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That
essay entitled, “What I Did On My Summer
Vacation,” takes on new meaning when one is a
traveling adult. Thank goodness. Consider, for
example, how Capitol Square in Richmond and much
of Virginia’s legislative manners and history
date back to what is known as the Parliamentary
Estate in London.
There
are reasons, one can learn at the Palace of
Westminster, why there are dents and scratches in
the 700-year old oak table that separates the red
leather benches in the House of Lords and why
there are now Deputy Speakers presiding over the
green leather benches of the House of Commons.
There is a reason why the Queen of Great Britain
and Northern Ireland could enter the Virginia
House of Delegates earlier this year in Richmond,
but not her own House of Commons.
Winston
Churchill is reason number one. Those who know
their World War II history will remember the House
of Commons was forced to meet in the House of
Lords chamber after the Nazi bombing raids of May
10, 1941 destroyed the Commons. While meeting in
Lords, Churchill’s habit of slamming his hand
down to punctuate his wartime exhortations -- and
his ring on his right hand -- left a series of
dents and scratches on an otherwise pristine
surface. One can still run a finger across those
marks and grasp a new meaning of the term “leave
a lasting impression.” There are no plans to
buff the dents and scratches out of the table.
Parliament,
of course, has been the symbol of popular
authority versus the rights of kings in Great
Britain for over a thousand years. But historians
acknowledge that accidents, fires and attacks have
been just as important as design in its physical
development. Westminster Hall, the oldest part of
Parliament, was part of a royal residence first
constructed in 1097. Later used as a law court,
Westminster Hall is full of historical plaques,
such as one marking where Sir William Wallace was
found guilty of treason on August 23, 1305.
Braveheart, indeed. This year visitors also can
walk through an exhibition commemorating William
Wilberforce and his two-decade long crusade that
culminated in 1707 in a ban on Britain’s
participation in the slave trade.
Speakers
of the House of Commons also have faced down some
challenges to the legislature far more dangerous
than abstract discussions of values. Charles the
First in 1642, for example, entered the House of
Commons with an armed force and demanded the
Speaker give up rebellious members of Parliament
to arrest. The Speaker declined, civil war ensued
and no British monarch has been allowed to enter
the House of Commons since. All royal addresses to
Parliament are delivered in the House of Lords.
That is just a few steps from the so-called Robing
Room, where a Sir Gallahad wall panel serves as a
hidden doors to a royal water loo. You heard it
here first.
The
question of whether a Speaker should be spelled
from duties as presiding officer turns out to have
been driven by much more than political
philosophy. Early ironclad rules required the
Speaker to be in his chair at all times the
Commons was in session. Speakers, therefore, took
their meals right in the chair. And when, well,
there were other needs, a curtain would be drawn
ceremoniously around the Speaker’s chair and
other Members of Parliament would stand and stamp
their feet noisily until such time .... Deputy
Speaker or Speaker pro tempore rules clearly have
their roots in natural law.
As
with the Parliamentary Estate, the Virginia
Capitol, which dates to 1785, also has undergone
dramatic changes in its physical structure as well
as its political importance. East and west wings
were added to Thomas Jefferson’s structure a
hundred years ago. Just in time for the visit of
Queen Elizabeth II this year, contractors
completed major restoration and systems upgrades,
including an 80,000- square-foot expansion
underground to function as a visitor’s center
and public security checkpoint. The Virginia House
of Delegates and Senate of Virginia will meet
again in January 2008 in more comfortable and
modern chambers. Surely some dents and scratches
remain.
Still
to be installed in the visitors center is a newly
commissioned statue of Thomas Jefferson. Between
the House and Senate remain Houdin’s renowned
statue of George Washington, busts of those
Virginians who have become Presidents of the
United States, and Robert E. Lee standing in the
spot where he accepted the command of the Army of
Northern Virginia in 1862. But also in display
cases leading into the Capitol are photographs of
Winston Churchill, who along with Gen. Dwight
Eisenhower, addressed the Virginia General
Assembly on March 8, 1946. Churchill referred then
to Virginia as “the cradle of the great republic
in which more than 150 years afterwards the strong
champions of freedom were found to have been
nursed."
The
Virginia General Assembly returned that admiration
most recently in 2006 by making Churchill an
honorary citizen of Virginia. By then House of
Commons (green label) and House of Lords (red
label) whiskeys, wines and golf balls were
available in Parliament’s gift shop. So were
crocks of Guy Fawkes Gunpowder Mustard, which if
thinly spread just might make a new Rebellion’s
Bacon sandwich in the Virginia Capitol’s modern
cafe really worth the trip. Maybe next summer.
--
September 17, 2007
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