The Irish standard., 1907-11-09
a time when money has a greater pur-
chasing power to make himself COM
Portable.

Portable.
THE FIGHT AGAINST THE LORDS.
The fight against the House of Lords
Is on in earnest. The Liberal Party
has decided to bring up again the
measures that were thrown out BY the
Lords in the last session. 1t is fair to
assume that If the Lords again reject
those measures, that. an appeal to the
country will be taken and the people
will be asked to decide whether they
are to be governed by their chosen
representatives In the House Of Com
mons or by the feudal institution
known as the House Of Lords. The
Premier has declared that the voice
Of the Commons must be supreme, at
least during the life of a single Par
lament. The House Of Lords. made
up for the most part of hereditary
peers, has the absolute power to over
rule the legislation of the chosen rep
resentatives Of the people. So long as
this condition exists Great Britain can
not be said to have a representative
form of government. The power of
the Lords seems to be increasing in
stead of decreasing. In former days
the House Of Lords did not dare to
oppose the House of Commons, es-
pecially when the party proposing the
legislation had great majority in that
chamber. At. the present time the
House Of Lords does not hesitate to
reject any measure. especially If pro-
posed by Liberal governments.
The declaration Of the Premier to
carry on the fight against the Upper
House Is hailed with delight by the
radical democracy in England and
Scotland. Sir Henry Campbell-Ban
herman says that the question over
shadows everything else and that little
good can come from wasting time upon
progressive politics II all such efforts
are to be frustrated by the titled spid-
ers who are weaving their entrapping
webs in the feudal chamber. He warns
the country that If the methods Of the
House Of Lords are not changed that
socialism will rapidly increase in
strength. That IL the Liberals are
forced to give up the struggle with
landlordistn In despair, 1t will be the
blacklist day in the history Of Toryism.
In that case unlimited autocracy would
be met by revolutionary teachings and
dotngs. The battle line seems to be
forming for an approaching election,
in which the constituencies will be
asked to decide upon what shall be
done with the House of Lords. In such
a fight the Irish. Nationalists will be
found fighting with the Liberals, not
because they are Liberals, but because
they recognize that the House of
Lords once prevented Home Rule for
Ireland and the same House stands
ready to reject any other Home Rule
measure that may in the future gain
the support of the majority of the
peoples representatives. In the end it
is certain that the House of Lords
must go. The fight against them may
not be won in the first attempt. The
attachment of the English people to
old institutions is strong. They have
IA certain attachment for the House of
Lords simply because that House is a
relic of bygone centuries. The an
nouncement of the Premier makes 1t
certain that the fight, against the
House of Lords Is to be commenced
in earnest and the commencement of
the fight insures in the end the de-
struction of the power of the Lords.