The evening times. [volume] (Grand Forks, N.D.) 1906-1914, 1907-02-04
THE HOUSE OF LORDS
CHECKS " HAS RECEIVED At THE
HANDS OF THE COMMONS.


Number Of Years BolinEbrole's
Way with the Noble Lords.
There is an idea in the minds of very
many persons that the British house of
lords Is supreme and can do pretty well
what 1t pleases. This. however, is a
mistake. On several notable occasions
their noble lordships have been para
lyzed and have got very much the
worst Of it in stormy arguments with
the gentlemen of the house of CON-
mons.
The first occasion on which this hap
pened was when the peers ventured to
differ with the long parliament, which
was ut the time engaged in life and
death struggle with Charles l. The
commons OH this occasion wasted no
valuable time in talking, but promptly
abolished the lords altogether and
turned them, archbishops, dukes, belt
ed earls and all the rest Of the gor-
geous coroneted crowd, into the street.
The gilded chamber was vacant.
For half dozen years or so the
country got on without any house of
lords.
All the checks the house of lords
have received have not been of such
drastic nature as this, Of course.
Various ministries. finding that the
peers We're unwilling to pass their pro-
posed bills, have resorted to 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 I'LL the prime minister of the
day, the daring and INSCRIPTIONS Wis.,
count Bolingbroke, was anxious to ter
inmate the desolating and ruinous war
with France, which had been raging
on and off for twenty years.
To effect this purpose he had drawn
up the treaty Of Utrecht. 1t was neces-
sary at that time that lords and COM
mons should agree to treaty before
it would become valid. The commons
assented to the treaty, but the lords
declared that they would have none
Of 1T and that the war must go on,
whereupon Bolingbroke coolly but
firmly informed them that, rather than
see himself defied by them. he would
create whole army Of new peers to
vote for the treaty.
The story goes that he had regi-
ment Of the Life guards paraded under
the windows Of the house of lords and
threatened to make every trooper into
a noble lord If driven to it. He, did
make twelve new peers, and then the
lords gave in.
The Liberal government Of 1882 with
Earl Grey as prime minister, used the
same threat. They wished to pass the
first reform bill. The lords hated this
bill 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 chance. The lords
expressed their deliberate intention of
wrecking the bill.
Earl Grey retorted by extortlng from
King William IV.-who didn't like re-
form bills, but dared not oppose the
wish Of the nation for fear Of revo-
misrepresentation to call up to the
house of lortis as many new peers as
should lie necessary to carry his bill.
Tho mere threat was enough for the
lords. They had no wish to see their
or'!er male cheap and ridiculous, as
would have been the case had peers
become rs plentiful as blackbcrres.
1t used to be the c'lstoul in the Brit
isll army for all officers commissions
to be purchased. That is, an officer. in
stead of getting into the army by
means o! Il competitive examination
and rising by r.e"it. came Straight
from school. wthout knowing ans thing
Of tho new s.u.ias l!r W-%S :, bout to az.
sumo. AMI had Il commission bought
for him. After that. instead of being
promoted as 4 reward for his services.
he used to buy each promotion.
If lie had no n,on>,y his chances Of
being promoted We're about Il thousand
to pn' The result was that officers
WIZ = .; .rr :Nli GRAY III the service ana
fo' s:il N ".lny battles remained sub
or;i.!:.,;,.s Il their lives, While tile sons
of wealthy f,:n;l.es who had not seen
Il .iEa":s' of Their service jumped over
their hr.n.s by having their way pur-
CHASED UP for them to be colonels and
generals.
Mr.. Gladstone decided to do away
with this purchase system. The lords
did not wish it to be abolished. Con.
sequently. when Mr.. Gladstone intro
duced bill to abolish purchase in the
army the house of lords was not dis.
posed to give it kind reception.
They threw out the bill and imagined
that they had won a glorious victory.
But Mr.. Gladstone found that Queen
Victoria had the power to abolish pur-
chase in the army by her own act If
she pleased. He induced the queen to
do this by means Of royal warrant.
And the house of lords could no moro
interfere with royal warrant than
they could knock the dome off st.
Paul's by throwing their coronets at it.
-Pearson's London Weekly.