Omaha daily bee., 1908-12-12
OTHER LANDS THAN OURS.

measures OF praCtlCal DenellJ nave pdSSeu
the Commons, but comparatively few have
received the sanction Of the House Of
Lords. Only two measures of general inn
portance received the sanction Of the peers
the old age pension bill and the Irish
National university bill. The liquor license
reform measure, on which the ministry
staked much, was recently rejected by the
peers with peculiarly defiant emphasis.
The second education bill, designed to secu-
larize national schools throughout the king
dom, failed to secure sufficient support to
justify pressing it to passage, and it was
withdrawn. These measures constituted
the Ministerial legislative program for the
present session, and their defeat leaves only
routine measures for consideration. From
a party standpoint, the situation is de-
moralizing. Failure to redeem pledges
shakes public confidence to an extent tnat
most observers think an appeal to the coun-
try on the rejected measures would result
in defeat. The liberals have gained SO
heavily at the general election that II
could forego much of it's advance without
endangering its normal strength. scores
of bye-elections, supposed to reflect pubic
sentiment in spots, went against the I'D
erals. Each local victory stftened the
backbone of the peers, so much SO that
the dominant tory majority give scant con-
sideration to liberal party measures ana
boldly challenge the ministry to a test OF
public sentiment by a general eiectlon'
There is no indication that the Asqulth
ministry will accept the challenge. Mean
while, failing to produce expected results,
the various factions of the party are drift
ing apart, and accentuating the embarrass-
ments of the ministry.
The divine right of the German emperor
nron,ises 70 become a magnificent lift.
Five PROPOSALS are pending in the Reich
stag. each aiming to secure such constltu-
tional changes as will result in ministerial
responsibility to Parliament. tt vital
feature of the proposed amendments would
diyest the emperor of supreme power and
vest it in the ministry created by and re-
sponsible to the Reichstag. The present
constitution was made by Bismarck In ISfo'
and with the exception of three amend
ments in 1873 and one in 1888 1T remains TO-
day precisely as he made 1t. SO tar as II
relates to ministers it creates no Imperial
cabinet. The only federal or Imperial MN
ter is the chancellor. He has subordinates'
but no colleagues. He is not Responsible
criminally. and he is responsible politically
70 nohodv Int the sovereign. AS for amend
ments to the constitution. they may be
nroposed by the Reichstag, but must be
actually made by the Bundesrath. In the
latter body the negative vote of the seven
teen Prussian representatives constitutes
an absolute veto upon any change IN the
constitution, and those seventeen members
are appointed by the emperor or by the
king of Prussia, and their votes are all
east for them by the chancellor precisely
as he pleases. In brief, any change IN the
constitution or in the imperial laws relat-
ing to the army, the navy or taxauoh Is
utterly impossible without the assent OF
the emperor. at is, of course posslDle'
saws the New York Tribune, that IL the
Reichstag should by a substantial majority
present a request for a constitutions
amendment establishing a responsible min
istry-it has never yet thus made any re-
Quest for a constitutional amendment of
apr, kind-the Bundesrath would grant it.
Rut IT Is obvious that such a grant would
ha in fact a personal grant from the EN-
neror. lust as much as the grant of a con-
stitution by the car, the sultan or the
SHAH
Weather conditions are not often classed
as factors III nv pNoSN
now the weather is a~pplauded as a
practical peace-maker. Winter has turned
loose in the Balkans with sufficient force
10 effectually chill the ardor OF warriors
sobhing for gore. Meanwhile, diplomacy Is
energetically at work striving for a salts
factory solution of the problem. Every
day that passes without a border conille'
makes for peace, but within the past Week
there has developed a much more POSITIVE
force making for an amicable adjustment
Rumors from Vienna of a restraining hand
held out by the old emperor upon his
4 turbulent heir and ambitious foreign min
E lister have become more and more definite
80 until II is generally accepted In Europe al
a fact that the Austria-H Hungarian policy
: has suddenly become a pacific one. No
/ only was the threatened withdrawal or th'
Austrian ambassador from Constantinopl'
= forgotten, but still more significant is th'
announcement from the Vienna Foreign
office that there are no insuperable diff
eulties in the way of a settlement, anC
that Austria is only awaiting the framing
of the formula upon which all powers arr
to agree upon a conference. Emperor
Francis Joseph wisely exerts every avail
{ able Influence to avert a conflict whicl
a would sadden and shadow the December o
> his life.
The commission appointed by the British
House of Lords. for the purpose of consid
ering changes in that body, proposes radl
cal reconstruction of the elements of ii
a makeup. Most important of the change
recommended is the abolition of the prin
y ciple that all noblemen Of certain rank hav
an hereditary right to sit in that hous
and to make the majority of the hous.
e elective for a single parliamentary term
OF the remainder of the house the majorit
would consist of life peers selected by tn
e crown for distinguished services and quail
e fications. There would also be represen
ttives OF the chief colonies and a fev
snIrItual neers. The aIecfed' neara run,,I