The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1910. THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 745, 18 February 1910, Page 6

The Dominion. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 18, 1910. THE HOUSE OF LORDS.

The decision of the British Gov- : eminent to postpone its attack upon the legislative authority of the Peerß is a somewhat tame, ending to the fiqrco ;; talk \ and blood-curdling menaces'of the. past few/months.- The Government's reluctance to; fulfil its promise. : with the;emphasis', aid dis-, .patch'that ;were threatened is due in part to the Government's : fear that, the British; people are; after all less willing to trust; a;; temporary' party in; the Commons with' complete authority in legislation than' to take the' chances of mistakes by, an unre;formed Upper House. But the deciding consideration-is probably the fact-that Me. .Abquith, realises that it is impossible at'present either to "bend" or "end"; tho'Peers'. '..'For. either, of these;. processes'there /is necessary the co-operation of certain /whom the. King /is one— who take a,slightly-more serious view;of! the fabric of government,than is ■held, '•,for, instance, by- .Me. Lloyd.Geoege.,', .The' "mending" .; of.'- .tho ■Lords 'is on. all, hands -admitted. to,' bo one 'of-, the. first. necessities -. of -, the time, ,but; to. mend/ the ;Lprds - is, very far from being-what is desired, by tho ;Liberals. / For they are aware ; that' a; reformed House of Lords would be'

just.as effective in checking the pace of. the Radical, "reformers!' as is the present House; and it would deprive /Radicalism of■■ a choice;method of. appealing to ignorance- and ; pre-: judiee. A reformed House—reformed; according to any. one .of the few-prac-ticable schemes put forward-r-would be by nature hostile, not 'to'i-rcform, but;; to', demagogic - Independent, of /the -necessity; ing down"/ to- this. of!, that:'class 1 of voters,' it would be ; able • to; approach the/work'.of, legislation'in'.;a spirit; impossible .-'.to;' a '.Government ;or'-;- a party_ dependent,for its .existence on its skill in buying a majority of the; people's.- votes'. .- Its"/'members would' not, in Loed Rosebeey's'phrase, -be beamder any ;to '"pool .their-consciences.'- : '■■^;:--.'. v ■';•,'.- '■).'/ '. The-leading Unionist'members/of thVUpper'House; have for lohg^allowed,' and; actively agitated,.'the demand for reform., is! a year :since Loed. .Rosebeey's; '-Committee, formulated ' 'its:'.recommendations.

The; : Com'raittee'pr6po : sed;that v 'the hereditary Peers ..should ■; elect ',200' from-am6ng. ! their..mirhbe.r .to sit.during/the lifetime, of ;a.Parliament,! that the Episcopal.. representatives should be : reduced 1 to" ten, and ;that the other great' Churches . ,'of./'.- the Kingdom -should- be! represented; .Loed Rosebeey's draft scheme; also

provided for: 40 Peers -to be'.' sum-

moned by the Goyernmeritof the day, for. its term 'of .office, -for :40 .other ; persons.' to: ,be nominated [.-by' ■the' Crown from 120 persons elected by ..the great cities. ~;This. was considerably .'modified by the Commit-, tee,, which recommended .'that. Uie Crown should summon annually four Peers for life as Lords of Parliament, .of ' whom, three should possess one or other of certain qualifications. These qualifications included service as a. Cabinet : Minister, "Viceroy of India, Governor-General of Australia or .Canada,' High Commissioner for South Africa, Lord-Lieiitenant of Ireland; service for four/ years -as the permanent-head of any of the' principal. Departments of Government, or as Governor of a colony, or as Ambassador; service as - Speaker, Vice-Admiral./Attorney-General, etc.; or' service' for'"teii years in the Commons prior, to : being elevated to ■ the Peerage. The .appointment of four life Peers,;up t to .tie number of forty, would bring, the total membership to about' 400.' Under, this, plan the House' of Lords would be infinitely, stronger .and' more' efii-cient-than it is at present, ;but,it is: not likely, that such' .a reform would be considered wide enough to .meet!.the wishes of the. nation and the needs of sound government. The fiercest enemies of the Lbr3s appear. to.be ready to deny competence and intellect even to such/members of the Upper Chamber as Loed Lans- ; downe; Loed Rosebeey, Loed Ceo-; mee, and Lobd Quezon ; but even the' more reasonable people will feel that the Rosebeey plan, gives undue representation to : the hereditary; Peers.-; ~.: . ■;•.,..•■ ... ■ The need for reform was urged by Loed EANSDOWNBin : a speech oa January but he issued a warning the weight of which wijl_ probably not bo fully realised by his friends' or opponents for some years to come'. "It is my belief," he said, "that if you were to set up a House of Lords fortified by some process of election you would inevitably find that the .House of Lords would claim what it

does not claim now, namely, a cywith the popular House." Loed Lansdowne showed in this speech that it'is absurd'to say. that no Liberal Bills can pasß into law. Referring to Me. Als.Quito's statement that it would be better to close the House of Commons than allow veto of .'-..tho Lords to stand, ho pointed out that in a recent speech the Prime Minister took special credit to himself for four great! measures which they Had passed—the measure conferring sfclfgoyornment upon the South African colonies, the Army-reforms for wljich ■Mil.- Haldane is responsible,-thelon-largcment of the powers of the I Indian Legislative Council, and, lastly, for having 1 dealt with the proljlem of congestion in Ireland. Ojther [measures agreed to by the Lords

were those dealing with housing, old age'pensions, and labour exchanges. The. realities of the position which the Government announced its intention of destroying were put in very strong and clear terms by Loud Lansdowne: '

'Ton are not dealing with a single Bill or a,single tax, you ore dealing with,the constitutional machine which makes all laws and which levies all.taxes, and you are positively invited to smash that maohine in a fit of temper in the hopo thai, some day or other out of the confnrion something may grow iip to take its place. I say that no great' constitutional question ever was dealt with in such a. spirit of levity as this constitutional question lias been dealt with. And may I be permitted to add, that my belief, whatever the people of the country think about the Budget, whatever, they think about the House of Lirds, they are not going to allow any Government a free, hand to turn us over to the untempeicd mercies of a chm» majority in the House of Commons and a Minister who happens to control that majority."

The truth of this statement is obviously ; realised by the Government now, whatever it may have.; thought and said in the din of battle. _ It is tolerably certain that the Liberals will not change.the present arrangements.. They ; cannot "bend" ;or "end" the Lords, and' they .are hardly likely'to "mend": them. ',