THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1910. JUSTIFYING THE LORDS.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10012, 7 April 1910, Page 4

THE Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. THURSDAY, APRIL 7, 1910. JUSTIFYING THE LORDS.

The discussion of the moat interest- ! ing political question that has arisen in England for at least a generation enlivens as it goes on and as defenders of the Lords disclose their reasons. A recent cable reports Lord Cuiaon as upholding that House on account of the respect with which the colonies view it as a benign assemblage where their case receive s sympathetic and experienced state- [ ment and is judged with authority; ' also because of the "enormous veneration" with which the House of Lords is regarded in India. It is easy to understand the Indian instance. If anywhere a class House whose members all carry titles would be venerated, it would be in a country where caste is inexorably enforced and meekly deferred to, and titles and respect are synonymous. But as for the colonies, while they recog-

nise that the peers have treated them well enough when occasion called for treatment, the Commons have done about the same; and in any case, should the House of Lords be perpetuated because some of the oversea Dominions think they have friends there. Is there any reason for supposing that a reformed Second Chamber, shorn of ita bitter partisanship and its absurd anomaly of hereditary legislative qualification, would be less sympathetic? Something more to the point than this will be required to justify tne Lords to the British people, we imagine. The peers themselves recognise that, if the cabled forecast of their intention to adopt that part cf Lord Rosebery's resolutions which declares for reform is correct. In fact, all parties seem to regard reform as desirable, but what | remains to be settled is the form of reconstruction. As far as they can be read from this distance the signs favour the Chamber elected but on a different franchise to that for the Commons. Should this be decided upon the Imperial Second Chamber I may roughly approximate to our elective Legislative Councils, with the important difference that before that constitutional change has been effected the powers of the House will have been more clearly specified and carefully restricted.