Page:The life and letters of Sir John Henniker Heaton bt. (IA lifelettersofsi00port).pdf/37



N 1885 H. H. made a pilgrimage to Canterbury to seek the suffrage of the ecclesiastical capital of the Empire. The morning he left London for the election he was waylaid on the steps of his Club by Lord Halsbury, who thrust a kindly arm through his, saying:

"I hear you are going down to Canterbury. They are sure to ask you if you are in favour of payment of Members, but you must reply that you are in favour of the good old practice of payment for voters and a pension for them afterwards."

After an agreeably contested fight, H. H. was duly elected Conservative Member for Canterbury with a majority of rather over a thousand.

Never a good speaker, H. H. from the first devoted his energies to harassing the life of the Postmaster-General—then Mr Cecil Raikes—by asking questions on Post Office Administration. H. H.'s persistent questioning, if a source of irritation to the Postmaster-General, was the cause of some amusement to the House of Commons.

Old members will recall the cheers and laughter that greeted the announcement that "the Honourable Member for Canterbury will be relieved to hear that henceforth 'mother-in-law' will be counted as 13