Mr. Richard's, demanding that the consent of Parliament should be
previously asked before wars or annexations were declared, being lost by only 115 to 109. The arguments for the motion were of the usual kind, and were partly accepted by Mr. Gladstone, who, however, pointed out that, as regards annexations, Parliament could cancel them, and as regards war, no restriction was of solid value. War might arise, and be in- dispensable, while Parliament was not sitting. Parliament might be more consulted about negotiations, and he wished it were ; but in that case it would be necessary to create a Secret Committee within Parliament, which was exceedingly difficult. We should be inclined to defend the prerogative on different ground,—namely, that the Cabinet which exercises it is almost invariably wiser than Parliament, and is more likely to keep the peace. Parliaments fire up under fancied indignities. If the reasons for the annexation of Burmah had been explained to Parliament, we should probably have had war with France. The French Chamber would certainly have passed some furious resolution, which would almost as certainly have been met by an angry defiance. In many Departments of State, " Cabinet Government " is the best form of representation that, in an imperfect world, it is as yet possible to secure, and we would. strengthen rather than diminish the authority of that secret committee.
