It is a great honour still, I am sure, to be a member of the British
House of Commons. Lord Rosebery, when he was chairman of the London
County Council, in a speech that he made--and I dare say many of you
have been interested in some of Lord Rosebery's speeches because he
has a fund of humour, and very often one is not quite certain whether
he is in earnest or in jest--once said that the position of a town
councillor is much more important than that of a member of Parliament.
It is quite possible that an individual member of a County Council or
a Town Council may be more important as an individual than a member of
the House of Commons, but his vote can only mainly affect the
locality, whilst the action of a member of the House of Commons may
not only affect the whole of Great Britain, but the whole of the
British Empire. So I venture to think the position of a Member of
Parliament is a little more important than that of a member of a Town
Council or a County Council.
_Monmouthshire County Council,
February 2nd, 1910._