Mr. Balfour on Monday moved, in favour of Government Bills,
the suspension of the Standing Order under which no contentions business can be commenced after 12 o'clock—the Order which, we remember, roused Mr. Ayrton to an out- burst of indignant scorn—and enumerated the Bills which the Clovernment propose to abandon. These are the Money-
lending Bill, the Parish Churches (Scotland) Bill, the Irish Tithe-Rent Charge Bill, the Undersized Fish Bill, the Metro- politan Streets Act Amendment Bill, the Trout Fishing Close-Time Bill, the Universities (Scotland) Bill, the Land- tax Commissioners Bill, and the Bill enabling the Houses of Parliament to sell liquor to Members without breaking the law. None of these Bills are very important, except perhaps the Undersized Fish Bill, which is intended, we believe, to stop a practice that may seriously injure our fisheries ; but to most of the Bills there has been devoted an amount of in. telligence, knowledge, and good men's time which it is hard to see thrown away. We are not favourable to the manu- facture of endless laws, but we cannot but think the annual "Massacre of the Innocents" discreditable to the House of Commons as an assembly of business men. There was, of course, no resistance, Mr. Balfour, with a keen appreciation of his audience, having mentioned casually that if his Motion were not accepted the House might not rise before August 12th. Members murmured "Grouse," and a division became im- possible.
Previous page
