The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1918. BRITISH CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT.

Taihape Daily Times, 27 April 1918, Page 4

The Taihape Daily Times. AND WAIMARINO ADVOCATE

SATURDAY, APRIL 27, 1918. BRITISH CONSTITUTION AMENDMENT.

(With which IB incorporated The fai hape Post and Vr alcosati'io News).,

Men in this Dominion who were born in Britain and who have any intimate kowlcdge of the British constitution, will view with some surprise the report presented to Parliament from a conference held to consider and formulate some basis for the reform of the British House of Lords, It is wellknown to most people that the British Parliament consists of _two Houses, one elected by the people, the other nominated by the Crown, in which the people have no voice, directly or indirectly. GoVernmcnt by privilege has for long been distasteful to the people and many efforts have been made to bring about reform, but all without avail. In earlier times, the House of Peers was by far the most powerful legislative body, and as its composition indicates, it represented royalty and titled nobility. About two hundred years ago, writing from memory, there were from two hundred to three hundred peers of the realm, but selfish desires, has resulted in that number having swollen to between six hundred and seven hundred to-day. The Lords did command a large measure of respect in former days as it was then legitimately the last word in law and really in religion, for all bishops of the Anglican church are peers. There are those living to-day who will have seen the growing contempt of the people for government by privilege during the past sixty years. All sorts and conditions of characters have, for some reason or other, found scats in the upper chamber. Little brewers of half-a-century ago arc peers of the realm men who seem to have nothing to recommend them; their virtues are all contained in their money bags, accumulated by taking exorbitant profits from the people. Leeches upon labour have found a place beside members of royalty and dignitaries of the church; and so it is that the masses have discovered in the Lords the greatest enemies to social and political progress. From time to time various governments have introduced measures to prevent the will of the people being vetoed by the Lords, but the Lords firmly and determinedly defended their privileges of rendering valueless important and popular legislation passed by the House of Commons. Not the minutest interference with their privilege in the way of limitation would they countenance and this continued till the great world strife was commenced by German declaration of war to attain to still greater and wider powers of governing. Events since August, 1914-, have made it clear to the Lords that their days, as privileged rulers, are rapidly to a close; they commenced to confer upon how best to save their necks with but little result for a time, but latterly extinction faced them and they have now submitted proposals that the older generation of Britishers will regard as almost revolutionary. The latest conference has agreed upon making the popular element pre-dominant; there is to be no nomination by the Crown or direct election by the people. Members of the Commons are to be the electors of the Lords, whose numbers are to bo reduced to about two hundred and fifty, but, to preserve the historical continuity, so it is said, eight-one of the old peers are to be retained, and proportional representation methods are to furnish the balance. The life of the new class of Lords is fixed at twelve years, but if is very questionable whether the democracy will not reduce the period considerably. The House of Lords is the last remnant in Britain’s government of the old doctrine that might is right. What the Lords see so plainly in the near future that has prompted them to endeavour to provide for some semblance of existence unust bo of a distinctly convincing nature. By such r. change, even titles other than those popularly recognised by distinguished services to the people, become empty and little more than queue arrangements in functions; this is a privilege that the democracy will not tolerate. It is now plainly evident that all privilege of the kind is doomed and that merit and virtue arc to take its place.