The Olneyville times. (Olneyville [Providence, R.I.]) 1887-1917, 1907-01-25
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 a
Number of Years - Boiling gbroke's
Way with the Noble Lords.

Number Of Years - BoIingbroke's
Way with the Noble Lords.
| There is an idea in the minds OF very
many persons that the British house OF
lords IL supreme and can do pretty well
| what II pleases. This, however, Is q
mistake. On several notable occasions
their noble lordships have been para.
lyzed and have got very much the
worst OF 1t I'm stormy arguments with
the gentlemen OF the house OF com
mons.
The first occasion Oh which this hap
pened was when the peers ventured to
differ with the long parliament, which
was at the time engaged in life and
death struggle with Charles !. 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 gllded 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 a
drastic nature as this, OF course.
Various ministries finding that the
peers were unwilling to pass their pro
posed bills, have resorted 10 the threat
TO create enough new peers TO swamp
the house Of lords. These new peers
nf hat hnnn nIn tynI
beforehand to vote for the ministry
creating them.
In I'LL the prime minister OF the
day, the daring and unscrupulous Wis
count Bolingbroke, 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
up the treaty of Utrecht. 1t was neces-
sary at that time that lords and com
mons should agree to n treaty before
II would 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 Oh,
whereupon Bolngbroke 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 Il regi-
ment of the Life guards paraded under
the windows Of the house of lords and
threatened to make every trooper into
n noble lord If driven to ii. 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
noblcman, could get into parliament.
The reform bill altered that IT gave
the smaller men chance. The lords
expressed their deliberate intention Of
wrecking the bill.
Earl Grey retorted by extorting from
King William lN.-who didn't like re-
form bills, but dared not oppose the
wish of the nation for fear OF revo-
lution-permission to call mp 10 the
house of lords as many new peers rs
should he necessary TO carry his bill.
The mere threat was enough for the
lords They had no wish to see their
order made cheap and ridiculous as
would have been the case had peers
become as plentiful as blackberries.
II used To be the custom in the Brit
ish army for all officers commissions
To he purchased. That is, an officer. in
stead OF getting into the army by
means Of competitive examination
and rising by merit, came straight
from school. without knowing anything
Of the new duties he was about TO as.
sumo. and had n commission bought
for him. After that instead OF being
promoted as a reward for his services,
he used 10 buy each promotion.
II he had no money his chances Of
being promoted were about a thousand
to one. The result was that officers
who had grown gray In the service and
fought in many battles remained sub
ordinateS all their lives, while the sons
of wealthy families who had not seen
a quarter OF their service jumped over
their heads by having their way pur-
chased up for them To be coloncls and
generals.
Mr.. Gladstone decided 10 do away
with this purchase system. The lords
did not wish IL To be abolished. Con
scquenty, when Mr.. Gladstone intro
duced a bill TO abolish purchase in the
army the house Of lords was not dis Z
posed TO give il 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 10 abolish pur-
chase in the army by her own act IL
she pleased. He induced the queen To
do this 10y means of royal warrant
And the house OF lords could no moro
intCrfpre with n royal warrant tbop