"The Week In Parliament." The Norfolk News, March 2, 1872

It would doubtless be news to most of your readers to hear that the editor of the Morning Advertiser, and a constant contributor to its columns, was Mr. George William Pierrepoint Bentinck, the member for West Norfolk. It would be news to me too, but I should not be so very much surprised, after what has happened this week, if I were to find out that he really is the editor, and that the inspiration or prophetic phrenzy, or whatever you like to call it, of that most respectable journal is his, and only his. Just before the House commenced the more serious business of the sitting on Monday evening, Mr. Bentinck rose, and assumed that oracular air and that gravity which he considers become him so well as the leader of the independent Conservative party. It took him some few seconds to do this completely, but when the operation was at an end, he informed the House that he felt it his duty to to call its attention to a breach of privilege which had been committed by a London newspaper in a leading article calumniating the late Speaker. Like Major Bagstock, Mr. Bentinck has a reputation with himself for being "devilishly," and what he evidently wanted to do was to treat the article as nothing less than libellous, and ostensibly to mention it only for the sake of giving those concerned an opportunity of justification, while all the time the House would feel that the libel was true. It was to be as if a man should come and say to his friend who was a notorious drunkard, "Jones, there is a wicked report abroad that you were seen staggering out of a public-house. I indignantly denied it: I said that if you did go into the public-house, I was sure that you only went there to deliver tracts, and that if you looked shaky when you left, it was because you were horror-struck at what you saw there. I have repeated to you what has come to my ears simply to enable you to prosecute the liar who has defamed you." This was the kind of thing which Mr. Bentinck struggled to achieve : but our heavy friend, big Mr. Bentinck - as he is called, to distinguish him from his more agile namesake - was no hand at such delicate strategy, and in a minute or so had altogether identified himself with this imaginary culprit. The charge which the Advertiser had made was that the Speaker, when a great debate was imminent, had always caused a list to be prepared for him by the Whips, with the sanction of their chiefs, of those members who were to take part in the debate, and that he "saw" no nobody else. Mr. Bentinck solemnly asked whether such a statement imputing partiality and restriction of discussion to the Speaker, was not a breach of the privilege of the House. Mr. Brand promptly said it was no breach of privilege and Mr. Gladstone having disclaimed any knowledge of such a list, the matter dropped. But soon afterwards Mr. Gladstone had to move the adjournment of the house over Tuesday, and Mr. Bentinck seized the opportunity of once more reverting to the subject. He gracefully admitted that he was bound to believe the Prime Minister, but there were two other gentlemen (Mr. Glyn and Mr. Noel) from whom he should like to extract a word or two, and he was the more anxious to to hear them (and now the parallelism between himself and the Advertiser was disclosed) because a friend of his last session had informed the Speaker one evening that he wished to speak, and the Speaker declined to give him any hopes that he would be heard because his name was not in the "list" for the night. This, of course, brought up Mr. Glyn, who delivered what was actually his maiden speech, although he has been in the house for fifteen years, and knows it so well. He was rather nervous, and his manner was consequently rushing and tremulous, but he managed to express himself with much emphasis. Both he and Mr. Noel, who followed, admitted frankly that they had assisted the Speaker by indicating to him from time to time the course which they thought debates would take, but they denied that anything they had done had ever narrowed his selection of Members. It is curious that neither Mr. Noel nor Mr. Glyn noticed how obviously Mr. Bentinck had laid himself open to attack, seeing that although no Conservative whip would ever dream of putting him on a list, his contributions to Hansard last session very much increased the the bulk of the volume. Mr. Gladstone, however, noticed it, and, amidst uproarious cheers and laughter, he tumbled his huge adversary in the dust. He had not observed, he said, that the alleged arrangement between himself and the right honorable gentleman opposite had in any way stinted the rhetoric of the gentlemen with whom Mr. Bentinck acted. Mr. Disraeli took up the same theme, which was one eminently to his mind, and declared that ever since he had been in the House, he had striven by every means to develope [sic] its oratorical powers and more particularly to afford opportunities whereby his independent friends might relieve themselves of their "smouldering emotions." The laughter pealed out again long and loud, and Mr. Bentinck, admonished by sundry nudges in the ribs, could not but laugh too till he looked like a Siletrus[?]. So the scene ended. Mr. Bentinck, as usual, blundered from beginning to end - the net result of the evening being a an uneasy feeling that he and the Advertiser, as I have hinted, are in some way connected. I say "uneasy," because, although the House contains people of all sorts, we have never had, except in one or two notorious cases, anybody amongst us who descended to the 'Tiser's level.

I believe that although the Nonconformists will do nothing to effect any satisfactory modification of the Elections Act this session, they may possibly succeed in securing Mr. Forster's translation from his present office, and the appointment of a Minister who is more in sympathy with them. This, at any rate, is what they are hoping to do and trying to do, and I wish them success. He does not understand them, nor does he understand anybody, I am grieved to say who will not help him in the attainment of his own personal ends. Mr. Gladstone surely must have had his eyes opened by the ominous applause wherewith the Conservatives greeted Mr. Forster's notice of the motion wherewith he meant to meet Mr. Dixon next Tuesday. Mr. Gladstone should fear Greek gifts far more than Greek swords.

Your correspondent feels so satisfied that by this time you have had quite a sufficient dose of the Thanksgiving, that he forbears to say more than a word about it. All London went mad, and the prayers at St. Paul's can hardly have been a sufficient set-off - although they were the prayers of such great people, and in their robes, too - against the drunkenness that prevailed at night. I actually gave away my ticket for the Cathedral, and never saw anything better than a cab all day long. For one thing, the profanity of the affair impressed me a good deal, and would have kept me at home apart from my dislike to a crowd. The net amount of devotion at the Cathedral, I am afraid, was not much ; but what there was, my readers will be glad to learn, has been photographed by the Stereoscopic Company, which was fortunate enough to secure from a platform specially provided by the Dean and Chapter, a good view of her Majesty and all the people just at the moment when the act of worship commenced.

The House was occupied last night for a long time with an unusually protracted struggle over a private Bill promoted by the Birmingham people for getting rid of their sewage. It was opposed by Sir Robert Peel and most of the landowners, and was supported as a matter of course by the representatives of the town. In the division which followed, it was curious to see how almost the entire bulk of the Tories voted against the Bill. Probably the main reason which induced them to vote against it was that as land-owners they all hung together, but I could not help thinking that the ancient spite against the town had something to do with it. Among the other events of importance which preceded the committee on the Ballot Bill was the introduction of the new member for North Nottinghamshire, who was cheered by the Conservatives until the roof rang again : and a notice by Mr. Miall, which was also much cheered, to the effect that he intended shortly to move for a Royal Commission to inquire into the revenues of the Church of England. After one or two other matters of minor importance had been settled, the House went into committee on the Ballot, and almost immediately afterwards practically adjourned, for the news came that an attempt had been made to shoot the Queen, and all the business for the time being was at an end.

A SILENT MEMBER