Los Angeles herald., 1910-01-13
THE CRISIS

N dll dTllClt Oll lilG tlGGllOIS II
England" a contemporary manage
a to convey as much misinformatior
and erring twaddle into the space of a
little over half column as have ever
in the history of mankind been packed
in such small compass. In the first
place "the elections in England are
unimportant when separated from their
relationship to the elections in Scot
land, Ireland and Wales. The fight
against the house of lords is general
throughout the United Kingdom, and
will be far more bitter in Scotland and
Ireland than in England. The upper
house" IS packed with English and
Norman peers. Some of the Scottish
peers who have English titles sit hered-
itarily in the house, but THE OTHERS
ARE ELECTED, a fact which no
amount of hammering seems to impress
upon American papers that in the
United Kingdom would be Tory.
To be sure, they are elected by their
peers" BUT CASES HAVE BEEN
FREQUENT IN WHICH THE PEo-
PIE HAVE BROUGHT ENOUGH IN
FLUENCE ON THE VOTING PEERS
TO INDUCE THEM TO SEND THE
RIGHT MEN TO LONDON. BY the
right men. we mean men of the stamp
of the admirable chief of the Gordons,
the earl of Aberdeen; Lord Kelvin, the
great scientist, and the chief of the
Campbells, the late duke of Argyll,
who was one of the foremost scientific
writer's and students OF his day. We
have used the names of two deceased
members of the house of lords, but
there are many others of an equally
high type who are "alive and kicking.
Therefore IT Is GREATLY TO THE
INTEREST OF MANY OF THE SCOT
TISH PEERS to mend or end" the
house of lords, which acknowledges
the divine right Of titled English
men to make laws, but excludes brill
liant Scotsmen from that right unless
they manage to obtain an English title |
or to swing 9 sufficient number Of
votes in the Scottish peerage electoral
college. about which our friend seems |
to know absolutely nothing. And we
cannot blame him. Anyone who has not |
made close study of political condi- |
tions on the other side will find it |
almost impossible TO discuss the sub
iect without error. He cannot call
reason to his aid, for the whole situa-
ton is a grotesque and Bedlamite
mix up" one Of the most intricate
paradoxes that ever perplexed a pro-
gressive people. For instance, the Scot
tish church, a democratic institution,
refuses to appoint bishops or TO create
any titular rank among its ministers.
But the Episcopal church in England |
my lords its bishops, who therefore
have seats in the house Of lords! The
Scottish church is absolutely unrepre-
sented in the house of lords in spite
of its establishment" and our friend
in reviewing the situation should have
taken this into account. as it is largely
responsible for the strength Of the dis
establishment movement.
Our friends attempt to separate the
United Kingdom into Tory and Radical
sections should not be taken seriously.
He says: 1.-THE Saxon and Norman
blood prevailing Throughout all Eng
land and in the lowlands Of Scotland
Is almost immovable in its conser-
vatism. This is going to have a great
deal Of influence in protecting the house
of lords"
If our friend is really an admirer OF
the house of lords we are sorry for
him, because he is doomed to bitter,
bitter disappointment. Saxon and Nor
man blood does not prevail in the
south of Scotland. The men of Gallo
way are "Celts of the Celts." or as a
certain great writer would have phrased
it "Celts exceedingly" And, when the
first agitation against the house of
lords was in progress it was in Dunn
fries, the capital of the south of Scot
land, that Lord Salisbury was mobbed.
Gladstone represented Midlothian, the
shires, and we never heard him accused
of being a Tory.
Scotland is solidly Radical, and it
was the eloquent earl of Rosebery who
in an impassioned speech that called to
mind the best days of oratory in our
language, warned the house of lords
that the attitude Of the peers toward
reform measures would strengthen Rad
ical sentiment Inasmuch as he did
not support the budget, his words
should have the more weight with the
Tories.
Our friends assertion that the non
conformists q. E., church people who
do not belong to the established organ
ization subsidized by the state) are
forming "strong compact to fight So |
ciaIism, which in England is nearly al
lied to atheism" is the drollest mis-
statement in droll and misleading
editorial.