SCIENTIFIC PARLIAMENTARY REFORM 



By W. H. COWAN, M.P. 



It has been well said that it is the greatest glory of the British 

 people to have evolved and perfected that system of Repre- 

 sentative Government and those Parliamentary Institutions 

 which, in one form or another, have been adopted, or imitated, 

 by every progressive nation and constitute our greatest con- 

 tribution to the happiness and prosperity of mankind. Every 

 national representative assembly in the world is modelled, 

 either at first or second hand, on the British House of Commons, 

 which is, indeed, the mother of them all. 



Theoretically, the House of Commons is more powerful 

 to-day than ever before in the whole course of its long and 

 eventful history. Having, through centuries of painful effort, 

 wrested power from the hands of kings, it has now, at last, to 

 all appearance, secured for itself the authority of a Single 

 Chamber Legislature, while escaping the odium of having 

 abolished that picturesque and historic Chamber which still 

 provides an attractive place of refuge, or retirement, for many 

 a weary Commoner whose Radical antecedents do not, in the 

 opinion of his leaders, disqualify him for its dignified repose. 



And yet, all is not well with the Mother of Parliaments, 

 for this seemingly all-powerful House of Commons has, of late, 

 become the object of almost universal distrust. The evidence 

 of this changed attitude on the part of the Electorate meets 

 one on every hand. The Press teems with hostile criticism 

 and complaint which, whether well or ill founded, is indicative 

 of a feeling too significant and too disquieting to be disre- 

 garded. Payment of members, without a mandate from the 

 country, and the prolongation of the life of Parliament by its 

 own action are no doubt partially responsible for this state of 

 feeling, but we must look deeper for an adequate explanation 

 of a phenomenon which cannot be wholly due to any temporary 

 or superficial cause. Statesmen, desirous of restoring the 

 moral authority of an Institution the ancient reputation of 

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