Page:General History of Europe 1921.djvu/692

 532 General History of Europe of the party in power is accepted by the monarch as his prime minister, or premier. He and his associates form a cabinet which for the time being is the real ruler of the British Empire. 951. The Cabinet and Parliament. This device of cabinet government under a premier was put into operation in the time of George I, a German unable to speak English, who did not attend the meetings of his ministers (624). The little group of ministers constituting the cabinet got into the habit of holding its sessions and reaching its decisions without the presence of the king. Since the House of Commons will not vote the money neces- sary to carry on the government after it has lost confidence in the cabinet, the cabinet has to resign as soon as it is convinced by the defeat of any of its measures that it no longer controls a majority of votes. The king then appoints the leader of the opposite party as premier and asks him to form a cabinet. It may happen, however, that the defeated cabinet believes that the country is on its side. In this case it will ask the king to dissolve Parliament and have a new election, with the hope that it will gain a majority in that way. So it is clear that the cabinet regards itself as responsible not merely to Parliament but to the nation at large. 952. Parliament responsible to the Nation. As the members of the House of Commons are not elected for a definite term of years (though, according to a law passed in 1911, a new general election must be held at least every five years), that body may be dissolved at any time for the purpose of securing an expression of the popular will on any important issue. It is thus clear that the British government is more sensitive to public opinion than are governments where the members of the legislatures are chosen for a definite term of years. 953. Need for Reform of Parliament. Parliament in the eighteenth century did not, however, represent the people at large. Towns which had formerly sent members continued to do so no matter how they had happened to shrink in size, while other towns, like Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham, which had sprung up as a result of the Industrial Revolution, had no repre- sentatives at all. Then there was much bribery at elections, and