New-York tribune., 1880-10-03
SENATOR'S And PEERS.

From The London Daily NeUS
The American Senate was founded for treble
purpose TO act as a check upon hasty action OF the
Representatives TO control the executive authority
of the President, and to uphold the rights of ndi
vdual States belonging TO the Federation IN
other words TO protect local interests against
undue encroachments from the Imperial power.
The House of Representatives was to represent the
Union; the Senate, the States composing that
Union. Senators hold their seats for SIX years :;
Representatives only for two. One-third OF the
Senate however is renewed every two years. Mr..
Gladstone has described the American Constitu-
tion as q masterpiece of human wisdom. Its
trainers certainly achieved one signal success !;
they devised Second Chamber at once popular and
efficient for the purposes for which II was designed
The Senate has frequently Inverted the action Of
the House of Representatives; vet no cry has ever
been raised against its privileges, and no American
dreams of abolishnG il The same can hardly be
said of any Senate In the Old World.
The United States Senate may be called the
model Upper House. France, with all the political
genius of her sons. has never been able TO create
an assembly possessed of the like prestige ana pop
ularity. The Second Republic contented itself
with a single National Assembly. Napoleon III.
reestablished dual Legislature his Senate being
constructed the simplest OF all possible plans IL
consisted of $50 members, named for life By the
Fmperor at his own discretion. Cardinals. mar
shals and admirals were also &c ogtcio Senators
AS the Pope confers the red hat. the curious spec
tace was thus presented OF members Oh National
The Senate OF the Second Empire contained some
DISTINGUISHED Names those. for instance. OF Sante-
Beuve and Prosper Merinee. Yet the mass OF the
French people never accorded it the slightest
amount Of vsneTati0n The eGinsffTpt fathers fathers
Mermee owns that he felt somewhat nervous as he
rose to deliver his maiden speech. E" But he adds,
" soon remembered that l was only addressing
hundred and fifty fools; and plucked uD heart"
The part played by this august body in September.
1870, was scarcely calculated 10 rai4 its fame
After Sedan one Senator proposed that Himself and
colleagues should SIT permanently another lrreV-
ereutlv objected that they must dine and his argu-
ments prevailed The Senate preferred a perma-
nent adjournment and forthwith vanished INTO
T-h, ffrfin nj
present Upper Chamber. which a foreigner would
consider fairly well composed 1t Is to some ex-
tent the creation Of the Duke OF Brogues mind
though not of course, nOminally the Work or the
Royalist leader The Duke, IN report presented
TO the National Assembly on the best method or
selecting Chamber of Control, admitted tnat tIe
hereditary principle was out OF the question III
modern France. Equally out OF tho question was
the idea of a Senate the members OF when shouId
be named by the Chief OF the Executive IL seeigu
best therefore, to devise controlling assembly
elected by limited suffrage, and this was accord
inQly done : and at the same time to endeaVOr 10
combine the elements of stability and OF haTmoLy
with the general drift of public opinion by naming
a portion of the members for life and the rest 1Of
a term OF years. The Senate numbers SOC; OF
whom 225 hold their seats for nine years, ana 10
for life The 225 are renewable by seventy lives
every three wears. The 10 life members were
named in the first place by the retiring National
Assembly At each successive life vacancy, the
united Senate co-opts life-member. Conservatives
and Moderates toerably wei. ll.satished with this
Assembly the Extreme Left is ayowedly anxious
attribute of the French Senate :s that It's consent
il necessary before the President OF the Republic
can dissolve the Lower Chamber the natural term
of whose existence is i've years
The Upper Houses of Prussia. Austria, and Hun
gary are all three constructed on pretty mucn the
same lines In each there are hereditary peers,
peers named for life peers elected by the landed
aristocracy and e1 o6ico peers In the Austrian
and Hungarian ParIiaments. the proportion OF
eccesastics 10 considerable, though not sufficient
to iustifv any fears of clerical domination. But
the Parliamentary life OF the two German Empires
is not yet sufficiently developed to enable contem-
poraries TO Judge with any certainty OF the dura-
bility OF working power of these senates
In fact of the great Powers OF the world pos
sessinQ free institutions, only England, America.
and France furnish data of such Importance as TO
repay a careful study OF their political organiza-
ton from what may be called Liberal-C Conserya-
tive point of view namely, that OF making the
hest of what is already established while at the
sap.o time considering how 1t may further be i'm
proved Belgium. for instance mas an excelSnt
workinQ Constitution, but the little kingd>1n OF
Leopold H. which exists only through Tie guar
onfte of mIgntier States. can scarceiy>oe said 10
aaard apy Instructive example TO independent
NatiaDA