SIR R. TEMPLE'S HANDBOOK TO THE HOUSE OP COMMONS.
The House of Commons. By Sir Richard Temple, Bart. (John Long. 3s. 6d.)—Sir Richard Temple is as well qualified as most men to write a handbook to the House of Commons, for from his record cited in the first chapter he seems to have been a model of the industrious Parliamentarian. He sat there for ten years, he attended almost every sitting, he was present in almost every division, he served on many Committees as member or chairman. His lot, too, was cast in stirring times. He saw the Home Rule agitation from start to finish ; he saw the end of Disraeli's career, the meridian and the extinction of Lord Randolph Churchill, and the last stormy years of Mr. Gladstone. He entered politics late in life, when his judgment was well-formed, and in politics he found an engrossing hobby. His aim is not the lawyer's or the historian's; he wishes merely to chronicle such facts as are necessary for a guide-book, and for the rest to provide a mild gossip. The chief fault we find with the book is the extraordinary style in which it is written. The author is either a very careless or a very inept writer of English, for every page abounds with crudities. Some- times it is genuinely bad grammar, and it is nearly always inelegant. A little stringent revision would have worked wonders, for many of the remarks are so naive as to be almost comic. Sir Richard purveys a variety of wares. He discusses the House as a club and finds it wanting. He grows enthusiastic over the buildings, and tells the story of famous nights of debate with real gusto. He is at his best when he gossips about life in Parliament and the manners and customs of the House, for a manual of Parliamentary etiquette written "from the inside" may well be found useful. There are character sketches of great Parliamentarians, done without much skill; and the work is extended to its proper length by chapters on the Irish Nationalists and the Lords as seen by the Commons. It is rather a piece of book-making than a book, and we do not suppose that Sir Richard Temple sets any great value upon it; but it may interest those who seek information on the personal side of politics.
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