Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1907-02-02
THE HOUSE OF LORDS
CHECKS IT HAS RECEIVED AT THE
HANDS OF THE COMMONS.

Tho Long Parliament Put the Peers
IN, of business -Altogether '"r
Number of Years - boiins
wny with the Noble LORDS
rbore is an idea in the minds Oh 'er!
-. norsons that the British house Oh
III Is supreme and can do pretty wen
What II peases This, however Is
,,,istote On several notable occasions
+ho,r noble lordships have been para
WED and have got very mucn tne
worst of il in stormy arguments WIFI
the gentlemen Of the house OF con''
mons. 81, ,,
Tho first occasion on which this nap
nened was when the peers ventureu W
differ with the long parliament WHICH
was nj the time engaged in lie anu
death struggle with Charles l. Inc
commons on this occasion wasted no
valuable time In talking, but promptly
abolished the lords altogether ana
turned them. archbishops, dukes, belt
OIL earls and all the rest OF the gor-
.,a,u, coroneted crowd, into the street
Tho 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
neers were unwilling to pass their pro-
nosed bills. have resorted to the threat
70 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 III the prime minister of the
day. the daring and INSCRIPTIONS Wis
count Bolngbroke, was anxious 10 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
m the treaty of Utrecht 1t was neces-
sarv at that time that lords and COM
mons should agree to treaty before
II vould become valid. The commons
assented TO the treaty, but the lords
declared that they would have none
of II and that the war must go on,
whereupon Bolingbroke coolly Dut
firmly informed them that, rather than
see himself defed by them, he would
create a 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 ana
threatened to make every trooper into
q noble lord if driven to 1t. 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 Dee1
go limited that only rich men, and gen
orally only the nominee of some grea'
nobleman. could get into parliament
The reform bill altered that 1t gave
the smaller men a chance. The LORDS
EXPRESSED their deliberate intention o.
wrecking the bill.
Earl Grey retOrted by extorting from
King William IV.-who didn't like re
form bills. but dared not oppose thu
wish of the nation for fear Of revo
lution-permission to call up 10 III
house of lords as many new peers a
should be necessary to carry his Dill.
The mere threat was enough for IN
lords. They had no wish to see thel
order made cheap and ridiculous, q
would have been the case had peer
become as plentiful as blackberries.
II used to be the custom in the BIZ
ish army for all officers commission
TO be purchased. That is, an officer, II
stead of getting into the army D
means of a competitive examlnatio
and rising by merit, came stra1gr
from school. without knowing anyth1n
of the new duties he was about to al
sumo. and had q commission bougT
for him. After that, instead OF 0ein
promoted as a reward for his services
he used to buy each promotion.
If he had no money his chances
being promoted were about thousan
to one. The result was that officer
who had grown gray in the service an
fought in many battles remained sui
ordinates all their lives, while the sol
of wealthy families who had not see
q quarter of their service jumped owe
their heads by having their way pu
chased up for them to be colonies an
generals.
Mr.. Gladstone decided to do awe
with this purchase system. The lor(
did not wish it to be abolished. Co
sequently, when Mr.. Gladstone intr
duced a bill to abolish purchase in Il
army the house Of lords was not di
posed to give it a kind reception.
They threw out the bill and imagine
that they had won a glorious victor
But Mr.. Gladstone found that Que
Victoria had the power to abolish pr
chase In the army by her own act
she pleased. He induced the queen
do this by means Of royal warrant
And the house of lords could no mo
interfere with q royal warrant tn
they could knock the dome Off
Paurs by throwing their coronets at
-Pearson's London Weekly.
Man and Woman.