Then you can understand something of the danger which Mr.Gladstone had to face.

For his motion came to this, that every member--except one--who had a resolution on the paper which he desired to bring before the House had to be either silenced altogether or pushed into a horrid and ghastly hour when either he would not be listened to by a dozen members, or would perhaps be guillotined out of a hearing by the count out.

Let me further explain, for I wish to make the whole scene intelligible to every reader.

Tuesdays and Fridays belong to private members as well as Wednesdays, and on Tuesdays and Fridays accordingly private members bring forward motions on some subjects in which they are especially interested.

In order to get these Tuesdays and Fridays, they have to ballot--so keen is the competition for the place--and if a member be lucky enough to be first called in the ballot, he gives notice of his motion, and for the Tuesday or the Friday the best part of the sitting is as much his as if it belonged to the Government.
[Sidenote: Salaried Members--Railway Rates--Bimetallism.] Now several members are interested in the question of payment of members, and for Tuesday, March 21st, or some such day, there was a motion down for payment of members.