158 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

number of Committees, and reform of the Second Chamber, theti
Parliament might be better fitted to perform its work as a
Legislature,, a critic of the Government in the people's interest,
and a forum for debate.

Reform on these lines would remove some of the grievances
of the Private Member. The saving of time would increase the
chance of success—or, at least, fair discussion—for Private
Members' Bills. The authority and efficiency of Committees
would be increased, and it is there that the Private Member does
his best work. It might also be an improvement to decide the
selection and order of Private Members* Bills through an all-
party Committee rather than by Ballot. The present method,
however, does give a Member the chance of raising a special
problem, the importance of which he alone has realised; so it
helps to preserve the individuality of Members and prevent
business'item being organised too rigidly on party lines. Already,
the party system has made its influence felt. The Labour Party
—and mote recently the other parties—have adopted the practice
of. keeping in readiness a store of Bills embodying points in
party policy. So Members will often take part in the Ballot in
order to introduce one of these Bills, rather than one in which
they have a definitely personal interest.

The. ordinary citizen has here a task to perform. If M.P.'s
realise that their constituents know the general outline of
Parliamentary procedure, and will not be impressed by the
ceaseless asking of questions, or the promotion of high-sounding
but useless Bills, then there will be greater enthusiasm for the
more laborious work of Committees. When Parliament does find
time to reform its procedure and re-draft its Standing Orders,
this point should be remembered, and every effort made to clear
away out-of-date forms and phrases, and attain the maximum
of simplicity. Even if this were done, the procedure would still
be complicated enough; the method of Government of a great
State cannot, any more than the working of an engine, be at
once apparent to a casual observer. But, to pursue this example,