 of Glsdstone's broad head, and thus looking more like Chirgwin. the white eyed Kaffir, than anything else, the ora mier of England made his remonstrance while the rest of the house went into fit'
 of laughter.
 Being on their feet good snare o the time the occupants of the minister ia and opposition front benches generally si
 bare headed and thus it was that tn
 rather ludicrous hat episode of 'ey
 nights back came to happen. In th midst of the home rule debate, both Sl
 Edward Carson of Blister Covenant 1ame and Austen Chamberlain, the not-over
 brilliant son of a famous father, ha'
 questions to put to the chair when tn
 division was called. Both, however, hat
 left their toppers in the members cloa'
 room and so, after highly embarrass
 ing minute or two, Sir John Lonsda'e , the Irish unionist whip, handed over -.
 silk hat. which was donned first by Si
 Edward and then by the Right Honor able Austen (neither of whom 1t httcd) as, sitting tight on the green cushions
 each in turn solemnly addressed tho . chair
 Is Really Farce
 There really is no end to this farce Q
 the hat in the house of commons
 member is supposed to raise his ha | whenever he is referred to by another member in the course of speech, ol whenever he speaks to anyone either or
 the bench above or, below him. lf h. , wishes to propose a motion. he. sgnlfie: the fact by raising his hat. and any min ister who is about to introduce bill see' to it that he has a hat near at hand &
 that he may have it to raise just before he himself rises to introduce the meas ure. Hats are used, too. to reserve places in the house, just as travellers reserv; places in trains by leaving their bag on the seats, and for this reason mos M. P.s haveya spare tile in their loche' at the house of commons.
 Rarely All Uncover"
 Rarely, very rarely the entire ho'.st "uncovers" and when it does so it az pears like another assembly altogether I Hats are supposed to come off when ( message from the sovereign is read, anc the house occasionally uncovers. too, ts l show. respect to the memory of mem Der who has died. How 'finicking'' mcs
 of this hat procedure is is well illus
 trated by an episode which though it ac