The Government of England Part 52

[435:1] Rohmer's _Lehre von den politischen Parteien_, which attempts to explain the division into parties by natural differences of temperament corresponding to the four periods of man's life, is highly suggestive, but is rather philosophic than psychological; and like most philosophical treatises on political subjects it is based upon the writer's own time and place rather than upon a study of human nature under different conditions.

[436:1] In his oft-quoted, but very brief, remarks in the "Observations on 'The Present State of the Nation,'" and "Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents." But twenty-five years later in a letter to Richard Burke he falls into the current talk about the evils of domination by a faction.

[437:1] _E.g._ Redlich, _Recht und Technik_, 74-79.

[437:2] _Cf._ Review of his unpublished "Recollections of a Long Life,"

in the _Edinburgh Review_, April, 1871, p. 301.

[438:1] Neither in France nor in Italy does the const.i.tution really perform that service; because in each case it does little more than fix the framework of the government, without placing an effective restraint upon legislative action; and because the const.i.tution itself is not felt to be morally binding by the irreconcilables.

[439:1] For the views of these men on the relation of parties or "factions" to public life see "The Federalist," No. 10, written by Madison.

[440:1] Professor Max Farrand has pointed out to me that the question of having the electors for the whole country meet in one place was discussed in the Const.i.tutional Convention, and was rejected in favour of the present plan, because under the latter, "As the Electors would vote at the same time throughout the U.S. and at so great a distance from each other, the great evil of cabal was avoided." G. Hunt's "Writings of Madison," IV., 365-66. Cabal had a vague and spectral meaning, but covered anything in the nature of party. The exclusion from the electoral college of members of Congress and federal office-holders was defended on the same ground. _Cf._ "The Federalist," No. 68.

[441:1] In his "Rise and Growth of American Politics," a book full of penetrating suggestions, Mr. Henry Jones Ford has argued that party exists in America in order to bring about an accord among public bodies that were made independent by the Const.i.tution; to force into harmonious action the various representatives of the people. Professor Goodnow develops the same idea from a different standpoint in his "Politics and Administration." But, especially in view of the comparatively small accord among public bodies, or harmonious action of the public representatives, and the enormous influence of parties in elections, it seems to the writer more correct to say that parties in America exist mainly for the selection of candidates.

[441:2] This subject is treated in Dupriez's admirable work _Les Ministres_, in Bodley's "France," and in the writer's "Governments and Parties in Continental Europe."

CHAPTER XXV

PARTY ORGANISATION IN PARLIAMENT

[Sidenote: The Need of Whips.]

In every legislative body a vote is supposed to express the sense of the House, and there is a universal fiction that all the members are constantly present; but this is often far from being the fact; and it always behooves any one interested in a particular matter to expend no small amount of labour in making sure that those persons who agree with him are on hand when the decisive moment comes. All this applies with peculiar force to the House of Commons; for not only the fate of the particular measure under consideration, but the very life of the ministry itself, may depend upon a single division; and it is the more true because the average attendance, while a debate is going on, is unusually small. When the division bell rings, two minutes are, indeed, given for the members to rush in from the lobbies, the library, the smoking and dining rooms, and the terrace, yet the government cannot trust to luck for the presence of enough of its followers in the precincts of the House to make up a majority. There must be someone whose duty it is to see that they are within call.

[Sidenote: Who They Are.]

The duty of keeping the members of a party on hand is performed by the whips, whose name is abbreviated from the men who act as whippers-in at a fox-hunt. They are all members of the House, and those on the government side receive salaries from the public purse on the theory that it is their business to "keep a house" during supply; that is, to insure the presence of a quorum, so that the appropriations may be voted. The chief government whip holds the office of Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasury, with a salary of 2000. Formerly he was often called simply the Secretary of the Treasury--an expression occasionally confusing to the readers of books written a generation ago. He is sometimes called, also, Patronage Secretary of the Treasury; and in old times no small part of his functions consisted in distributing patronage, in the days when it was freely employed to secure the support of members of Parliament. In fact he is still a channel for the disposition of such minor patronage as remains in the gift of the Prime Minister, including the creation of lesser t.i.tles. He is a.s.sisted by three other members, who hold the office of Junior Lords of the Treasury, with the salary of 1000 apiece.[449:1] As has already been explained, the Treasury Board never meets, so that the duties of the Junior Lords are to-day almost entirely confined to acting as whips; and, to enable them to do that more effectively, one of them is always a Scotch member. The position of whip is one of great importance, but it entails some sacrifices, for by custom the whips take no part in debate, and although their work is felt throughout the House, it is little seen by the public. The chief whip, however, is often given afterwards a position in the ministry, or otherwise rewarded.

