NEWS OF THE WEEK.
ON Thursday evening, the final application of the guillo- tine Closure produced a scene which will long be remembered to the disgrace of the House of Commons. The Irish Members have unhappily been allowed for some time to interrupt Mr. Chamberlain with shouts of " Judas !" no effective check being placed on their ill-manners by the Chair. On Thursday, the Nationalists, not content with the guillotine, drowned the end of Mr. Chamberlain's speech—he had de- clared that "never since the time of Herod has there been such slavish adulation" as that poured on the Prime Minister —with shouts and jeers and cries of " Judas !" On this, and while the division was taking place, several Unionist Members tried, amidst great confusion, to call the attention of the Chair to the insult, and to get the word "Judas" taken down. The Chairman, however, denied that he had heard the word, and at first refused to notice the incident, though he ulti- mately ordered the word to be taken down. A certain number of the Conservatives declared that they would not leave the House till the matter had been dealt with,—Mr. Carson expressing his determination with special vehemence. On this, Mr. Logan crossed the floor, and said something of an irritating character, " plumping down," as he said it, by Mr. Carson. Mr. Logan,was thereupon forced off the seat by the Members behind. " Mr. Fisher," says Mr. Lucy, in the Daily News, "seized Mr. Logan by the back of the neck, and thrust him forward." Then ensued a scene without parallel in the history of Parliament. Irish Members surged up either to the rescue, or to see what was going on. "They were met at the gangway [we quote from Mr. Luoy's account] by Colonel Saunderson, Mr. Burdett-Coutts, and Colonel Waring. Hats were knocked off in all directions. The House was filled with uproar, and in the gangway was seen a tumultuous mass of men clutching at each other's throats. In the vortex of the maelstrom Mr. Tim Healy was struggling. Colonel Saunderson, his coat half torn off his back, struck out right and left. The first blow fell on Mr. Crean, who in the rush was separated from his assailant. Forcing his way back again, he dealt the Colonel a terrible blow on the face," Meantime, the strangers in the Gallery were hissing the Commons as they fought. This, as well it might, seems to have shamed the House into a sense of decency, and the appearance of the Speaker, for whom there had been loud cries, brought the scene, which had lasted twenty minutes, to an end. The Speaker, after obtaining from Mr. T. P. O'Connor a dubious apology for his use of the word "Judas," wisely insisted on hearing no more recriminations.
