The Marriage Bill Mr. A. P. Herbert had every reason
to claim the passing of the Marriage Bill at its third reading in the House of Commons last week as a great victory for the democratic principle. For it is clear that the one reason why the Bill passed is that it had a large majority for it in and out of Parliament. It was not sponsored by the Government, and extra Parliamentary time had to be found before it could pass the House of Commons. There was determined opposition, inspired mainly by religious scruples, to its provisions ; and if its opponents had cared to carry their opposition to the point of obstruction they might still have killed the Bill. It is fair to say that the Government and the Bill's opponents recognised that neither the exigencies of Parlia- mentary procedure nor even the most sincere convictions could justify the rejection of a measure which so clearly has a majority behind it. If in such circumstances the voice of the people, though only expressed through a private member, is effective enough to overcome all difficulties and opposition, it is, as Mr. Herbert suggested, the clearest proof that demo- cracy is still the true principle of government in thiscountry:
Previous page