The Opposition also has its whips, usually three in number, whose position is important; though not so important as that of the government whips, because while a failure to have the full strength of the party present may be unfortunate, it cannot, as in the case of the government, be disastrous. Naturally the Opposition whips have no salaries, but they are sustained by the hope that their turn will come.

[Sidenote: Duties of the Whips.]

The government whips act as the aides-de-camp, and intelligence department, of the leader of the House. In the former capacity they arrange for him with the whips on the other side those matters in which it is a convenience to have an understanding. The membership of select committees, for example, is generally settled between the chief whips on the two sides of the House; and the time when the test vote on some great measure will take place is usually arranged beforehand in the same way.

[Sidenote: They bring in the Members.]

When an important division is likely to occur, each side musters its whole force for a great trial of strength; and not only the majority, but the size of the majority, is a matter of importance to the ministers, for it shows how completely they can depend upon the support of their followers. But it is not on vital questions alone that the government must avoid being beaten, because a defeat, even though not such a one as would cause resignation, nevertheless weakens to some extent the credit of the cabinet. It gives the public the impression that the ministers are losing popularity; either that their followers are becoming rebellious and voting against them, or, at least, that they are so far indifferent or disaffected as to stay away. Nothing succeeds like success; and it is a maxim in politics as well as in war that one must maintain a reputation for being invincible. Any defeat of the government always causes cheers of triumph among the Opposition; and especially of late years, when defeats have become more rare, it is a thing that requires explanation.

The whips must, therefore, always keep a majority within sound of the division bell whenever any business that may affect the government is under consideration. For this purpose they are in the habit of sending out almost every day to all their supporters lithographed notices stating that a vote on such and such a matter is likely to come on, and requesting the attendance of the member. These notices are underscored, in accordance with the importance of attendance, from a single line, meaning that the whip desires the member's attendance, to four lines, or a couple of very thick lines, which mean "come on pain of being thought a deserter." In fact the receipt of messages of this kind is the test of party membership. In 1844 a correspondence on the subject took place between Peel and Disraeli shortly before the final breach occurred.

Disraeli, who had been criticising the policy of the government in Ireland and Servia, was not sent the usual whips, and protested on the ground that he had not ceased to be a member of the party.[451:1]

All this is not so important in the case of the Opposition; for, the consequences of being caught napping are not so serious. It is enough for them to summon their full force from time to time, when a good chance for a large vote occurs. The proceedings of their whips, therefore, though generally the same, are somewhat less systematic.

[Sidenote: They must Know that the Members are Present.]

[Sidenote: Snap Votes.]

The whips act also as an intelligence department for the government leader. It is their business not only to summon the members of the party to the House, but to know that they are there. By the door leading to the coat room, through which the members ordinarily enter the House from Palace Yard, there are seats; and here may always be seen one of the government whips, and often one from the Opposition. Each of them takes note of every member who goes in and out, sometimes remonstrating with him if he is leaving without sufficient reason. By this means the whip is expected to be able, at any moment, to tell just how large a majority the government has within the precincts of the House; and on the most important divisions the whip sees that every member of the party, who is well, is either present or paired. Of course, the same thoroughness cannot be attained on smaller questions; and although the government whip tries to have constantly on hand more members of his own party than of the Opposition, it is not always possible to do so. He may have expected a vote to take place at a given hour, and sent out a notice to every one to be present at that time, and the debate may suddenly show signs of coming to an end earlier. In that case it is usually possible to get some member of the government to talk against time while the needed members are fetched in. At times even this resource fails, and the government is occasionally defeated on what is known as "a snap vote."

[Sidenote: That of 1895.]

