will troop
in, and their vote will settle the question whether Plumberry shall be
privileged to pump water as late as nine o'clock, or whether at eight
the handle shall be chained."

So it turned out: In House of four hundred and seventy-nine Members
Bill was read a second time by majority of twenty-three. Division
occupied twenty minutes, which, with debate, appropriated two of the
most precious hours of the sitting.

_Mr. P._ narrowly escaped expulsion, attention being awkwardly
concentrated upon him, owing to the exuberance of his delight
in recollection of how much better these things are managed at
Westminster.

After this, public business was approached, beginning with questions.
Of these there were a list of eighty, the large majority on
exceedingly trivial circumstances. Nine-tenths of them could have been
answered in a sentence by the Minister addressed, supposing the Member
had dropped him a private note, or crossed the floor of the House,
to speak to him. TIME openly contemptuous at such a way of doing
business, more especially when, on question which appeared on
printed paper having been answered, half-a-dozen Members sprang up
from different parts of House, and volleyed forth supplementary
interrogations. Explained to him things used to be worse when
questions were propounded _vivi voce_, and at length.

"Now," I said, not liking _Mr. P.'s_ crowing over us, "the SPEAKER
will not allow the terms of a question to be recited. They appear on
printed paper, and are taken as read."

"Then," queried TIME, "what are these Members putting questions
'arising,' they say, 'out of the answer just given? They don't spare a
syllable, and take up five times as much of the Sitting as Members who
put their questions on the Paper, and are not allowed to read them.
You don't mean to say that such a transparent evasion of the rule is
permitted?"

"It looks very like it," said _Mr. P._; "but it's not at all the sort
of thing that would be permitted in our House of Commons. We make
Rules, and the Speaker sees that they are obeyed in the spirit, as
well as in the letter."

By the time questions were over, following on the prelude of private
business, the evening was getting on. Members evidently tired out; had
crowded in to vote on the Pump-handle question; sat in serried rows
during the squabbles of question-time; and as soon as business was
actually reached, House swiftly emptied, leaving about a score of
Members. TI