recess had been utterly baffled by the superior judgment, the better
concerted tactics, and, above all, by the unexpected solidity and
cohesion of the Liberal party.

[Sidenote: Organized for obstruction.]

That all this had produced its effect on the Tory party as well was soon
evident. An old campaigner in the House of Commons can soon tell when a
party has been organized for the purpose of Obstruction. There is a
feverishness; there are ample notes; there is a rising of many members
at the same time when the moment comes to catch the Speaker's eye. Other
indications presented themselves. Mr. Seton-Karr is, personally, one of
the kindliest of men--cheery, good-natured, full of the easy
give-and-take of political struggle; but even he himself would not
claim to be a Parliamentary orator. But on February 27th, he, as much as
everybody else, must have been surprised to find that his utterances,
which, in truth, were stumbling enough, should at every point be
punctuated by a deep bellow of cheers such as might have delighted the
most trained and the most accomplished orators in the House. The House
itself was at first taken aback by this outburst of deep-throated and
raucous cheers, and after it had sufficiently recovered from its
surprise discovered that it all came from one bench--the front bench
below the gangway. On this bench there were gathered together a number
of the younger members of the Tory party.

[Sidenote: The claque in Parliament.]

At once it was seen what had taken place; the Tories, stung to action by
the taunts of their own press, had concerted a new system of tactics.
And one portion of these tactics was to introduce into the House of
Commons a phenomenon new to even its secular and varied
experience--namely, an organized claque. It was really just as if one
were in a French theatre. Uniformly, regularly, with a certain
mechanical and hollow effect underneath its bellowings, the group below
the gangway uttered its war notes. Beyond all question, recognizable by
the unmistakable family features, it was there--the organized theatrical
claque on the floor of the British House of Commons. There were other
indications of the transformation on which the Tories were determined.
When Mr. Seton-Karr sate down after a palpably obstructive speech, Mr.
Bartley got up, and several other Tories at the same time. Mr. Bartley
is not an attractive personality. He has a very strong rather than
pleasant or intellec