Parliament was prorogued on Saturday last. The:Icke s Speech contained nothing
of any great importance, except the graceful terms in which the King specially thanks the Commons for those arrangements in .regard to the melte,. ance of the honour and dignity of the Crown "which 'affect the . state and comfort of my Royal Consort." The Bill amend and Consolidate the Factory Acts is chosen out by the GoVernment for an expression of special satisfaction it regard to its passage. The first Session of the new nit cannot be said to have- been very satisfactory from the legit. lative. point of view. It was marked, too; by a peculiarly irritating type of obstruction,-and by an apparent inability e the House of- Commons to deal effectively-with the evil. Still, the Commons did some work, and the sensible and businesslike way in which the Civil Litt question was settled must certainly be put to the credit of the Session. The voting of the Supply " remainders" in Classes" nstead individual votes was also a triumph for common-sense. It is idle to say that through the tyranny " of the Executive Parliament is in- danger of losing its control over the public purse. As a matter of fact the control is as much as ever e was in the hands of the Commons, but the danger, if any, lies not in the action of the Government, but in the growing tolera. tion of irrelevant and foolish talk by Parliament. Nothing can degrade Parliament but itself. But degradation will and must come if -the House of Commons is too tired or too lazy to stop the chatter of the Parliamentary Bandar-Log.
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