The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1894-03-14
LABOuCHERrs AMENDMENT.

Commons yesterday, that the power
now enjoyed by persons who were not
elected to Parliament by the usual pro-
cess of the franchise, yet who are able
TO prevent the passage of bills. shall
| cease, can hardly be taken as the de-
liberate intent Of the elective branch
Of Parliament TO abolish the House OF
Lords. The reasons for this conclusion
may be briefly summed up as follows:
In the first place any legislation at the
present time 10 become a law must meet
with concurrence by the Lords and the
Crown. La the second place the gentle
man who proposed the amendment is
one Of the most radical of the Radicals,
and he seized the opportunity
yesterday without any notice
to spring his amendment at
a time when fully one half of the House
was absent. the division taking place
during the dinner hour. The vote passed
with 147 in favor, TO 145 against-just
barely squeaking through. Had all the
members been present the amendment
would never have been passed as the
closeness of the vote shows
In the third place, as THE News recently
pointed out England, more than any
other nation on the earth, not even ex-
cepting China, is welded to custom and
precedent and not until such a revolution
occurs as TO sweep the throne and the
nobility out of existence will it be possi-
BILE to 'abolish" the House of Lords
The upper branch, as conservative
body, acts as our Senate does, as a
check upon the hasty legislation of the
popular body, and while it frequently
errs in opposing the demands Of that
body, it yields gracefully when the
storm becomes too severe. The same
question has REQUIRED at intervals for
200 years and at times it has seemed as
though the hereditary branch was
doomed, but history shows that
the popular House after pro-
ceeding almost to the point of going to
the country, is invariably appeased by
some slight concession and the matter
is silently dropped.
In the next place the present Liberal
Government holds Office merely by
thread, and it will take the most
skillful guidance on the part
of the new Premier to pre-
vent dissolution almost Immediately,
and an appeal to the country today
would inevitably result in Tory victory.
The Government itself yesterday at
tempted to prevent the passage of
Labouchere's amendment, fully realiz-
ing the utter foolishness of the amend
ment and the difficulty that now
confronts the ministry to
dispose OF il, as under
English parliamentary procedure the
only way to get rid of an amendment
like that offered yesterday is to have the
House vote on the address as whole.
During this discussion on the aboli-
tion of the veto power of the Lords,
which was the amendment passed yes
terday, and the abolition of the
Lords themselves, it must be re-
membered that the Liberal Government,
to whom this agitation is confined, is not
overwhelmingly in power, bat holds its
grasp by a very narrow margin, and is
likely at any time to be removed from
power. The Liberal party obtained its
tfx-I Ix-a 1f A.
small parties with varying interests,
and embracing, as it does, both Of the
Irish branches, its attempt to cohere
is sadly marred by the different
interests it is attempting to conciliate.
Already the Irish members are chafing
under the supposition that while Rose
berry has promised fairly, he really in
tends to shelve the Home Rule question
and they are likely to break away
at any time, as the words of
Michael Davitt yesterday show. In
discussing Roseberys declaration Davitt
said: "It is useless to shut our eyes to
the fact that Lord Rosebery's language
creates virtually new departure of the
Liberal party on the question of Home
Rule. The eageness with which the
enemy has seized Lord Rosebery's words
is sufficient reason why Home Rulers
should distinguish between phrases that
are coined in the heat of debate aud the
settled policy of the new Liberal Gov
ernment.
''But the words spoken by the Pre-
mier Yesterday furnish the clearest JUS
tifcation of the action of the House Of
Lords in rejecting Home Rule, The
position of the Unionist Lords is Eng
lish, and they must be convinced OF the
Justice OF Home Rule before it will be
granted to Ireland. That is Lord Rose
bery's doctrine"
IL Labouchere has not already sprung
the mine that will blow the Liberals
from power he has come dangerously
near 10 IL bv his action af x,aaforI.x