PARLIAMENTARY TACTICS.

THE ensuing session will subject to a more severe trial than they have yet undergone, the character of the House of Commons as now constituted, and the pretensions of those high-principled and well-meaning Members, who, because they are neither Tories, nor mere Whigs with party or selfish motives, we designate as " In- dependent Reformers." It will be seen whether the Independent Reformers are capable of systematic, persevering exertion, and equal to the preparation and support of practical measures: or whether they must be given up as a band of disorganized theo- rists, fit to descant on principles, but impotent in acting—great as speculatists, but babes in statesmanship. The Reformed House of Commons, as an instrument of legislation, and as a representative assembly, will also be put on its trial : it will de- pend upon the manner in which the interests of the nation are maintained by it against all adversaries—be they Tories, Whigs, Lords, or Ministers—whether its prolonged existence, on the pre- sent model, will be endured; or whether its entire reconstruc- tion, on the basis of the widest and perfectly equal representation of the whole people, will not be demanded by those who carried the GREY Reform Act in 1832, but could have forced upon King, Lords, and Commons, a much more extensive bill of en- franchisement. Every day the determination of the People of England to resist bad government becomes more manifest; and there is only one mode of preventing, or rather of postponing, uni- versal suffrage and its effects,—namely, by doing much now that a Parliament elected by the whole people would certainly do with alarming speed and vigour. Let our Representatives commence the session with this salutary fear before their eyes. The Inde- pendent Reformers we would more especially remind, that never before was there such need of circumspection, firmness, and in- dustry. They have some bad habits to unlearn—many difficul- ties to overcome, and sacrifices to make of time and self-indul- gence. A few hints towards a system of Parliamentary tactics, which may be enlarged and perfected by degrees, will not be thrown away, if accepted by Members in the spirit with which we humbly but frankly and earnestly offer them.

1. Watchful Attendance. By this we do not mean merely that Reform Members should be lounging about ills House or the Lob- bies, in the nasty " Smoking-room," or the atrocious " Kitchen," at the command of Ministers when the division comes. Some, who are seldom absent on a great division, are still seldomcr in their seats : restless, fussy, and self-import-ant, but practi- cally idle and useless, they are constantly on the move—chat- tering at the bar, slamming the doors, walking along the Mem- bers' galleries, and hurrying about with rolls of papers,—as if anybody who wished to have business done would apply to them ! It may be that they have come to vote on some measure which is " on the paper" for the night, or are ready to support or oppose the Minister on any question. Their names, no doubt, appear in numerous divisions ; but if they are asked bow it happened that this bad clause in a bill, or that false assertion in a speech, passed without notice, it will be seen that they were any thing but vigi- lant in the performance of their duty. Without allqtlin and alertness, as well as " attendance," honourable gentleuu:n iiiht be more profitably employed at Almack's or Cruckfurd's than in the House of Commons. The very instant that a blunder is dis- covered, it should be exposed; and the lie should be contradicted while it is yet warm on the lip of the utterer. 2. Firmness. A crying sin of the Popular Members their facility in giving way to a wheedling Minister. A notice by Mr. TENNYSON, or by Mr. WAKLEY, for the repeal of the Septennial Act, is first on the list of motions for the evening. Lord JorrN RUSSELL rises—" is sorry to interrupt the Honourable Mernbcr- is aware that it is a night on which gentlemen no connected with the Government have the privilege of bringing forward mut:ons, but puts it to him, whether, with the heavy arrear uf business then before the House, he will occupy its time N‘ith on abstract question, which he can have no hope of cnr:ying." The appeal is irresistible; and with great reluctance. but still in the " most handsome manner," the Honourable Member gives way. The

matter had probably been all arranged nt one of those Downing Street meetings which an Independent Reformer never should at- tend. This is the mode in which, night after night, discussions of great interest to the country, but disagreeable to the Minister, are staved off. Now there must be an end of this practice. or an erd of public confidence in those who yield to it. No Member shonld put a notice on the hooks to be taken off, or slurred over, with his consent ; and without his consent it can scarcely be done. The mischief of blocking up the paper with sham notices, in order to gratify vanity, and give the impression that Mr. Something is a person of vast views and very formidable, is much greater than

