There's a formality and coldness in all their dealings with royalty that
would never go down with us. They like to have the King come and open
Parliament dressed in royal robes, and with a clattering troop of
soldiers riding in front of him. As for taking him over to the Y.M.C.A.
to play pin pool, they never think of it. They have seen so much of the
mere outside of his kingship that they don't understand the heart of it
as we do in Canada.
But let us turn to the House of Commons: for no description of England
would be complete without at least some mention of this interesting
body. Indeed for the ordinary visitor to London the greatest interest of
all attaches to the spacious and magnificent Parliament Buildings. The
House of Commons is commodiously situated beside the River Thames. The
principal features of the House are the large lunch room on the western
side and the tea-room on the terrace on the eastern. A series of smaller
luncheon rooms extend (apparently) all round about the premises: while a
commodious bar offers a ready access to the members at all hours of the
day. While any members are in the bar a light is kept burning in the
tall Clock Tower at one corner of the building, but when the bar is
closed the light is turned off by whichever of the Scotch members leaves
last. There is a handsome legislative chamber attached to the premises
from which--so the antiquarians tell us--the House of Commons took its
name. But it is not usual now for the members to sit in the legislative
chamber as the legislation is now all done outside, either at the home
of Mr. Lloyd George, or at the National Liberal Club, or at one or other
of the newspaper offices. The House, however, is called together at
very frequent intervals to give it an opportunity of hearing the latest
legislation and allowing the members to indulge in cheers, sighs,
groans, votes and other expressions of vitality. After having cheered as
much as is good for it, it goes back again to the lunch rooms and goes
on eating till needed again.
It is, however, an entire exaggeration to say that the House of Commons
no longer has a real share in the government of England. This is not so.
Anybody connected with the government values the House of Commons in a
high degree. One of the leading newspaper proprietors of London himself
told me that he has always felt that if he had the House of Commons on
his side he had a very valuable ally. Many of the labour leaders are
inclined to regard the House of Commons as of great utility, while the
leading women's organizations, now that women are admitted as members,
may be said to regard the House as one of themselves.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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