Sir William is a splendid artiste.
[Sidenote: A great night.]
It was probably under the influence of Sir William that this turned out
to be the greatest and best night the Government had had so far. The
Railway Servants' Bill got through its third reading amid cheers, and
then, before it knew where it was, the House found itself actually in
the same night discussing a third Ministerial measure--the Scotch
Fisheries Bill. It is one of the privileges of Scotland that nobody
takes the least interest in her measures outside her own
representatives, and that even they are sombre and joyless in the
expression of their delight. The demand for Scotch Home Rule does not
come assuredly from the intervention of English or Irish speech. I have
never seen the House with more than a score or two of members when a
Scotch question is under discussion, and on the rare occasions on which
a Southron does dare to intrude upon the sacred domain, it is with the
most shamefaced looks. And so Sir George Trevelyan and his Scotch
friends were allowed to have their nice little tea-party without any
interruption, and the Bill got very nicely through. Thus ended a
remarkable night.
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