The Topeka state journal. [volume] (Topeka, Kansas) 1892-1980, 1898-02-18
ENGLISH CONSTITUTION.
How the House of Commons Elects
the Prime Minister

To the Editor of the State Journal:
After my address before the State Bar
association, which you were so good as to
reproduce in full in your valuable paper,
some important questions were asked me
by men of wide reading and general in
formation, relative to certain points in
the English constitution, which led me to
fear that the great condensation neces-
sary in dealing briefly with so vast a sub
ject may have given the wrong impress
sion one or two points.
made use of the expression, 1.-THE house
of commons elects the prime minister
Now if the word elects is to convey the
impression that various members are put
in nomination in the house and a ballot
spread or a division taken, resulting in
an election, of course no such thing takes
place
At every change of ministry we read
something like this: The queen has called
Mr.. Gladstone or Lord Salisbury, or some
other leader of the dominant party, to
form a ministry, which means to select
a cabinet
You will remember that I also said:
mo ministry can stand without the con-
fidence of the house of commons The
exact modus operandi is this; The queen
calls a certain leader of the party in power
to form a ministry; that might be called
nominating the prime minister No ac-
ton is taken in the house of commons
until the cabinet is selected and the min
istry IS formed and in working order
Then the ministry comes into parliament
and presents the nrSt measure which the
government wants carried. If the house
of commons is not in favor of the man
named for prime minister 1t slapghters
the measure, and the ministry has no
choice but to resign or prorogue parlia-
ment. II the ministry falls, all the mem
berS OF the cabinet go down IN the deteat
of the prime minister. If parliament is
prorogued a new election is held, ana if
the ministry can fetch up majority
which will stand by it and support its
measures the ministry stands. Thus a
majority in the house of commons can
block every avenue of the public busi-
ness until the leader of its choice is called
Wherein does this negative authority
differ from an affirmative election? The
rive ten or Twenty-Five different men for
prime minister, but not one of them could
turn wheel beyond selecting a cabinet.
until the one demanded by the house of
commons was selected. Historical in
stances of CONNECTS between the crown
and parliament could be given, but they
would only prove the fact that the pop
uIar leader wins every. time so long as the
people and their Representatives in the
house of commons will support him That
is what call the right of the house OF
commons to elect the pr me minister.
There is not word of written law on
the subject, but like the common law ana
| the great body of the English constitution,
the unwritten law is just as fixed and
binding on the crown, the ministry and
the parliament as though it were all en-
bodied in a statute.
I also asked what meant by say
ing that the Hnea1 descendants of the
barons who eXtorted the great charter
peers. OF course this does not mean
blood lineage. About two-thirds of the
hereditary peerages were created during Ing
tenth century. five to fourteenth, and
only four, exclusive of the royal and &c
cIesias teal Peerages, date back as far as
the thirteenth century.
The above seemed called for by an evil
dent misunderstanding Of what tried to
say. There were many things touched
upon in the address which could not be
fully set out without writing a book.
Your paper is evidently read widely over
the state. am receiving complimentary
letters from various quarters saying that
they read the address in the State Jour-
nal. One well known lawyer writes me
that it ought to be preserved in perma-
nent form for use in our schools and col
leges I only wish it were worthy of all
L. H. PERKINS.
Laurence Kan Feb II 1898.