THE Thames Advertiser. Favour to none; fear of none; justice to all. MONDAY, JULY 31, 1893.

Thames Advertiser, Volume XXVI, Issue 7594, 31 July 1893, Page 2

THE Thames Advertiser. Favour to none; fear of none; justice to all. MONDAY, JULY 31, 1893.

Tiie proceedings Disgraceful Pro- in tho British cehdings. House of Com"

mong, on Thurs* day night, as reported by us in a rccont 'ssuo, disclose tho humiliating* fact, that many of tho members are ontiroly unfitted to occupy seats in a representative chamber of the English nation. The House of Commons has been pointed to with pride, as beingjthe most august deliberative assembly in the world, and up to the time of Thnrs- 1 day's disgraeeful proceedings, had to some extent merited the enconiums passed upon it. True, some trifling incidents , had previously occurred frein time to time, which wore not calculated to improve the House in the opinion of the outside world— notably the scenes' in which the late Mr Bradlaugh figured, but nothing in tho shape of a froo fight had occurred to cast a doubt on the claim of tho House to be a respectable body of gontlomon, elected by tho people to legislate for them. When wo read tho cable message containing the news of tho proceedings last Thursday nigbt in the House,, we wore in doubt as to whether tho cable accents in England had not confounded the acono of dis turbance with tho groggy and dis^

reputable fledits which are of common occurence in tho worst class of gin palaces and lowest music halls, in the great metropolis. Had wo been ihformed, that a bibulous and irascible visitor to either of such places, had caused a divorsion, by smashing tho heads of thoso with whom ho had been indulging in edifying converse, and that a general resort had been made to tho chairs for tho purpose of obtaining suitable weapons of attack— and a general meloo had ensued—wo should have doplored tho faot that such an objectionable fracas had taken place. Though deplorable, from a moral point of view, such a disturbance would not involve worse consoquences than disgrace to the participators in the fray. But when we road of 001. Saunderson. when in the House of Commons, "hitting out bold'y, felling soveral mombors," that the " Conservative whip took hold of the Radical whip by tho scruff of the ncck and shook him;" that the " back of one of the benchcs was wrenohed off;" and that " shirts, coats, and waistcoats wero torn from the backs of mombors," what can tho public think of such disgraceful conduct as this ? Tho fact that such things actu illy occurred should malco Englishmen, who have respect for tho nation they bo'ong to, hang their heads with shame. Had this exhibition of loss of tompor and brutal rowdyism occurred in any of tho groat English schools, Rugby, Harrow, or Eton, or if tho livoly stu dents in oithor of England's groat diversities had taken this manner of passing away the time, tho oxcosses induced in would havo boon at any rato entirely in accordance with procedonts formerly established; but, such a sefno in tho Houso of Com' moris, which is generally supposed to contain the greatest wisdom, olo* queucoj and knowledge to bo obtained

in the United Kingdom, is deplorable and humiliating indeed.

f c urso, if the leading spirits in this disturbance, which has cast discredit upon the House, hid .been dining " not wisely, but too well,", some plausible excuse could be put forward by them in part justification of their unworthy conduct. Indeed, it those members, who behaved so gross y, had no such excuse to put forward, they are totally unfitted to bo representatives at all, and if they were guilty,of such indiscretions in the way we haye. indicated, they a* e equally incompetent to decide or assist in de« ciding upon the merits of any measures brought forward for the benefit of the people. 'I he only places such inon are fit to occupy, are those in which display of force is of more necessity than exercise of brain power. While they remain members of the House of Commons, they contaminate the more worthy representatives; they are a source of o irruption and dis« grace, a rnonace to the good name of he House of Commons, and one from which the sooner it is purged the better. '