In the House of Commons on Monday there was a
scene of unparalleled passion and disorder when Mr. Asquith attempted to justify the rejection of the Lords' amend- ments to the Parliament Bill. The pandemonium reached such a point that the Speaker found it necessary to act upon a power vested in him, but only once used before, summarily to adjourn the House without the motion put. Mr. Asquith was refused a hearing—the first time in the history of the Commons that the Leader of the House has been thus
treated. No sooner had he risen than many members of the Opposition began an outcry which made it almost impossible to hear a word he said. Some shouted " Traitor !" others " Divide!" others called ironically for " the new leader," Mr. Redmond. The Speaker appealed again and again for the restoration of order, but without avail. The tumult, in which Lord Hugh Cecil, Major Archer-Shoe, and Mr. F. E. Smith took a prominent part, was evidently as deliberate as it was persistent. The Speaker, who pointed out that it was even more important for the Opposition than for the Govern- ment to preserve the right of free discussion, might have been speaking to a hurricane. At last Mr. Asquith, who for about twenty minutes bad patiently faced his interrupters and made repeated attempts to proceed with his speech, flung down his notes saying, "I am not going to degrade myself by address- ing an Opposition which is obviously determined not to listen to me." Raising his voice above the noise he added some words as to the determination of the Government to invoke the prerogative of the Crown.
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