The Express.
London, England, 1856-02-08 00:00:00

LONDON, FRIDAY, FRBIWARY 8.

Tax subject of last night's debate is the Lade is
the most momentous that has beta 'Omitted to the
decision of the public sines the Weaned= of Earl
Gare's Reform Bill in the Hones of Commons. The
question at issue is no less than this :—Whether
there exist in our constitution a power to adapt the
composition of the House of Lords to the existing
eir-
oumstauca of society, as it has been proved that there
exists a power for so adapting the composition of the
House of Commons ? The reform of the Commons
was carried against the inveterate opposition of the
Lords by an effort that brought the country more
than once to the verge of a revolutioa. Reform of
the Hones of Lords, if undertaken by the means of
an act of the Legislature, is likely to be still more
strenuously resisted by their Lordships, and with in-
creased danger to the stability of our institutions.
If, then, there is a process by which the end can be
accomplished through the instrumentality of respon-
sible Ministers of the Crown, without stirring up the
tierce passions of an indignant community by pops-
lar agitation, it is most desirable that it should be had
recourse to. Such a proems, it is maintained by many
high constitutional authorities, exists. The Crown has
had the power to create life peerages; and this power
it has linquished--it has never been asked by
the country to relinquish. By the exercise of this
power to s limited extent, meth may be done to in.
crease the legislative and judicial aptitude of the
House of Lords, and to bring the sentiments and
opinioas of that body into greater harmony with those
of the nation at large. Statesmen and others, whose
talents may be of the greatest use in the discussions
of the Hoses, shrink at present from the ides of
entailing upon their dependents a nominal honour
which their means may be inadequate to support.
Again, the House of Lords, Us all corporate bodies,
is apt to contract an esprit de corps ; and in its
ease this esprit de corps is necessarily characterised
by the contracted views of men who move in an
exclusive circle of society. New Peers may retain
some of the experience of their Commoner day., but
their descendants necessarily soot:act the exclusive
views of their order. A constant infusion of new Peers
is therefore necessary to save the Lords from becoming
an isolated caste ; and if all Peerages are, of necessity,
to be hereditary, there is a risk of the order becoming
too numerous. There is yet a greater risk; that of the
nation's having a pauper ;image entailed upon it.
Either way, the permanence of the aristocratic branch
of the Legislature would be endangered. Excessive
nurgese aridocratique would render it hated ; pre-
vailing poverty, and the shifts suggested by poverty,
would render it despised. The arguments in
favour of the exercise of the Crown's power to
create life peerages are—first, that it would im-
prove the legislative and judicial aptitude of the
Peerage; second, that it would place the institution
on a broader and firmer bads. Lad Lennnuturr,
who led the attack upon the exercise of this prero-
gative of the Crown last night in the Lords,
did not venture explicitly to deny the legality of
the creation of life peerages; be merely argued
that such an act was unconstitutional, because in-
expedient. The shifts to whisk so penetrating and
logiaal an intellect as that of lard Lir'nwoarr was
driven in the attempt to make oat his position show
how untenable it is. He enumerated many unwar-
rantable exercises of the prerogative by Sovereigns
who in old times created peerages for life; and he
sought to insinuate that because many of the
acts of those Sovereigns wets uoloostitutimel, all
of them meet have been so. When a LYNDHURST
lapses into such a wow-eequitur his case
mast be desperate indeed. The course which
the Huss of Lords has resolved to adopt with
regard to this gunk& will affind frequent opportu-
nities for its exhaustive dissuasion. This is all that
the supporters of a 'seen» upon which Ministers
appear to have perilled their tenure of once eon
desire. Indeed, the ground taken up by the reealei-
bent Lords indicates a misgiving that they mast
be beaten in the end. They have refereed Baron
Wassuenuss' letters patent to the Committee of
Privileges. Well, whoa the Committee has reported
on them, " what next ? "