NO YOUNG MEN IN PARLIA, MENT

Te Aroha News, Volume VII, Issue 483, 25 June 1890, Page 3

NO YOUNG MEN IN PARLIA, MENT

The House of Commons a Failure as a Political School. The House of Commons is failing, as all thoroughly democratic assemblies fail, in the function it once served admirably, as a political school. It fails doubly—first, in getting a number of scholars young enough to learn ; and next, in giving them their lessons when it does get them. It may be questioned whether we have at present, properly speaking, any Parliamentary youth at. all. At the present moment we can hardly recall any but Sir E. Grey, Lord Carmarthen, and Lord Cranborne who properly deserve that title, and even of these, the first two will complete their twenty-eighth and the last his twenty-ninth year respectively this year, and can certainly not be called boys. We cannot recall a single member who came into Parliament at Pitt’s age ; and though we do not know the average age of the members, we suspect it would turn out not much,if at all, below 50. Take it all in all it is certainly a Parliament of middle-aged or old men,and byno means as good a school as the earlier Parliaments of this century have been for youthful statesmen. Almost everything tells unfavourably on the election of very young men, because large constituencies such as are now universal, always prefer a known man to an unknown, and it is impossible for. a young man to be known to such constituencies, except in rare cases as the son of his father; and almost everything tells unfavourably on their training, because the concentration of the attention of the democracy on single questions like the Irish Home Rule question involves a monotony ofpoliticalsubject, and, to insure success, a vehemence of political declamation which disgusts young men of any lively political intellect and repels them from politics. Finally, everything tells unfavourably on their oratory, because the immense waste of time on obstruction and the perpetual re-discussion of the same subjects render it hardly possible for them to speak often, even if they are elected, and inspire the leaders with aversion for those party members who take up the time of the House instead of pressing for a division. For the most part the * promising young men ’ of the party are men of 33, at least. — 4 Saturday Review.’