24 JULY 1880, Page 1

The House of Commons has invented a new mode of

suppress- ing bores. In the discussion on Mr. Forster's Compensation for Disturbance (Ireland) Bill on Monday night, while Mr. Arthur O'Connor was prosing on at great length, to the great dis- comfiture of the House, and threatening, when disturbed, to move the adjournment of the debate by way of reprisals, an honour- able Member who had fallen asleep began to snore. For that hint, honourable Members hitherto painfully awake were evid- ently grateful. As Mr. O'Connor proceeded, snores from the most opposite quarters of the House accompanied him in a kind of spontaneous symphony, while peals of laughter followed every fresh outbreak of the somnolent epidemic. Mr. Arthur O'Connor could not make much headway against this happy combination of slumber and hilarity, and was compelled to bring his valuable remarks to a speedy conclusion.