Humorous anecdotes are told of frantic attempts to bring in the members, and of practical jokes in trying to prevent it;[452:1] but the only one of these cases that led to serious results occurred in 1895. The Liberal government had been desperately clinging for life to a small majority of about a dozen, when there came on for debate a motion to reduce the salary of the Secretary of State for War, made in order to draw attention to an alleged lack of cordite. The whips sitting by the regular entrance of the House had in their tally the usual majority for the government; but a score of Tories had gone from the Palace Yard directly to the terrace, without pa.s.sing through the ordinary coat-room entrance. When the division bell rang they came straight from the terrace to the House, and to the surprise no less of the tellers than of every one else, the government was defeated by a few votes. This was clearly a "snap" division, which would not ordinarily have been treated as showing a lack of confidence in the ministry. But the time comes when a tired man in the sea would rather drown than cling longer; and that was the position of Lord Rosebery's government.

[Sidenote: Whips must Know the Temper of the Party.]

The whips keep in constant touch with the members of their party. It is their business to detect the least sign of disaffection or discontent; to know the disposition of every member of the party on every measure of importance to the ministry, reporting it constantly to their chief. A member of the party, indeed, who feels that he cannot vote for a government measure, or that he must vote for an amendment to it, is expected to notify the whip. If there are few men in that position, so that the majority of the government is ample, and the result is not in danger, the whip will make no objection. A novice in the strangers'

gallery, who hears three or four men on the government side attack one of its measures vigorously, sometimes thinks that there is a serious risk of defeat; but if he watched the countenance of the chief whip on the extreme end of the Treasury Bench, he would see no sign of anxiety, and when the division takes place the majority of the government is about the normal size. The fact is that the whip has known all along just how many men behind him would vote against the government, just how many would stay away, and that it really made no difference.

[Sidenote: Methods of Pressure on Members.]

[Sidenote: Fear of Dissolution.]

If, on the other hand, the majority of the government is narrow, or the number of refractory members is considerable, the whip will try to reason with them; and in a crisis, where a hostile vote will be followed by a dissolution, or by a resignation of the ministry which involves, of course, a dissolution, his reasoning is likely to be effective; for no member wants to face unnecessarily the expense of a general election, or the risk of losing his seat. The strength of motives of this kind naturally depends very much upon his tenure of the seat. If, as sometimes happens, he is the only member of the party who has a good chance of carrying the seat, or if his local or personal influence there is so strong that he is certain to carry it, he will hold a position of more than usual independence. But this is rarely the case.

[Sidenote: Action of Const.i.tuents.]

Nor is the fear of dissolution the only means by which pressure can be brought to bear upon a member who strays too far from the party fold.

His const.i.tuents, or the local party a.s.sociation--which for this purpose is much the same thing--can be relied upon to do something. Any direct attempt by the whips to bring pressure upon a member through his const.i.tuents would be likely to irritate, and do more harm than good.

But it is easy enough, in various ways, to let the const.i.tuents know that the member is not thoroughly supporting his party; and unless his vote against the government is cast in the interest of the const.i.tuents themselves, they are not likely to have much sympathy with his independence.

[Sidenote: Social Influence.]

Another means of pressure is found in social influence, which counts for much in English public life; and for that reason it is considered important to have as chief whip a man of high social standing as well as of pleasant manners and general popularity. The power of social influence has always been great in England, more particularly among the Conservatives. In 1853, Disraeli, who was trying hard to build up the Tory party, and had at the time little else to build it with, urged the importance of Lord Derby's asking all his followers in Parliament to dinner in the course of the session.[454:1] Nor does the use of influence of this kind appear to have declined. It has been said of late years that if a Unionist did not vote with his party, he was not invited to the functions at the Foreign Office; and the weakness of the Liberals for nearly a score of years after the split over Home Rule was due in no small part to the fact that they had very little social influence at their command. A sudden political conversion some years ago was attributed to disappointment of the member at the small number of invitations received through Liberal connections; and the change of faith no doubt met its reward, for it was followed in time by knighthood.

[Sidenote: Payment of Election Expenses.]

Finally the whips have, upon a certain number of members, a claim arising from grat.i.tude. Elections are expensive for the candidate, and it is not always easy to find a man who is ready to incur the needful cost and trouble, especially when the chance of success is not large.

