The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1894-02-21

THE HOUSE or LORDS IN DANGER.


The house of lords under Lord Salisbury
has behaved OF late with astonishing reck-
lessness. Nothing but the conservatism Of
Mr.. Gladstone saves the hereditary house
Of legislators from an organized agitation
for It's abolition. Every great constitu-
tional government has two legislative
chambers, but England alone makes birth
privilege the chief qualification for enter
ing one of them. The American senate
represents the state legislatures; the Ger
man bundesrath is created by the go vern-
msnt Of the states, the French senate Is
house contains more life members than
hereditary peers. and the Italian senate is
drawn from the official, scientific, literary
and large tar paying classes. The British
house Of peers includes the ecclesiastical
asistocracy. represented by the bishops.
and the lords temporal. 1t Is In the main
an assembly of hereditary legislators, out
OF character with tho increasingly demo-
cratic public opinion of Great Britain. II
Is an anomaly IN CO untry where the peo-
pie govern and practically exercise sover-
eighty.
The English are verv conservative and
~ the same time very practical and In
tensely unitarian people, and the house
Of lords cannot expect to retain legislative
functions by virtue Of hereditary privilege
II it continues TO abuse those functions by
persistent obstructive resistcncs to the
will Of the commons Many able English
men have long ago predicted that the
house Of lords would ultimately be re-
formed by making IL . body composed Of
life or elective membera The house Of
lords has ceased to be . chamber for re-
vision of measures enacted by the COM
mons. Ii obstructs systematically the
legislation Of the opposition. When the
Tories are In power the house of lords il
supertiuous. and when the Liberals are in
power IL Is a ''solid South" against the Will
Of the commons. IL ought to be converted
into an elective assembly like the French
senate, and thus become truly repre-
sentative body. This is tho feeling with
which leading Liberals, like Labouchcre.
Sir Charles Dixie. and even Sir William
Hareourt aud John Morley have come to
regard the English house of lords.
The popular indignation in the Liberal
ranks against the house of lords is intense
et present, because the failure OF the pres
snt parliament to enact important legisla-
ton is exclusively due to the lords, who
are a hereditary and not representative
legislative body. The. house of commons
has since the autumn of 1897 passed three
bills. In face of the fact that in passing
these bills the commons executed the man.
dates OF their constituents the house of
lords summarily rejected the home rule
bill and loaded the employers liability
and the parish councils bill down with
amendments fatal 10 their funda-
mental purposes. The Glsdstonians in
dignantly ask how long this blocking of the
machinery Of legislation is to be suffered
to so en-. The house Of lords have of late
arrogated 70 themselves RICH. of inter
fering with legislation such as they have
never yentaEed 20 assert since the stormy
contest and FINAL passage Of the first Re-
form bin In lsi2. when the lords finally
yielded on the advice Of the Duko of Wei
ling,on who warned them that Earl Grey
was ready tn create new peers enough TO
make their opposition useless.
The house OF lords Is coarting abolition
by its folly. and its replacement by sec
end chamber framed on the pattern OF the
French or American elective senate. IL
lies With Mr.. Gladstone today 20 saw
hail -
taken against the further existence II the
house of lords rs a hereditary legislative
body. /. is believed that Gladstone will
hesitate 20 head movement for the aho.i.
ten Of the hereditary upper chamber. and
this refusal GA bis part NAV put eff the
evil day for the lords for brief period.
hGs the moment Gladstone relin aaishes
the active leadership Of his party. the
Irish Nationalist, the English Radicals.
the Scotch and Welch ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
viii To sure 20 violently attack
the hereditary upper chamber. Ia.
hogehere, Haroourt and Morley are
caly restrained by Gladstone from
moving as euoe for the extinction Of the
house al lords as q hereditary legislative
chamber. The Scotch wan, the Kirk Of
Scotland dises;ahlishet, ,he Welsh want
the Church Of England disesiahlixhed and
the radical 0lajstoaians, who are republi-
esus OF laoor Fstormers. are impatient with
the outrageous o5sSguct.yensss Of the
house Of lords. who today refuse 20 lie
bound by the reSalt Of fresh appeal taken
90 the oouatry, II Gladstone should order 4
new election.
II 0ls3stoae were tea years younger the
chances are that be world serve uosicc on
the hoase ct ,erds shat further persistence
IN their pgesen; policy 81 obssruct:veaess
veaid be tie sjgaa. Cor their abolition and
tie substitution q "a e.sctlye second
eAanoeE.
The primary elections og thu Rspuh 4.
eaa party are 10 Re held today srem | til
a TIA -