The Ely miner. [volume] (Ely, Minn.) 1895-1986, 1907-04-19
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Much has been heard of late con-
corning the fight which is being made
on the upper branch of the British
parliament. The house of lords has
been subjected to the severest criti-
cism and it has been declared that
this body of titled gentlemen has
quite outlived it's usefulness and that
the government would be better off
without its obstructive and perversive
legislation. The proposal to do away
with the house of lords and the pro-
poSal to reform it, are neither of them
new. Indeed, many proposals to re-
form it have emanated from peers
themselves. The impression prevails,
however, that if the question could be
submitted to the plebiscite, the pro-
posal to abolish the hereditary prin-
ciple altogether would be negatived
by an overwhelming majority; and
that this majority would comprise an
immense number of persons who
yield to none in the value which they
attach to the principle of popular rep
resentation.
And yet any stranger coming to
England at present would be justified
in supposing the peers could not last
another month. Editorial writers are
pouring forth columns of denunciation
on the devoted and coroneted heads OF
the members of the upper house. Plat
form orators thunder against. them
~ MI hot Gin of
and commission are ruthlessly ex-
posed They are declared with entire
truth to be the greatest obstacles to
legislative reforms in the land. AS
the custodians of tremendous political
power their like is found nowhere else
in the civilized world. No other Eu-
ropean nation possesses purely he
reditary second chamber whose mem
bers are responsible to none but them
selves. No British colony would toll
crate such system. Their continued
existence is a living monument to
their countrymen's hatred of logic, to
their fondness for anachronism, to
their love of anomaly, to their ingram
ed and inveterate habit of putting up
with things.
Just think, several millions of Brit
ons dwelling in London, Manchester,
Birmingham, Glasgow, and where not,
after years of thinking about it, and
talking about it, and arguing about it,
come to a decision that certain politi-
cal proposals shall become law. They
spend lot of time, energy and money
in making that decision of theirs
known to all men. Then at more
trouble and expense they send repre-
sentatives to the house of commons to
give effect to their decision. After
much more time and trouble and argu-
ment the house of commons puts it
upon record that these political pro.
posals shall become law. Then two
or three hundred peers who are in
vested with legislative powers solely
and simply because they are the sons
of their fathers stroll down to West
Minister between tea time and dinner
time and vote that they shan't become
a law And they don't.
From the millions whose will has
been thwarted there ascends pro-
digious howl of righteous indignation.
This thing has got to stop, they shrek.
The peers must be deprived of their
power to say mo" to the sovereign
people. While all this hubbub is going
on around them the equanimfty of the
noble hereditary legislators remains
undisturbed They are letting the
other fellows do all the worrying.
They just look on with that engaging
air of don't care a hangness which
constitutes their most striking charm.
They have been under sentence of
political extinction several times. The
cry, mend them or end Them" has
sounded in their ears so often that it
has lost all terrors for them. Glad
stone raised it; Lord Rosebery uttered
It; every liberal premier of modern
times has threatened it. They have
seen storm clouds gather about them
in the past and roll harmlessly away.
The storm that now RACES about
them is but a gentle zephyr compared
with that which swept over them be-
fore they yielded to the great reform
act of 1882. 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