Under these conditions the central office of the party, which is under the control of the leaders and the whip, will often contribute toward a candidate's expenses. It is done most frequently in well-nigh hopeless const.i.tuencies, and therefore the proportion of men who have received such aid is much greater among defeated than among elected candidates; although the cases are by no means confined to the former cla.s.s. How often aid is given, and in what cases it is given, is never known, for the whip naturally keeps his own counsel about the matter; but the number of members on each side of the House, a part of whose election expenses have been paid from the party treasury, is not inconsiderable.

Upon these men the whips have, of course, a strong claim which can be used to secure their attendance and votes when needed.

If all the means of pressure which the whips can bring to bear are unavailing, and the supporters of the government who propose to vote against it are enough to turn the scale, or if the whips report that the dissatisfaction is widespread, the cabinet will, if possible, modify its position. This is said to have been the real cause of the apparent surrender of the Liberal ministry to the demands of the Labour Party upon the bill to regulate the liability of trade unions in 1906. The whips found that many of their own followers had pledged themselves so deeply that they could not support the government bill as it stood.

[Sidenote: The Whips as Tellers.]

When the government is interested in the result of a vote, it informs the Speaker that it would like its whips appointed tellers in the division, a suggestion with which he always complies. This is the sign that the ministers are calling for the support of all their followers, and that the division is to be upon party lines. Often in the course of a debate upon some amendment to a government bill, one hears a member, rising behind the Treasury Bench, appeal to the leader of the House not to put pressure upon his supporters on that question. He means that the government whips shall not be made the tellers, in which case each member is free to vote as he thinks best without a breach of party loyalty, and the result, whatever it may be, is not regarded as a defeat for the cabinet. Occasionally this is done, but not often; because on the question so treated the government, in abandoning its leadership, is exposed to a charge of weakness; and also because it is unsafe to do it unless the ministers are quite indifferent about the result, for the effect of the pressure on the votes of many members is very great.

[Sidenote: No Other Party Machinery in Parliament.]

The whips may be said to const.i.tute the only regular party organisation in the House of Commons, unless we include under that description the two front benches. The very fact, indeed, that the ministry and the leaders of the Opposition furnish in themselves the real party machinery of the House, avoids the need of any other. The ministers prepare and carry out the programme of the party in power, while a small coterie of leaders on the other side devise the plans for opposing them. The front bench thus does the work of a party committee or council, and in neither of the great parties is there anything resembling a general caucus for the discussion and determination of party policy. Sometimes a great meeting of the adherents of the party in Parliament is called at one of the political clubs or elsewhere, when the leaders address their followers. But it is held to exhort, not to consult; and, in fact, surprise is sometimes expressed by private members that the chiefs take them so little into their confidence.[456:1]

The organisation of the two great parties in Parliament has almost a military character, with the cabinet as the general staff, and the leader of the House as the commander in the field. This is naturally far less true of lesser groups, which have not the tradition of cabinet leadership to keep them in line. In their case a real caucus of the party, to consider the position it shall a.s.sume in a crisis, is not unknown. Two particularly celebrated meetings of that kind took place within a few years of each other: one held by the Liberal Unionists before the vote on the Home Rule Bill in 1886; the other the meeting of the Irish Nationalists which deposed Parnell from the leadership of the party in 1890.

A caucus of one of the two great parties has occasionally been held to select a leader in the House, in those rare cases where it has found itself in Opposition without a chief. This happened, for example, in 1899, when the post of leader having been left vacant by the retirement of Sir William Harcourt therefrom in the preceding December, the Liberal members of the House met on the day before the opening of the session, and chose Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman to succeed him. Sir Henry thenceforward led the party in the Commons, and became, in due course, Prime Minister, when the Liberals came to power in 1905. Except, however, for an accident of that sort, neither of the two great parties has any machinery for choosing its chiefs, or deciding upon its course of action. The leaders, and when the party comes to power the ministers, are, no doubt, indirectly selected by the party itself, for they are the men who have shown themselves able to win its confidence, and command its support. But the choice is not made by any formal vote; nor is it always precisely such as would result from a vote. The Prime Minister, if not himself in the Commons, appoints the leader of the House and his princ.i.p.al lieutenants, being guided in the choice by his own estimate of their hold upon the party, and by the advice of the other chiefs. When appointed, the leader leads, and the party follows.