The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1907-01-23
TIE HOI Sc OF LORDS
CHECKS IT HAS RECEIVED At TIE
HANDS OF THE Commons

CHECKS IT HAS RECEIVED At IHE
HANDS OF THE Commons
The Long Parliament rot the Peers
out of Business Altogether For IA
number Of Years - Boiingbr"ke's
Way with the Noble Lords.
There is an idea i'll the minds OF very
many persons that the British house OF
lords is supreme and can do pretty well
what it pleases This, however. is
mistake. On several notable occasions
their noble lordships have been para
lived and have got very much the
worst of it in stormy arguments with
the gentlemen of the house Of com
mons.
Tie FIST occasion on which thlS nap
pcned was when the peers veRtured 10
differ with the long parliament. which
WAS at the time engaged in He ana
death struggle with Charles l. The
commons on this occasion wasted no
valuable time in. talking. but promptly
abolished the lords altogether and
turned them, archbishops. dukes, belt
ed carls and all the rest of The Gor-
geolls coroneted crowd, into the street.
The gildcd chamber WAS vacant.
For half II dozen years or 81 the
country got On without any house OF
lords.
All the checks the house Of lords
have received have not been Of sueh i
drastic nature as this. OF course.
Various ministries. finding that the
peers We're unwilling To pass Their pro.
posed bills have resorted 10 the threat
TO create enough new peers TO swamp
the house of lords. These new peers
would, of course. have been pledged
beforehand To vote for the ministry
creating them
In Ill the prime minister of the
day the daring and INSCRIPTIONS Nis-
count Boiinsbroke. was anxious 10 ter
mipate the desolating and ruinous war
with France, which had been raging
on and off for twenty years.
To effect this purpose he had drawn
mp the treaty OF Utrecht 1t was neces-
sary Mt that time that lords and COM
mons should agree to Il treaty before
II would become valid. Tie commons
assented 10 the treaty. but The lords
declared that they would have none
of it and that the war must 20 on,
whereupon Bolingbroke coolly but
firmly informed them that, rather than
see himself defed by them. be would
create n whole army OF nov peers to
vote for the treaty.
The story goes that he had rcSl-
ment of the Life guards paraded under
the windows of the house of lords and
threatened 10 make every trooper into
noble lord II driven 10 It. lie did
make twelve new peers, and then the
lords gave i'll.
The LIBERAL government of ISL, with
Earl Grey as prime minister. used the
same threat They wished to pass the
first reform bill The lords hated this
bin bitterly.
Until then they had been practically
an oligarchy. with all the real power
in their hands The franchise had been
so limited that only rich men, and gen
orally only the nominee of some great
nobleman. could get into parliament.
The reform bill altered that. 1t gave
the smaller men II chance The lords
expressed their deliberate Intention OF
wrccking the bill,
Earl Grey rctortcd by extortlng from
King William ~. who didn't like re
form bills. hut dared not oppose the
wish of the nation for fear of n revo-
luton permission to call up To the
house of lords ny many new peers rs
should be necessary TO carry his bill.
The mere threat was enough for the
lords. They had no wish 10 see their
order made cheap and ridiculous. as
would have been the case had peers
become as plentiful NJ blackberrics.
Ii used TO be the custom In the Brit.
lsh army for all officers commissions
to be purchased That is, au officer in
stead of getting into the army by
means of competitive examination
and rising by merit, came straight
from school, without knowing anything
OF the new duties lie WAS about TO rs
sumo aud had II commission bought
for him After that. instead Of being
promoted MS reward for his services.
he used to buy each promotion.
If he had no money his chances OF
being promoted We're about q thousand
to one. The result was that officers
who had grown gray In the service and
fought in many battles remained sub
ordnatcs all their lives, while the sons
OF wealthy families who had not seen
II quarter of their service jumped over
their heads lay having their way pur-
chased up for them 10 be colonies and
generals.
Mr.. Gladstone decided to do away
with this purchase system. The lords
did not wish il 10 be abolished. Con
sequenty. when Mr.. Gladstone intro
duced bill to abolish purchase in the
army the house Of lords MAS not dis
posed To give II Kind reception.
They threw cut the BIZ and imagined
that they had Won II glorious victory.
But Mr.. Gladstone found that queen
Victoria had the power 10 abolish pur
chase in the army 10y her own act II
she pleased lie induced the queen to
do this by means of n royal warrant.
And the house OF lord, could no more
interfere with Il royal warrant than
they could knock The dome or st
Paul's by throwing their corouetS ut It
-Pearson's London WechlN.
Wan and woman.