The silver state news. [volume] (Winnemucca, Nev.) 1907-1909, 1908-12-15
WEEKLY LONDON
NEWS LETTER
(By William True Hawthorne.)

Hot
forth by the house of lords looking to
the reformation OF that body is one OF
the most startling things in a century
Of British politics. The ACCESSIBILITY OF
abolishing the house Of lords, or at
least OF reforming it, has been urged by
those who in America would be
termed "demagogues'' of British poll
tics, but that the lords would under
take to reform themselves was a move
which evidently had not been reck-
oned with. Yet the secret committee
OF the upper house appointed to con-
slider this matter puts forth a program
OF reformation as sweeping as any
thing, short OF adjustment, as has
been proposed.
In a word, it is set forth by the
committee that because a man happens
to possess an heredity title of nobilit.j
is no reason why he should sit as one
of the law-making body of the empire,
no matter hiw striking might be his
Lack of other qualifications. 1t is pro-
posed, therefore, that the majority OF
the membership of the house Of lords
shall be elective. 1t Is true it is not
proposed that commoners shall have
any voice in this election, but even the
committee plan is a long step toward
! reformation. The scheme van
that the all-heredity peers shall De
formed into an electoral college for the
purpose OF e~lecting 200 of their mum
Der to sit and vote as the ''lords OF
parliament not for life, but for a
single parliament. In addition, the re
port suggests that Canada, Australia,
New Zealand and South Africa shall
have representation in the house OF
lords, and that a number of hereditary
peers, estimated at 100, possessing ces-
tain qualifications, shall sit without the
necessity of election. These should
include those who have held the post of
cabinet minister, viceroy, governor
general of Canada, and governor of the
larger colonies, naval and military
officers of high rank, and that twenty
years service in the house of com
mons shall entitle one to a seat among
the peers. 1t is proposed that the
church shall have ten representatives,
two of whom shall be ar%ehbishops or
bishops, to sit during the life of a
single parliament. There also shall be
three peers of the blood royal and five
judges entitled to seats in the house OF
lords. Under this plan, the member
ship of the upper house would be about
$50.
The committee in its report also goes
on record as believing that the party
in power always should be able to
count on a substantial following in
the house of lords, but as to how this
condition is to be brought about the
committee does not attempt to specify.
Should this scheme be put in force,
undoubtedly it would remove a lot OF
the a~ntagonism now felt toward tho
house of lords, but it would also be a
death blow that the lords, as a class,
have a hereditary right to rule.
Much as thoughtful Englishmen may
approve OF the proposed reform in the
house of lords, they canno but harbor
grave concern as to its ultimate effect
on the throne. The average English
man would find it very difficult to tell
you jpst why Great Britain has a king
and a royal family Certainly a king
is not necessary to the British system
of parliamentary government. just
here a word as to the difference be-
tween the parliamentary government OF
Great Britain and the government of
the United States, with responsibility
divided between executive and legis-
lative branches, may not be amiss. In
the government is the prime minister,
and he and his cabinet are the crea-
lures of and are responsible to the
party which may happen to have IA
majority in the house of
When the time comes that the prime
minister and his government cannot
maintain a majority in the commons,
that government falls. A general par
h~amentary election is only held when
one is ordered by the government, or
when a government, having failed to
maintain its majority, the creation OF
a new government becomes necessary.
A governments majority may melt
away through disaffection within the
party's ranks, or through the results of
by-elections, or election to fill va
e~ancies.
The difference between the govern
ments of Great Britain and Germany,
for instance, is that in Great Britain