Charles Turrill, Esq., M. P.
I HAVE found, in the course of a pretty long acquaintance with men and things, that the House of Commons is one of the few places of which one is never weary.
I am speaking for myself, of course. I know there are other men, who think differently from me, who regard the House of Commons with disdain, if not with positive dislike, and the men, I have at this moment in my mind, are not men who affect a contempt for the unattainable thing, but men who have been in the House of Commons and who could be there again, if they wished.
But, for my own part, I candidly confess that I am unable to understand their state of mind on the matter.
To me the House of Commons is always a delightful place. I offer it the uncompromising admiration that young poets lay at the feet of their mistresses; I feel for it the affection that a friend feels for a friend. But I do not wish it to be supposed, because I say all this, that I am convinced that I have in me the makings of a great statesman, or, indeed, that my presence at Westminster is in any serious degree indispensable to the safety of the commonweal.
I like, of course, to think that, when I have given a vote, I have given it as an honest man for the side which I think to be in the right.
I like, of course, to think that, when I make my little speech—and I confess that I address the House not infrequently, and the House is good enough to hear me with patience—that I am doing what lies in me to advance the general good. But my interest in the House of Commons does not come in the first instance from philanthropy or a zeal for the Constitution.
I like the House of Commons as other men like a theatre, as other men like to travel. I like the theatre, too, and I like to travel; but I would rather have the House of Commons, than any theatre that ever was built, and would rather walk through the lobbies, than wander over Europe.
What play was ever so keenly exciting as a heavy debate at Westminster; what travels bring one more into touch with all varieties of men than long experience of the ways of Westminster? None, none, none.
The House of Commons is like the Eau de Jouvence; it makes old men young again, and revives, in the hearts of respectable elderly gentlemen, the feverish pulses of youth.