it arrears to be at first sight. It is not only that the busy-body makes R fool of himself and loses all weight in the House, but he prevents men of business frem pressing really useful measures. We intend to watch very closely the fate of the numerous notices of motions next sessiere and let the constituencies know who these vaponrir g nuisances are. 3. Divisions. There are many Members who will not allow their motions to be cushioned—they have got speeches ready cut and dry—but who are easily persuaded not to " divide." They - will not " put the House to the trouble of dividing,"—as if to vote were not es much a part of their duty as to talk ; and they ac- tually phenie themselves as it were on their generous forbearance! It should be part of the task of the Independent Reformers to force the motions of these accommodating gentlemen to divisions —they should never allow a motion once brought forward to be withdrawn. Were this rule followed, a multitude of sham dis-

• cussions, which waste valuable time to no purpose, would be pre- vented; rind a character of earnestness and honesty would be given to Parliamentary proceedings, which they now want. But more than this—upon their perseverance in dividing the

House the Independent Members must rely principally for even- tual success. It will be known by whom popular measures are rejected. The number of their opponents will decrease on every division; for it is dangerous to be exhibited night after night voting with Tories against Mr. GROTE, Mr. Hume, Mr. WAR 14 and Sir WILLIAM MOLESWORTH. Therefore let us have divisions ef votes upon every question of importance whereon there is a division of opinion ; and let the Member who shrinks from this essential part of his duty be set down as insincere or inca- pable. It was a nice piece of jockeysbip in Mr. ABERCROMBY to take advantage of a technical mistake in the wording of Mr. Ween's motion for publishing divisions, to refuse to extend the rule to Committees of the whole House, where many most impor- tant questions are decided ! But let Mr. W XRD see to this in the firet week of the session. We cannot promise ourselves room for all the division-lists; but we will, from time to time, givs'elassifisd lists of deibulters. us well as of meritorious voters. Other Libe- ral journalists will probably assist us ; and many Members who have hitherto sinned in comparative safety, because of their obseu- sity, may chance to lie looked after rather sharply ; and the real ;wive.; of their anti-popular votes or treacherous absence scru- tinized, end proclaimed to their constituents. In the performance of this duty of watching the open or suspected traitors, we shall be aided by a curious list of Government jobbers, expeetants, and toadies. which a friend has made up for this especial service. 4. (“u/ion in advancing Opinions. The House of Commons eught to be a grave assembly, where every word spoken is well-weighed. Nobody should presume to occupy its time by littering crudities, or giving vent to mere hasty impressions, ender tile false notion that such are his opinions. An " opinion," worthy f any respect or attention, is the result of much reflec- tion and helustrious inquiry, not the flitting inspiration of the idle neenste. But nothing is more common than to hear Members pour forth a string of blunders in logic, and "false facts,' simply from the habit of giving their " opinions" without reflection. Their le:stakes are frequently, exposed by men whose wish is to shine ie delete : hence much waste of time and patience. But the weset ez, that from the practice of advancing untenable opinions, Teen become indifferent to the maintenance of impostant pmiiici- pss when disputed. One well-meaning Member, whom we will eot name till we detect him flarante delicto, is in the habit of making statements and pronouncing opinions which he settee; to be contradicted, apparently without the least notion that he is bound to maintain them, and, if possible, force the Rouse to confirm them. It would be an excellent way of correct- ing this error, and of escaping the habit of rambling, prosy, leng- e iuded harangues, if such Members would carefully write out those passages of their speeches which embrace statements of facts, definitions, or important points,—a method practised by the best speakers much more frequently than is imagined. Despise and shun high-sounding commonplaces ; and keep close to that in which the question under debate really turns. If you are not psepared with facts of importance that cannot be overthrown, and

n it') well-cousidered are uments not already advanced, you have rigkt to obtrude yourself on the house.

