Notwithstanding all this, there is not and cannot be that understanding between the members of the House as a body which subsists between the members of a good London Club. The Conservatives may become brethren in arms on their green benches in the House, may become fast friends in the Conference Rooms, may form or cement friendships that last throughout life. The Liberals may do just the same. But it will be groups that ate thus formed and groups they will remain, No such distinctive groups would be found in a good London Club. Inside such a club if men are conversing they feel they are in the midst of friends, There is no such confidence among members of the Hous Members talking in the lobby or at tea, or at the dinner table, on politics or public affairs, must look round to see who may be within earshot, whether any secret may escape, whether an opponent may be on the watch. Again one may converse with another member, personally unknown, on general topies—but one must not mention any political or Parliamentary topic, nor even allude to any Parliamentary person age, for fear of unintentionally giving offence. One must know or divine what patty ho belongs to, even if one does not like to ask his name, before venturing on any eave the most ordinary conversation, His name, however, can be easily learnt by turning the conversation on to his constituency; once that is known, the name of the member can be learnt from any of the reference books. Or, let the familiar case of the dianer table be considera'. In a real club anyone may take any place that may be vacant in the dining room, undeferred by those who may be sitting near. But a member would hardly do that in the dining rooms of the Commons. He must, when choosing a place, think of those who are sitting and may probably come and sit neat him. Out of the several rooms there used to be one where the Irish Natiovalist members dined. A Conser vative would not care to dino there; for that would be unsociable for him, and embarrassing to them, In the same way the Radicals dined usually in a certain quarter; the company of a Tory would not be acceptable there. In another room there was a table by courtesy and practice allotted to Cabinet Ministers; a table also assigned to the other members of the existing Ministry: these were ina senso high tables or chief places; and no such arrangement would be possible ina real club, So there were certain quarters where the out and out supporters of the Ministry would dine. One of their opponents could not conveniently dine with them in the brief interval between two parts of the debate, as the conversation would be sure to fall on what had just been happening in the Cham-bor where they had been playing opposite parts. There was a table where Liberal Unionists used to dine; a Conservative might certainly sit down with them, but hardly 4 Gladstonian, Thus the House though comprising many elements of club life, is not technically or really a club—though it may be so called in a special sense. No; it is, for social life among the Members, much more than club. It is an arena, in the truest sense, where a man has to be in the company not only of those who agree with him but of
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.