The North-Carolina standard., 1850-02-27
MEN AND THINGS IN ENGLAND.


IF Wellington are the curiosities of the House of
Lords. The Duke, or Iron Duke, is now very old,
and shows it badly. The night was in the House,
some time during the evening l noticed slight
commotion among the members, as if some distin-
puished member had arrived, and was right in my
surmises, for Arthur Wellesley came slowly in be-
ing greeted with the mods of the first in the Assem-
blY, and sat down very little distance from Harry
Brougham. The respect shown for him there is pro-
found-tkey would sooner bow before his old sword
than anything really beautiful. noble, or great! He
came in painfully slow. with his body bent like one
too old to 60 alone his hair grey, and his face look
ing exactly like the portratpres by the renowned Mr.
Punch. Itwas the sternest face ever saw-lt SEEM
ed as if it were impossible to portray feeling
an emotion with it, and indeed l think the luke
scarcely ever has any emotions OF the tender kno ne
would like to express. There were the cold eyes,
,ha not remarkably foil forehead, the aquiline nose,
and the fixed, determined lips Of the man who con-
quered Napoleon. 1t was some grantcation to look
upon him who at least Tough the great French warrior
Ito look upon him in his dotage After ne mao oeen
seated awhile he threw off cloak that was wrapt
about him, and got up to spsak to the question then
befor the House. In this speech there were no ideas
of any brillancy, or large-thoughtedness. They
were mere common places. At every period ne
would turn his almost palsed form around to LORD
Brougham, looking at him inquringiy as If asking
"Am speaking soundly :" The Lord wouio give give,
an assentinp nod, and on he would 60, continually
repeating the process.
This Is his fixed habit, and has been 80 for years
Lord Brougham is the man in whom he puts MS
trust in whose principles he has the strlctest taith'
and he hardly dares speak without hrst consulting
him. They alike bigoted, intoerant ana oesPo.l-
cal. What claims the Duke has ever had to be re-
qarded as statesman, cannot conceive. HIS ad-
minstrations have never been wise, nor popular. his
speeches have never been replete with
Of mastery order and taken as an intellectual man
there is nothing so very extraordinary aoout n as
a soldier he has now the highest nohols' ou' eo"0
doubt they are rightfully his.
The popularity of the duke was once unDounoeo.
He rose from the ranks of the people, and the people
adored him as the nations deliverer: ihey promol,
ed him, he became rich and powerful, ana assumed %
the highest honors of the first class of nobles All
thi. he really obtained through the people, and yet
az soon as he had fairly got them, he turned his back
upon the English nation. He went SO tar In tne
times of the Reform Bill that he offered to march his
army down upon the people in the country to shoot
down their ideas Of liberty. He would have done So
had he not, upon sounding his officers, made. the
friohtfl discovery that not one half of them would
execute his orders in civil war against freedom
Then there burst forth such terrible howls OF execra-
tions against the base warrior and all his tribe, that
for while Arthur the Field Marshal, with all his
courage, troubled in his shoes. One day people
crowded around his residence-the Apsley House
and with pavement stones broke in its windows. He
had iron shutters put and they are there to this
day. He was then at tho head of the nation as the
Prime Minister, and loathed the idea OF bowling be-
fore the 'rabbe but the nations voice insisted upon
his abdcasion Of the Office and one night at midnight
he resigned. "
Never since then have the people praised him,
but gradually their old admiration has been changing
to a settled hate or contemptuous disgust. NOW
his name il never mentioned without groans and his
ses from the people. In the public streets no crowd
gathers about him to do homage, as In former days.
but he goes unheeded by; or if some wild rabbIe
gathers at his HEELS they very prone to say things
unpleasant to his He has been terrible ex-
pense to the British nation. The sums of money
that he has consumed in Salaries in and
in monuments, are enormous. But John bull Will
stand taxation better than any other nation IN the
world. There is docility about him which shocks
any one with proper ideas of pride and Justice Now
at this moment the British nation is giving large
sums of money to man whom It hates, who Is Its
rankest enemy and yet the nation is on the verge OF
bankruptcy.
legislative When judicial it sits as the highest court
of justice in the kingdom. On these occasions, the
the only persons robed the Lord Chancellor, who
sits upon the woolsack the Bishops, the Judges and
the Masters of Chancery. But when Parliament is
opened closed by the Queen in person, then the in
terror of the House presents grand and brilliant
spectacle All the Peers in their robes, and la
dies uf the highest rank are present Peeresses in
therown right and the wives and daughters of Peers.
Parliament 10 generally opened by commission, which
is read by clerk. This is tame ceremony, but
when the Queen is present all London feels the ex-
eitement of this occasion.
People crowd all the avenues leading the House,
and the Sovereign approaches she is saluted with
cheers hurraah's, the waving of handkerchefs, and
the ringing of BELLS and the roaring of cannon. When
she arrives at the House, she is first conducted to the
Robing Room. When duly attired, Prince Albert
accompanies her to the throne, and when she is seat
cd, himself takes chair of state Immediately on her
left. As she is seated, the Queen desires the
Peers be seated also, and the Usher of the Black
Rod summons the Commons. The speaker soon
appears at the bar of the House with multitude of
members following, the Lord Chancellor presents
the speech Of the Queen, who Immediately proceeds
to read it. A great dealvof foolish pomp and cere
monia are thrown about the occasion, yet no
deny that occasion of grandeur and brilliant pa
geantry.
TIE members of the House of Lords are divided
into two classes the Lords Spiritual and Temporal.
The Lords Spiritual aretwo Archbishops and twenty
four Bishops from England, and one Archbishop and
three Bishops from Ireland, the Irish Church.
There was a time when the Spiritual Lords outnum-
bered the Temporal, but now the latter vastly in
the preponderance.
The Temporal Lords consist of twenty-eipht Irish
Peers elected for life, sixteen Scottish Peers elected
for each term, and there is no limit to the number of
English Peers, who sit by right of Descent and whose
only qua6 cations are, that they be of age, be of
right birth. and not totally imbecile. The Peers
divided up into various degrees of rank, but the vote
of one 10 good that of another. There Dukes,
Earls, Marquises, Viscounts and Barons. A Duke
is much higher in rank than Baron, but his vote
counts no more.
The House of Lords in it's judicial capacity, tries
all individuals who impeached by the House oi
Commons, Peers who are on Indictment, and deter
mines appeals from tho decisions of the Court o
Ch.neery When it sits judicialy, it is open to the
public. Upon such occasions there are generally only
very few Peers in attendance generally the law.
lords 1t is we'll that the noodles have the good sense
TO remain absent upon such occasions. Bartlett.
Coon NEWS FROM THE SEMINOLE INDIANS. W.