The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1894-03-26
THE ENGLISH SENATE.
The House of Lords Legislative
Balance Wheel
Gorge w. Smalley, in Harper.

George w. Smalley, in Harper.
If the House Of Lords in its legislative
American principles. Put aside its hered-
itary character, not now defensble on any
principle, consider IL merely as a second
effective defense of il may be drawn from
American analogies and American pre-
cedents
Indeed, before an American tries to Judge
the situation in England, he would do vel
70 put clearly before himself the difference
the United Kingdom so far as il affects
this issue. He must take into account the
undisputed fact that the House of Lords
Is the sole check upon the legislative SUI
premacy of the House of Commons Let
him try 10 draw a parallel between West
minister and Washington and consider with
what safeguards and precautions consti-
tutional legislation at Washington is
hedged about, and how every one of them
Is wanting at Westminster. There is at
Westminster no distinction between the
making of an ordinary law and of funda-
mental law, or of what we call d consti-
tutional amendment. There are no more
formalitieS il the one case than in the
other nor any different in procedure a
bill which subyerts the Constitution OF this
realm is brought in like any other bill and
may be passed through the House of Com
mons like any other bill, between 10
O'Clock and midnight, by d bare majority
1t may be forced through by the closure
and without debate. or half debated. a
constitutional amendment in America is a
matter or few lines, the declaration of a
single principle or purpose; brief clear.
easily understanded of all men The bill
| passed by the House of Commons may be,
as the recent bill to amend the provision
| for the government of Ireland, commonly
called the home-rule bill, was an extreme
intricate, complicated and voluminous
bill-a bill OF forty clauses and seven sched-
ules; bill profoundly modifying the rela-
tons of the component parts Of the United
Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
| dissolving a legislative union, creating a
new legislature and a new executive in
Ireland, and profoundly modifying the Con
~ 10 -.
! Such a bill may be- and in fact was, passed
| by the drastic use OF the cloture; more
| than two-thirds of it undebated, uncon-
| sidered, by the House at any stage; not
! even amendments allowed to be put to vote
| That Dill, so passed, would be law to-day
| il there were no House of Lords You NAV
| think it ought to be, but do you think il
| ought 10 be passed in that way? If you
| do you condemn the American system and
| Stitution.
Any BILL any measure of constitutional
| lnnoVatlon once passed, goes to the House
| Of Lords, and the House of Lords is thence
| forward the sole means by which the final
| passage OF it can be delayed. There are no
| State legislatures to which it can be re.
| ferrsd There is no Supreme Court yShict
| can directly or indirectly declare il 10 be
| unconstitutional. Every act of Parliament
| Is constitutional The English Constitution
| in SO far as it has any written existence
| consists OF acts of Parliament. and one is
as good as another. No English court
| alleged uncCnsutution2llty Of a statute
| There is no such thing. ConStitutiOnality
| as Seldom said Of privilege, is whatever
| Parliament passes. There is no veto. The
| veto of the crown, once valid and effective
| and not infrequent has not been used since
| Queen Anne's time; and Queen Anne as
| we all know. is dead. The last veto was in
| 1907 There is no machinery by which q
| bill can be referred TO the people. unless
| indirectly through the House of Lords
| There is no provision for ascertaining the
! real sense OF the people, either their sec
ond thoughts if a bill has been passed IL
| obedience TO popular wish or impulse
| or their first thoughts if the bill be withou'
| popular backing. Ii may be the offsprine
| of "a powerful minister or of a pushinl
| clique. The people may never have askeC
| for IL. If they have not, they cannot b'
| consulted.