The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1906-07-31
The British House Of Lords.

pass the Education bin In the form given
to 1t in the committee stage Of the House
Of Commons, and Is the bill exempting
the funds Of trade unions from suits
for damages Il certain TO be thrown out
or to receive an unacceptable amend
ment, O collision between the two cham
bers Ii unavoidable. We shall witness,
therefore, a renewal OF the former agi-
tation against hereditary legislators,
which this time will probably have come
definite result, because many Peers have
come TO concur with the late Lord SAILS
BURY in thinking that the upper house
needs to be remodelled If 1t Is to retain
a good reason for existence, or in other
words must either be mended or ended.
It 10, Of course, the hereditary prln-
ciple to which English Radicals object.
An upper chamber constituted on some
other basis they would not oppose, for
they recognize that such an institution
works well enough in Germany, Austria
Hungary and Italy, and that it plays q
useful part in the French Republic and
the United States. Experience and COM
mon sense have led men to form the
same conclusion In almost all countries
that have the parliamentary system Of
government. Only Greece, Servia, Bull
garia and Norway. have. . unicameral
legislature, and tlpel lest nafasd country
divides its stofthang afteruttiE organ
lied, into two parts. Wherever an
upper house exists it has often proved
to the satisfscfibha q iAe popular ma
jority it's fitness to play the part Of a
brake ON the wheel Of an engine the
speed Of which it Is desirable to check.
This Is not 70 say that an upper house
in one country may not be more wisely
framed than in another. The French
Senate a. 1t now exists-the provision
of 1875 for the creation Of q certain
proportion Of life Senators having been
abolished-is regarded with general ap-
proval, and sven If a proposal to sup
press it could be carried through the
Chamber Of Deputies, which is improb-
able, it would have no chance Of accept
ance alta joint session Of the chambers
called for revisionist purposes. In the
United States few thoughtful citizens
would wish to do away with the Federal
Senate, though they may differ widely
as to thsexpediency Of having Senators
elected, S4r Ct least nominated. by the
voters Of State instead Of being chosen
by its Legislature. Nobody would ex-
pect Eicness in these days for a move
msnt aiming to supersede the present
Congress by the unioameral assembly
which bore tho came name under the
Articles Of Confederation.
II is NOT then, the House OF Lords In
It's function Of second chamber against
which British Radicals inveigh. They
do not want to end it: they would be
satisfied with mending 1t. though Of
course tile mending might be carried
90 far thds o change Of name would DO
inevitable. To avoid the necessity for
droppingEt the name, while at the Same
time changing profoundly the thing 1t
stands for, 10 evidently one OF the pur-'
poses which Sir HERBERT MAXWELL has
in view IA the cautious and moderate
s~uggestions, Tor q remodelling Of the
House Of Lords. which he puts forward
In the Nineteenth Century. As Sir HER
BERT points out, tho House Of Lords
itself exemplihes q principle Of selec-
ton which, II extended, would auto
matically free the chamber from the
worthless members who at present are
a reproach to it. Since 1707 the Scottish
peerage has been represented at West
minister by sixteen Of it's number, chosen
for each Parliament. and since 1900 the
Irish peerage has also sent twenty-eight
representatives to the upper house OF
the Imperial Parliament, who, however,
are chosen for life. II would be better.
obviously, for the choice to be not for
life but for the term Of a given Parlia-
ment, for thus it would be possible to
take ~cognizance Of physical or mental
disabilities that might have occurred
subsequently, to the original election,
Sir HERBERT MAXWELL would simply
apply a like method OF representation
to the other two classes Of peers, namely,
Peers Of England and Peers Of tho United
Kingdom, 80 called. These two classes
might vote together. and tho question
how many spokesman should be allotted
to them could be answered easily. The
number should bear the same proportion
to the aggregate number Of Irish and
Scotch peers that the population Of
England and Wales bears to the COM
bined population Of Ireland and Scot
land. The latter proportion. according
to the census Of 1901, was about three
and a half to one. In Q House Of Lords
thus reorganized there would oe Some
164 selected peers Of England or Of tho
United Kingdom, as against foety-four
selected peers Of Ireland and Scotland.
The whole number would be about 100,
which would represent . middle term
between the 500 members Of the French
Senate and the ninety-two members that,
after the .spokesmen Of Oklahoma are
present, viii constitute the Senate Of the
United States.
II Sir HERBERT MAxwELL's proposal
were confined to an application OF the
selective principle, which works we'll
enough in Ireland, and particularly