Parliament : its Romance, its Comedy, its Pathos. By Michael
MacDonagh. (P. S. King and Son. 7s. 6d.)—The first chapter of Mr. MacDonagh's book—a sequel, we may remark, of his earlier work, "The Book of Parliament "—is given to the subject of the Royal Prerogative; the second, under the title of "Our First Constitutional Sovereign," describes with judicious appreciation the part taken in English politics for the last sixty-odd years of the nineteenth century by Queen Victoria. This, of course, is at some distance from the author's proper subject. He artfully pre- pares an approach by giving his third chapter to "The First Par- liament of King Edward VII." The chapters that follow are kept more closely in line. They are all pleasant and readable, scarcely equal to the author's earlier work—a gleaning after a harvest— but sufficiently full of adequate interest. •• The Quaint Side of Parliament" deals with a part of the subject which is sure to have a perpetual freshness and novelty. There is, for instance, the story of the new Member who, rising to speak, remained covered, and was greeted -with shouts of "Hat!" He could not imagine what was meant, and felt in his pockets for .what he imagined to be missing. At last an Irish Member politely removed the offence. On another occasion Mr. Gladstone had to address the House sitting and covered (on a point of order, before a division). He never had his hat handy, and had one supplied by a colleague, so small that the House watched with interest his efforts to balance it on his head. Another inexhaustible subject is " Unparliamentary Expressions." The ingenuity of Parliamentarian man is always busy in devising expressions that come as near as possible to the limits of the per- missible. "Falsity" seems to be Parliamentary, but not " false- hood." You may say that an argument used by a Member is "humbug," but not that the Member is a "humbug." Hypothetical reproaches are allowed ; but when Mr. Redmond said that "if Mr. Forster had been an honest man or an honest politician" he would have acted differently, he was called upon to withdraw the expres- sion. He withdrew it, but regretted that he could not use it, and that brought about his suspension. The fact is that the manners of the House need reform. One notorious M.P. has a way of closing all questions that he asks with a disorderly interjection. He does it with impunity, but it would probably not be worth while to notice it. Pules non ease demandus.
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