Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1908-12-27

200 peers shall be chosen by the whole
body of peers, whether of England, Ire
land, Scotland or the United Kingdom. to
represent them in the house of lords 1t
is suggested that the election should be
by sort of cumulative vote each hered-
tary peer having as many votes as there
are representatives, and being at liberty
to divide them as he pleases. 1t is not
believed that the arrangement would
lead to the party wire pulling which was
suggested as a possible objection. These
representative peers would sit for the
duration of a parliament, not for life:
SO that there would be an opportunity to
vary the representative element in both
houses with equal frequency.
This arrangement does not touch the
tary peerages. 1t merely reduces the
number of hereditary peers entitled to
1eSislate, and throws upon each peer the
burden of proving himself in one way or
another worthy to bear the higher title
of lord of parliament. Then there is
a long list of qualifications enabling peers
to sit as of right without election. They
may be summarized as intended to open
wide door to personal merit or distinc-
ton in the public service. The two arch
bishops are to sit by right during their
tenure of their sees, but the rest of the
episcopate are to choose eight of their
number to represent TIM. Finally three
are to be life peers, not exceeding forty
in number, not more than four to be Gre
ated in any one year. Their creation
gives the opportunity to bring TO the
service Of the country men of ability
who do not meet the conditions of ad-
mission to the house previously Indicated.
The committee desires to add official rep
re sent ativeS of the great dominions OF
the crown To the house, but prefers to
leave mainly TO the governments of these
countries themselves the manner i'll which
any such arrangement should De carried
out.
Limited to About 400.
1t is computed that under this scheme
the house of lords would consist of some
thing under 400 members made up thus
Three peers of the blood royal, 300 rep
resentative peers elected for one parlia-
ment. 1870 qualified hereditary peers. 10
spiritual peers, ) lords o. appeal in ordi-
nary, and life peers gradually brought
up to out not exceeding 40. The house
of lords would thus be reduced to about
tTo-thi of its present nominal
strength. Only one-half of 1t would rep
resent the hereditary principle pure and
simple, and that half would be placed
under conditions tending to stimulate re-
lance upon something more than heredi-
tary right.
The other half of the house would rep
resent personal merit, character. distinc-
ton. or eminent public services, whether
in an official OF a non-official capacity.
The committee believe that In this way
not only would the best men iii The cOun-
try be brought together to give their
attention 10 legislation, but that al the
same time there would be Il great
euualZing OF party influence. The COM
mittee do not aim at any mechanical ad-
justment of the majority in the house
of lords to correspond with that in the
house of commons. but they desire that
tho Government of the day should ALWAYS
have a substantial following in the house
of lords Friction would probably be
greatly reduced by the cumulative effect
of the changes proposed. The committee
were tempted to go further and seek a
mode of solving the difficulty of a pos
sihle deadlock BY a referendum or other
wise but they were SO equally divided
upon that point that they agreed To re-
gard it as beyond the limits imposed by
their order of reference.
From the foregoing il may be seen that
the question of the reform OF the house
of lords has now reached a stage at which
serious action has become possible.
Shipbuilding Plan Criticised.
The copartnership shipbuilding scheme
which Sir Christopher Furness has mi
tiated on the northeast coast Of England
is adversely criticised in the December
issue of the Amalgamated Engineers
Journal. 1t is objected that the scheme 8
strongest appeal is Ito any avarice or
seliiShness which individual or the bulk
of men collectively might he led to cher
iSh to the detriment of their conrad rs
outside in other firms and far-off areas =
Sir ChriiStophcrs Justification OF the !
per cent interest on the mems so shares
is described as Important aud ominotIs' =
Tie writer, G.. ~ Barnes, MP, says