Nothing can be more scandalous than the state of absolute
desertion in which the House of Commons has been left during the week, al- though there have been at least 300 members still in town. Repeatedly, in order to prevent the House from being counted out, when most ur- gent and important business was in discussion, the whole of the purlieus of St. Stephen's have been searched to pick up some half-dozen accidental stragglers. The following letter is from a Member. It puts the attendance on occasions of formal etiquette, and on occasions of real and important business, in so ludicrous contrast, that we cannot give it better than in the words of the writer- " House of Commons, Monday. 7 p.
"When the real business—the money affairs of the country, unconnected with party—come before us, then, as if by common consent, some hundreds will be seen simultaneously to rise and walk out of the House. A few minutes ago, this practice was exemplified in an amusing manner. To witness the common- place ceremony of the Speaker announcing his intention of retiring, some three or four hundred members attended to-day. That ceremony over, the Chan- cellor of the Exchequer rose to proceed with business involving many millions,— namely, the Civil List, and certain arrangements regarding eighteen millions of Exchequer Bills: and as regularly as a reyinzent of soldiers disperse when permitted to retire from the ranks after their duties are finished, two hundred and seventy, at least, out of the three hundred, put on their hats and marched off. I observed the Ministerial people could hardly keep their countenances at the inconsistency. "Time same took place on Colonel EVANS'S motion, the other night, which involved a proposed retrenchment of nearly two millions: and the bad attend- ance was delicately hinted at as a proof that the Colonel's proposal had excited little interest, and was of course entitled to little consideration.
"The night after that motion, came on the Budget,—a mere trifle concerning forty-seven or forty-eight millions of money—the whole public income : and the attendance was actually less than on the previous night."
We shall have an exposure on this subject very soon.
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