New-York tribune., 1907-07-09
THE REFERENDUM FOR DEADLOCKs

An interesting proposal for the solution of the
problem Of "mending ending" the House of
Lords is made by 1.-THE Spectator of London.
That journal regards the government of the
kingdom by a single absolute Chamber as
something to which the nation would never and
should never assent. 1t also interprets the
principle recently put forward by the Prime
Minister and approved by the House OF Com
mons as certain, If practically applied, to effect
that end: because though the House Of Lords
might continue 10 exist, 1t would be entirely
Shorn Of all power save that OF delay, and
while early in the life Of a Parliament that
delay might be protracted. near the end of that
life it might be almost infnItesimally brief. "a
Lower House fresh from contact with the
country may be forced to hold It's hand for Il
''short time. The dying Commons VIII be abso-
''lutely supreme"
At the same time '"The Spectator" comedies
the desirability of some reform which shall pro-
vent the House OF Lords from permanently or
even indefinitely thwarting the popular will us
expressed in the Commons. 1t suggests, there
fore, the application Of the principle Of the
referendum to the settlement of all important
differences between the two Houses. At tho
present time there is q sort of referendum,
under an unwritten law. That is to say If the
Lords reject bill Of the Commons, and a sec
ond House OF Commons, after general election
in which that bill figures as issue, re-
passes it. the Lords are supposed to be required
TO accept it-though as matter Of fact they
do not always do so, and there is no statutory
compulsion upon them to do so. But that is not
enough. "The Spectator would make the
action OF the referendum more prompt and more
specific, and would make its effect inevitably
binding. It's plan IS that when the Lords
not or will not approve q Commons bill they
shall nevertheless pass 1t in the usual way, ap
pending to il a referendum clause making II
valid only after It has been approved by
majority Of the people at a special election held
for the purpose. 1t would also require any
act to be submitted to a referendum on the peti-
ton OF certain number Of electors.
1.-The Spectator" cites as examples OF such a
system both Switzerland and the United States,
where, it says, 'fhe thing is constantly done"
In Switzerland the referendum is generally
practsed, though not, we believe, with the sue
cess that some Of its enthusiastic advocates
expected for it In the United States the refer
endum is used chiefly, though not entirely, for
dsposing of amendments proposed to the con-
st1tutiOns of the various states. For that pur-
pose it is generally applied in connection with
ordinary elections, and is scarcely to be accu-
rately described as being done constantly" It
is one thing to call for a popular poll on q
deliberately formulated proposal to modify the
fundamental law Of the state, which has re-
ceived the approval of both Houses Of the
Legislature and perhaps Of two or moro sue
cessive Legislatures. 1t would be n very DIFF
ferent thing TO order a special election every
tine the two Houses disagreed over some piece
of ordinary legislation which perhaps had been
hastily and i'll conceived and not sufficiently
considered by either House. Such an arrange
rnent might we'll be called Plan for PromOt-
ing Legislative Deadlocks for it would almost
certainly have the effect of increasing the num-
ber of differences between the two Houses and
of strengthening the obstinacy with which each
House would adhere to its view Of case.