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of) 
THE HAMILTON ASSOCIATION. 
Cc 
to make the experiment was Charles I, in 1642, and his visit 
to the House ended so disastrously to him that no sovereign 
has since made the experiment. 
It is a curious circumstance that the queen has never seen 
her ‘‘ faithful Commons’ in session although she has been on 
the throne for sixty years. She is denied the spectacle that 
may be witnessed by the humblest subject of her own sex. 
Her Majesty could be an unobserved spectator behind the 
erille of the ladies’ gallery. But the fact remains that by the 
theory of the constitution she is prohibited from entering the 
House of Commons. 
In 1846 the Prince Consort was in the peers’ gallery of the 
British House of Commons to hear the opening debate on Sir 
Robert Peel’s resolution for leave to introduce a bill to repeal 
the Corn Laws. <A few nights later Lord George Bentick, 
who was bitterly opposed to the measure, accused Prince 
Albert of allowing himself to be present to give the semblance 
of Her Majesty’s endorsement of the measure. Prince Albert 
keenly resented the idea and never again came to the gallery. 
So bitterly were the landed magnates opposed to the repeal of 
the Corn Laws that they quoted without pretext Lord 
Alvauly’s atrocious saying, ‘‘ Peel ought not to die a natural 
death.’’ ‘That was the first time a member of the Royal family 
had attended the debates. Now the presence of the Prince of 
Wales or the Duke of York in the peers’ gallery is of frequent 
occurrence and no one dreams of suggesting any possible 
political influence. 
In the early years of Confederation Lord Dufferin occa- 
sionally was present at an interesting debate and had a seat on 
the floor of the House for an hour or two, but I can recall no 
visit from any recent Governor-General, although the ladies 
of the Governor's household attend quite frequently and 
have always done so. 
House meets at 3 o'clock, sits till 6 o’clock and usually 
rises, resumes at eight o'clock, and sits on an average to one 
o’clock in the morning. 
