Willmar tribune. [volume] (Willmar, Minn.) 1895-1931, 1907-04-17

times has threatened it, They have
seen storm clouds Gathe:. about them
| in the past and rol! harnlessly away.
The storm that now RACES about
them is bat gentle zephyr compared
with that which swept over them be-
fore they yielded to the great reform
act of 1872. Then mobs hunted peers
and bishops through the streets and
threatened to storm the kings palace.
The duke of Wellington was then their
leader. AS statesman England's
greatest soldier stood for all that was
retrograde in politics. He came peril
ously near getting the house of lords
smashed. But the peers, more far
seeing that he, saved themselves by
giving in in the nick of time With all
their obstinacy, folly and prejudice,
they have proved time and again that
they possess the political. instinct
which tells them when they must
either give way or go under
Since 1885 the conservative major
ity in the house of lords has been over
Whelming in magnitude. Their number
of avowed liberals among their 600
| members is only about As. That is
what causes the trouble; that is why
they cannot be made to fit into any
form of representative government
which is supposed to reflect the polit-
lcal views of the majority Of the peo-
pie for the time being. Common folks
! change their opinions. The lords in
! hort oil Wit +bc; = ;,1-
to them. They are always on one SIDE.
| When the conservative party is in
power they take things easy and pass
every measure that is sent up to them
When the ship of state is manned by a
liberal crew they wake up bit and do
their best to wreck it by vetoing near
~ every important measure that
comes before them
That the peers regard themselves as
a superior order of creation finds ex-
preston in the more grandiose cham
Der as compared with that in which
is an arrangement in brilliant scarlet.
! The lower house is a study in dark
green, that being the prevailing hue
of the upholstery. The contrast serves
to emphasize the idea that one cham
Der represents the proletariat; the
other rich, proud, and powerful aris-
! tOcracy. That in which the lords gath
er to exercise their legislative func-
tons is far finer, more impressive and
picturesque than that in which the
elected representatives hold their sit
! tings. The house of commons ends in
the speakers chair. a comparatively
simple affair, save that it is suggestive
of anything but comfort. The house of
lords ends in throne-a thing of gilt
and splendor and large proportions
from which the sovereign opens par
| lament. And behind the throne there
! is a vast wall, on which are splendid
frescoes in gigantic figures and in rich
and almost dazzling colors. 49,.
! But the peers themselves do not
come up to their gorgeous surround
ings. Their robes and coronets they
wear only on state occasions. Attired
in the conventional raiment of mascu-
line responsibility they are an ordin-
| dly lUOhlLS, iUL. IL is d ldCL IQey
don't show up anything like as we'll as
the members of the United States SEN
ate. When l first saw them engaged in
slaughtering liberal legislation I could
not help wondering how many of them
would be able to earn their own liv-
ing if turned loose. The cure for ad-
miring the house of lords" said a
French critic of English institutions,
lis to go and look at it at work.