New-York tribune., 1905-06-18

4
Co
We have no less an authority than W. s Gil
bert for the assertion that the EngliSh COM
moner loves his House of Peers. and in his Per
sonaI History of it Mr. Wilkinson seeks to
tablish the grounds for the popular affection for
that exclusive, hereditary legislative body In a
series of apt, if perhaps sometimes prejudiced.
characterizations of the leading spirits of the
British nobility, from the time of the Norman
Conquest to the present day, the author devel-
ops the growth OF the Peers from an estate of
the realm into an independent parliamentary
assembly standing between the liberties Of the
people and the encroachment of the crown
strictly and definitely limiting the authority of
the sovereign. and securing for the private citi-
zen the rights and freedom which they de-
manded for themselves and which they alone
were powerful enough to secure
The virtues of the English barons
doubtedIy, as Chatham proclaimed in 1I10.
rude and uncultivated." but Mr. Wilkinson
would have US believe with that statesman
that they were also great and sincere" Roger
Bigod Earl of Norfolk, was not afraid to face
down his king, Edward 1. when the latter said
TO him, by God, Sir Earl. you shall either go
with me to Flanders go hang" by replying,
-By God, Sir King, I will neither go to Flanders
or go hang" and making his words good When
the bafHed monarch, to rebuke the fnsolent in
dependence of the barons. sought to depress the
peerage by promoting new estate Of the realm
and bestowing the knightly title on all owners
of land assessed at f20. he was confounded by
these compulsory knights either throwing in
their lot with the lords against the crown or by
identifying themselves with the Commons. Yet
there were not wanting among the early mobiles
men of literary refinement and political
astuteness. Thus Stephen Langton, the spiritual
lord to whom must be given the credit of fusing
the temporal and spiritual peers into a united
| .eHouse of Lords" and forcing Magma Charta
from King John was able to distil "a spiritual
moral and meaning from a French love song,
The Beautiful Alice" Simon de Monnort.
Earl of Leicester. who. finding the idea or rep
resentative government in the primitive tnstt-
! tutions of the land, formally embodied II IN
system at Westminster championed the Gauss
of ''fair trade" six hundred years ago and be-
came the first and greatest Of medieval pro-
tectionists."
Following the record down to later days We
find the Cecils coming into prominence under
Henry VIII and Elizabeth Whether or not we
accept the fable OF their descent from fam
lily of Roman patricians, which has never. by
the way. found belief among the Cecils them
selves, we are told that there is doubt OF the
fact that they came from good old licensed
victuaner stock" David Cecil. BurIeigh's grand
father who died in 1885. having kept
the best inn at Stamford" Burlefgh won
his queens confidence by Ibis resource
fufness In finding the money for her Law
ish private expenditure and by his rigid econ
omy in all purely public matters" He was
also noted for his pre-Tupperfan proverbal
philosophy "War is curse; peace the blessing
OF God on a nation" was one OF his sensible and
pithy comnonplaces that Is still accepted less in
practice than in theory When asked how he
could find time to attend to his multifarious
duties without hurry. confusion or failure he re-
piled: "The shortest way to do many things Is
to do ono thing at once To-day, In America.
he would have won fame and wealth a. . CAD