In the House of Commons on Tuesday the Prime Minister
moved that the suspension of the Labour Members, Messrs. Maxton, Wheatley, Stephen and Buchanan, who were suspended for using unparlia- mentary langubge and for refusing to apologize, should be terminated. On the previous day three of the four Members had tried to force their way into the House, having previously sent a letter to the Speaker in which they pointed out that the case of Mr. Moore several years ago afforded a complete precedent for reinstate- ment even though an apology was not made. They added that there should be a- limit to the penalty of suspension, since the penalty really fell not- on the- sus- pended Members but upon their. constituents, who remained unrepresented. The precedent: is. quite sound in itself—constituencies ought not to be punished indefinitely for the follies of their representatives— but what the Labour Members forgot, or' did not know, was that the rights and privileges of Members are guarded not by the Speaker but by the- whole- House. As- it- happened,' Mr. Baldwin had already made up his mind that- the constituencies of the four suspended Members had been:long enough unrepresented. On Tuesday his motion was accepted and the four Labour Members will no doubt reappear in the autumn session.
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