28. Compromise throughout the Centuries

The English have always had a talent for compromise. It is one of their national characteristics and has been formed by long historic training.

When Parliament came into being in the 13th century there was only one big assembly where the King, the great barons, the knights and citizens sat together. It was natural in the beginning that the knights and citizens were there to be seen but not heard unless the King wanted them to speak. The situation was rather a difficult one for the knights. If they supported the King, the great barons might be angry as their interests were often very different from those of the King. So it was not surprising that eventually the knights and citizens retired to a wing of Westminster Palace to debate freely among themselves. When they had agreed, they chose a Speaker to speak for them before the King and the barons.

This custom of debating first among themselves and then sending a Speaker to the King and the barons led to the two-chamber system, the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

Today the Speaker in the House of Commons is a highly desired and well-paid position. Nevertheless each time a new Speaker has been elected a little comedy takes place. The new Speaker pretends to refuse his post and has to be pushed to the chair by several other members. This dates from the time when to be Speaker was not at all pleasant, as quite a number of those gentlemen were executed.

The House of Commons was composed of the landed gentry and towns­people. The interests of the two groups differed very often, but if the House of Commons wanted to survive in the face of the mighty barons and the King, there could not be quarrels of life and death between town and 5 country. Landed gentry and citizens learned how to compromise. They got accustomed to being together and to settling their different opinions by debating.

But also the House of Lords had its connections with the House of Commons. Only the eldest son of a lord inherited the title, the property and the seat in the House of Lords from his father. The younger sons were just ordinary citizens who often sat in the House of Commons. It is clear that the many family connections between the House of Lords and the House of Commons made compromise easier. Brothers will rarely fight each other in the same way as strangers do. The French Revolution with all its cruelty would never have been possible with the English. Too many links con­nected and still connect one social class with the other ones. As the power of the House of Lords decreased so much that today it may be the end of a political career for a man to inherit the title from his father, a com­promise has been found again. The son of a lord need not accept the title any more. On the other hand elderly statesmen are often honoured by becoming members of the House of Lords. Herbert Morrison, a former milkman and, later, chairman of the Labour Party, in his old age became Lord Morrison of Lambeth. Herbert Morrison was only one example of many and the House of Lords has a large number of members belonging to the Labour Party.

In the course of centuries the power of the Crown also decreased. The monarchy, however, was not abolished as in many other European countries, but a compromise was found to make parliamentary democracy and con­stitutional monarchy work together. The absolute monarch of former times has become a representative of the people today.

Compromise is also to be found in the way Britain solved her Empire problem. Instead of fighting for her colonies as the French did in Vietnam and Algeria, the British did not oblige any country to remain a member of the Commonwealth. Only once did Britain not observe the rules of compromise in her history with the colonies and she suffered a set-back, even a very serious one: the loss of her American colonies. This taught the English a lesson. When in the 19th century Canada showed signs of unrest, Britain was ready to compromise and granted home rule to this vast colony. The change from Empire to Commonwealth is the story of com­promise. This attitude saved Britain a lot of trouble.

Looking back on this historical development, in which the gift of com­promise has played such an important part, we may well ask whether it was Parliament that made England or England that made Parliament.