On Wednesday evening, Mr. Courtney addressed a meeting at Bodmin,
in which he dealt with Mr. Gladstone's statement as to the "servitude of Parliament" owing to the Closure. "The phrase was not a bit too strong or too distinct to mark what came to pass,—namely, that Parliament had given up the whole of its time to Government work." The necessity, however, for thus absorbing the time of the House was "not due to the perverseness of the majority, but to the stubbornness of the minority in resisting and attempting to defeat the purpose of Parliamentary life." Speaking with a full sense of his responsi- bility as Chairman of the House, Mr. Courtney deliberately repeated that " the servitude of Parliament to the Government " was due to "the fault of the minority, which made it apparently part of their object in life to prevent Parliament having its way." That the Government are determined to release Parlia- ment from this servitude, is evident from the reference to Pro- cedure in Mr. Goschen's speech. We sincerely trust that they will adopt the Closure by a bare majority, irrespective of the numbers present. The fear of surprise closures need not, we should imagine, be dreaded, any more than the fear of a count- out, especially if the proposed titles for shortening the hours of sittings concentrate the Members at the House between definite and reasonable hours.
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