The Palatka news. [volume] (Palatka, Fla.) 1905-1908, 1907-03-08
THE HOUSE OF LORDS
CHECKS IT HAS RECEIVED AT THE
HANDS OF THE COMMONS.

The Long Parliament Put the Peers
Out of Business Altogether For n
Number of Years - BolingbrOlSe'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 it 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 com.
mons.
The first occasion on which this hap
pened was when the peers yentured to
differ vita the long parliament which
was at the time engaged in life and
death struggle with Charles |. The
commons on this occasion wasted no
valuable time in talking, but promptly
abolished the lords altogether aud
turned them, archblshops, dukes, belt
ed earls and all the rest of the gor-
geous coroncted crowd, into the street.
The gilded chamber was vacant.
For half a 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 were 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 a treaty before
it would become valid. The commons
assented to the treaty, but the lords
declared that they would have none
of it ana that the war must 60 on,
whereupon Bolingbroke coolly but
see himself defied by them, he would
create whole army of new peers to
vote for the treaty.
The story goes that he had a regi-
ment of the Life guards paraded under
the windows of the house of lords and
threatened to make every trooper into
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
nOhlcman. could get into parliament,
The reform BIZ altered that. 1t gave
the smaller men chance. The lords
expressed their deliberate intention of
wrechu@ the bill.
Earl Grey retortcl by extorting from
King William iN.-WhO didn't like re-
form hills, but dared not oppose the
wish of the nation for fear of revo-
tuition permission to call up to the
house of lords as many new peers as
should lee necessary to carry his bill.
The mere threat was enough for the
lords Th"y had no wish to see their |
order made cheap and ridiculous, as /
would have been the case had peers |
become us plentiful rs blackberries.
1t used to be the custom in the Brit
sh army for all officers commissions |
to be purchased. That is, an officer in
stead of getting into the army by
means Of a competitive examination
and rising by merit. came straight |
rom school, without knowing anything
sumo. and had a commission bought
'Or him. After that, instead of being
promoted as reward for his services,
lie used to buy each promotion.
If he had no money his chances of
Ieing promoted were about a thousand
o one. The result was that officers
who had grown gray in the service and
ought in many battles remained sub
all their lives, while the sons
If wealthy families who had not seen
quarter of their service jumped over
heir heads by having their way pur-
.hased up for them to be colonies and
generals.
Mr.. Gladstone decided to do away
With this purchase system. The lords
lid not wish it to be abolished. Con-
when Mr.. Gladstone intro
luced a bill to abolish purchase in the
rmy the house of lords was not dis
'osed TO give it kind reception.
They threw out the bill and imagined
hat they had won glorious victory.
'ut Mr.. Gladstone found that Queen
'ictoria had the power to abolish pur-
base in the army by her own act if
he pleased. He induced the queen to
70 this by means Of royal warrant.
And the house of lords could no more
Interfere with royal warrant than
hey could knock the dome off st.
'Gurs by throwing their corouets at it.
-Pearson's London Weekly.