Los Angeles herald., 1910-04-17

the vast majority of whom sit in judg-
ment on the peoples representatives. py
no other title than that of birth we
suffer from all the drawbacks and we
enjoy none of the advantages or a
second chamber. If you go back to the
general election of 1906 you will find
that comparatively little was then said
about the house of lords. Why? The
answer is a very simple one. The house
of lords under a Tory government and
q Tory majority in two successive
houses of commons had been asleep for
ten years.
And why is it that at the election
which has Just taken place the question
of the lords has been to the extent
to which it has been the dominant
issue? The answer is very simple 1t
is because during the last four years
the house of lords has not only been
awake 1t has been running a mock set
of Liberal measures, a and massa-
cring another set of liberal measures
It's destructive energies reached the
climax in the unprecedented feat of re-
tecting the whole budget of the year.
Gentlemen, / ask you, and L ask those
silent voters who write to say that
they do not want to live under single
chamber-I ask them what is second
cnH1QDGT. w HdL dIC ltS cbuNthitct5eo'
Surely upon the most rudimentary
view, it should be, If not wholly i'm
partial, at least not Overwhelmingly
and undisguisedly partisan. At least,
again, it should show some approach
to uniformity in the spirit and the
manner in which it exercises its reVis-
ing functions. A second chamber which
acts as the house of lords acts, which
offers no safeguard whatsoever, as we
/ II
tionary legislation, and except upon
careful calculations of party expedience
opposes a steadfast resistance to pro
gressive legislation, is a second cham
Der which stands self condemned.
LOGICAL TOPsY-TURVEY
"rhe recent discussion in the lords
| will live as an amazing example of
| logical topsy-turvey. Every speaker
who advocated with greater or less
energy the proposal of Lord Rosebery
began by extolling the house of lords.
! This sedate, secure, hereditary body,
entrenched behind it's ramparts, pro-
tected from the hazards of democratic
| life outside, was a far better exponent
of the paramount wishes OF the British
people than any house of commons.
Why. then, is this sacrosanct institu-
| ton, which by tho bounty of Provi-
dence and the foresight of our ances-
tors has been vouchsafed to us, to be
tankered at? have never come across
a more glaring case of what logteians
call men sequltur. It is pure question
of tactics. This ancient structure at
the most Is to be disguised with a coat
of democratic whitewash. We say, on
| the contrary. that 1t must be rebuilt on
democratic basis.
"We have to deal not with second
chamber In the abstract, but with the
| house of lords as it is-heridltary, par
tisan, fitful and constantly aggrandiz-
ing to itself claims and seeking to usurp
new domains of authority. That the
| lords are better judges of what is good
| for the country Is the Curzonese view
| of the situation. / see you understand
it here in oxford. We say that there is
one way only of emancipat1ng the
house OF commons. and that is by a
| Limitation of the veto.
1--WE are willing to concede fun OPP
portunities to secure adequate delay.
to avoid the risks of immature consid-
Grafton, to allow time for public opir-
ion to crystallize and to become articu-
late. As part of the curtailment of the
veto the duration of parliament shall be
shortened, so that the evils of a house
of commons outstaying its authority
and passing laws which the people new
er asked for may become impossible.
But this absolute veto upon legislation
must go. That was the issue submitted
to the electorate. We believe that they
intended to answer and did answer it
in the affirmative. and this shall be-
come clear when 1t is submitted to the
Judgment of the house Of commons"
A Tory organ says that MIR. Asquith
knows perfectly well. in his heart of
hearts, that the real reason why he
has done nothing in the matter of the
budget is that the electors returned a
majority hostile to it. Consciousness Of
that painful fact lurked behind all his
complaint of unionist intimidation"
and undue influence in the election.
When the people return Radical mem
bers the people are declared to be in
fallibe. When they have the bad taste
TO send Unionists to parliament they
are pronounced "drunken"-as by Sir
Henry Norman and Silas Hocking-or
corrupt and cowardly, as by Mr.. As
ouith. The Irish party have said plain
Iy through their spokesman that they
will not have the budget at any price
until Mr. Asquith has brought them the
heads of the lords on charger. The
cabinet is now engaged in deliberately
producing financial chaos after the
country has rejected it.