THE UNIONIST PLAN.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1083, 23 March 1911, Page 5

THE UNIONIST PLAN.

9 REFORM OF THE LORDS. LORD SELBORNE OUTLINES THE 1 PROGRAMME. A MIXED UPPER HOUSE. f By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyrieht (Rec. March 23, 0.10 a.m.) p London, March 22. 1 Lord Selborne, in a speech on the poli- £ tical situation at Glasgow, said the Unionist party earnestly desired the reform of the House of Lords, but there the party divided into left and right wings. Ho urged the right wing to' reincml>er ' that tho existing inequality in tho repre- 1 sentation of parties in the Upper House ' was a serious evil, engendering a sense of . injustice, and that moreover without reconstruction it was impossible to place the Crown outside party politics. The Opposition, Lord Selborne declared, intended to propose, in conjunction with two more, the following methods of selecting the members of the Upper House: (1) Election by County Councils. (2) Qualification by office. (3) Selection by the hereditary peers. (4) Nomination by the-Prime Minister. The Unionists also proposed that the House of Lords should definitely renounce any concern in finance, but that strict provision should be made against tacking extraneous matter to finance Bills. Disputes as to "tacking" they would be ready to refer to the decision of a committee composed of an equal number of members of both Houses, the Speaker presiding. Lord Selborne will complete the outline of the reforms agreed upon by the Unionists at Edinburgh to-day. GOVERNMENT PROGRAMME. ADJOUENMENT IN MAY. (Rec. March 22, 10.45 p.m.) London, March 22. "Tho Times" states that the Government proposes a month's Parliamentary holiday from May 25. The Parliamentary Bill will be sent to the House of Lords early in May, but the serious debate on the Bill will take place after the holiday. .