5. Pe?pet Preparation. Dining the whole of last session, only ace large mcasuie was ietroduced in any thing like a perfect state; and that was the Itish Corporation Bill, which Mr. Olsot.neeN bad really mastered, and whose details he was ready at any thee to explain and defend. Generally the practice is to throw a bill

o n the table full of blunders, knewn to its author, but which he intends to remove in Cient»ittee. The waste of time caused by such laziness or ignorance is incalculable ; and nothing would

advance the reputation of a Member more than the introduction of well-concocted and perfectly intelligible measures—the verv reverse, for instance, of Lord JOHN RUSSELL'S English Titlie Bill. As an independent course of action is resolved upon by an influential portion of the Liberal Members, above all things let them study to perfect their measures,—selecting a few subjects of the highest practical importance, and committing them to such of their body as fire most likely to bring them creditably before the House. Let there be a marked contrast between the slovenly

and unintelligible legislation of the Whigs and Tories, and the plain and precise measures of the Independent Reformers. This will require much labour; but the end warrants and the result will reward it. There should be no excuse for opposition in the faulty workmanship of any measure. The Ministers would he reluctant to reject a bill or a motion against which they could only allege its popular tendency. They would, however, be too happy to avail themselves of any slip of ignorance or sloth ; and this advantage will frequently fall in their way, unless the In- dependent Members acquire a description of knowledge in which at present they are very deficient—namely,

6. The Knowledge of Forms. A Member who would be useful and influential should never be out of order. What the rules or the House are, every person may learn, if be choose to give him- self the trouble. Those rules may be absurd and annoying; but the House professes to be guided by them; and therefore no Member can be retied on for the safe conduct of any measure, who does not make himself perfectly familiar with the forms. Be- sides, the rules of the House give a minority power which may be most usefully exercised in the ensuing session. Two Members, for instance, may divide a House, and one may prevent a motion from being withdrawn.

7. Improvement of Goverment Measures. The Evening jour- nal which, a fortnight since, held the doctrine that it is the chief duty of a Government to keep things as they are and to resist alteration in the laws, now, for another purpose, pronounces it to be the proper function of the Ministers, rather than of individual Members of Parliament, to introduce new measures—warning of! interlopers. We concur generally in this; and as the Independent Reformers will themselves bring forward only a few great mea- sures, which neither the Government nor the Tory Opposition would originate, their chief employment will be, to watch closely, and improve by amendments, those of the Ministers. If they per- form this duty thoroughly, they never can be idle. 8. Sincerity. Lord BROUGHAM never injured himself more on one occasion, than by his complimentary specie) to Lord LYND- HURST at the close of the session of 183.1. He did not believe what he said of COPLEY ; but he had some precious purpose to serve, and so praised him, and disgusted the country. In the House et'

Commons, the practice of paying hollow compliments is as com- mon as contemptible. Let Watery be reserved for the drawing- room or the boudoir; and let the Representatives of the People re- collect that they speak in the names of their constituents, who are not to be insulted by the bandying of false compliments from one side of the House to the other.

9. Fair Play. Though Mr. ABERCROMBY has not the actual squint of MANNERS SUTTON, yet it has been thought that his un- spectacled vision occasionally fails a little, whys') the duty is to single out some not very obtrusive Member, who may be the per- son best qualified to instruct the House, but who may rise a dozen times in a night without being able to catch the Speaker's eye. Now, the best way to obtain fair play for ull too modest gentle- men thus circumstanced, would be for their friends to call out their names, in a tone sufficiently loud, and often enough to at- tract. Mr. ABERCROMIN'S attention. In this way much may be done by a few determined Members, not only to gain the Speaker's permission to rise, but to enforce a hearing from the House. See w hat, in spite of modesty, PEEL effects through his trained band of" Roarers !"

[To be continued occasionally.]