The Sun.
London, England, 1836-04-29 00:00:00

WHAT WILL THE LORDS DO?

(From the Dun !fries Tinis.)

What mill the 'Lords do? is in the mouth of every one—so
as to be tiresome. The reply is plain and simple—" They will
play the fool." How can any one be so weak or so absurd as
to suppose that the House of Lords, composed as it now is,
should act with discretion, and much more so with wisdom.
Unfortunately the great body of their Lordships are of that
age and of that school as to be buried in ignorance. To many,
and to the most violent, Nature has been unkind. What can
be expected from men of such mental capacity as the Duke of
Newcastle, the young Duke of Beaufort, late Marquis of Wor-
cester, the Earls of Winchilsea and Falmouth, and Baron Ke-
nyon ; then the infirmity of the Earl of Vane, known commonly
as the Marquis of Londonderry ; and the affliction that has
fallen on the Earl of Roden—his bigotry, his religious preju-
dice. What can be hoped for, while there is yet so
much honest darkness as hangs over the Earl of Mansfield
—poor man t One cannot but respect him, for one feels
he is sincere in his opinions, but yet one pities
him, for he is not deficient in intellect,—that he in these days
should be at least two centuries behind the great body of his
fellow countrymen ;—what makes his blindness the more
lamentable is, that, as a boy at Westminster, he showed capa-
city ; and distinguished himself at Oxford—that he is a good
scholar, and not wanting in information, and in private life is
not only a respectable, but an estimable gentleman. There
are several Noblemen in his unfortunate condition : they live
to and by themselves—they mix not with the world—they
move in limited circles—they are governed by antiquated
opinions, and can neither believe nor understand the intel-
lectual changes which have taken place, not only at home,
but abroad ; nor the progress in knowledge which has spread
ovbr the mass of the population of the empire and of
Europe. My Lord Mansfield adheres to all the habits of
his boyhood. You may read the man in remarking his
dress. The tight web pantaloons, the Hessian boots, and a
particular cut coat, and old fashioned hat. His Lordship
may be supposed to have a horror of the power of steam, or
is ignorant of its application and the changes which it has
produced. He is a good classic, but has made little or no
advance in the knowledge of the sciences ; and as his Lhrd-
ship is, so are many of his compeers. These are of a certain
age, and will work out by degrees, and be succeeded by a race
more suitable to the general enlightenment of the present and
forthcoming period. What can be expected but folly from the
House of Lords, or even worse than folly, when the represen-
tative Peers of Scotland and Ireland are returned by such
constituencies as now exist ? In Scotland in particular where
an unprincipled Renegade directs, and in Ireland, where the
majority of the Peers are bigotted, corrupt, intolerant, or un-
principled. What is to be hoped from a bench of Bishops
nominated from such motives as the greater number of the
Prelates have been? Their political subserviency. What can
be looked for from a body where there arc so many lawyers,
who have been advanced to the honours of nobility for their
apostasy and political profligacy ? What can be expected
of a body who shall select for their leader such a person as
my Lord Lyndhurst, talented enough indeed, and a power-
ful speaker ; but can anything more be said of his Lordship,
who was known at College, and for many years after being
called to the bar, to be so extreme in his political
and religious opinions, as would even now cause an
ultra-Radical to be driven from all decorous society. But
what is to be the remedy for the folly and the profligacy of
their Lordships may be well inquired into? 'Why, it must be
patience and firmness on the part of the people ; honesty and
boldness on the part of the House of Commons; perseverance
and dignity on the part of the Ministers ; and good sense and
patriotism on the part of the Executive. Let these bodies do
their duty, and the folly and infatuation of the House of Lords
will fall harmless, and the country be saved from the fatal
consequences of their designs, and their hostility to the in-
terests of the people. The Lords will only lose their little
remaining consequence, if they continue to array themselves
against the interests of their country. Let the people be true
to themselves, let the Commons be virtuous, the Ministers firm,
and the King patriotic, the Lords will soon fall below zero and
become innocuous. u what is to be the crrectie of their
folly ? What is to arrest their mischievous puropose ?v Patience
and the force of public opinion; the general expression of the
voice of the people. It must be loud and universal, but tempe-
rate and constitutional ; let there be no violence, no threaten-
ing% not even abuse. Let petitions of remonstrance flow into
the House of Lords ; let the Throne be encircled with ad-
dresses from the people. It is idle of wrong-headed and de-
signing men, as well as wicked, to attempt to mislead the
people by proposing organic changes in that branch, and very
important branch of the Constitution ; the present body of the
House of Lords is an integral part of tlie Constitution, and
cannot be changed and got rid of without dissolving that Con-
stitution, and erecting it afresh. Could such a change be
made without a revolution, without a struggle of blood, and

the destruction of property? It could not be ; and there is
not a rational and honest man, one conversant with public
life, or who has any knowledge of his country, who can gain-
say such a truth. Who would desire a revolution ?—only the
profligate, the desperate, and the unprincipled. When any
public man proposes organic changes, whether it be Mr.
O'Connell himself, or any other public man—be he whom he
may—they only proclaim themselves fools or knaves, and
should be mistrusted by tile people, and driven from their
presence. The Lords will inflict on themselves their own
merited punishment—the contempt of all right thinking and
intelligent men ; they will reduce themselves to harmless in-
significance. The Lords have often proved the friends of the
people, they have been the pillars of the State, and though
they may be now mischievous, they may again become bene-
ficial. As long as ministers command by their measures and
their conduct the support of the Commons and the approval of
the public, they may be indifferent as to the opposition of the
Lords. It is only to be lamented that the progress of public
business is retarded and agitation kept up in Ireland. Let
the Lords reject the Irish Municipal Bill, it will not affect
the Ministers ; they will still retain office. Let them but com-
mand their hold of the people, and they are unseatable by any
faction of the Commons, or the grand body of the Lords.
There need to be no dissolution ; the present majority is large

enough. Dissolution would only be a vexatious Measure ;
it would interfere with business and disturb trade, which is now
every where flourishing. Too large majorities are unwieldy,
and they might become unmanageable. Again, the ultra-
Radicals might run riot—they are now held in awe—and that
is a guarantee to the public that they cannot be mischievous
more than the Tories, neither should be relied on by the people.