The Washington herald. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1906-1939, 1910-03-15
ROSEBERY OPENS
DEBATE ON LORDS
Continued from Page one.

| self-respecting person would sit here II
N could find seat in any ordinary YES
try? Who would sit in a house composed
Of puppets and crippies? The whole
country and its interests would be al the
mercy of chance majority, any sudden
/ impulse and ebuilition of momentary
wrath such as swept the country in 1906.
They were told that this was the voice
Of the country. No one had greater
respect for the voice OF the people than
/ he. but a redistribution would make the
voice more effective.
Minorifies often RnIe.
He then returned to the subject of the
throne, saying that resolutions, as a rule.
! wero not carried out by the voice of the
/ people, but by small and determined
minority The very House Of Commons
that carried the resolutions at the time
/ of Charles l was a mere rump, frag-
ment OF the original house.
! The execution of that unhappy mon
arch was carried out by a very small
minority of the British people In France
! the execution Of Louis XVI was not car
ried out either by France or by Paris.
but by comparatively small minority of
! the cabinet. Speaking for himself, Lord
/ Rosebery said that it was not the voice
/ OF the people that he dreaded so far as
revolutionary movements were concerned,
but the voice OF small, determined and
interested minority.
Continuing. Lord Roseberry said that
there had for long time been a body Of
: opinion in the House of Lords which was
profoundly conscious OF its imperfections
and its structure, and who thought that
Il would be well in the interests of the
upper house to remove them without de-
lay.
They have been conscious first, said his
lordship, that they are too numerous for
effective work, and, secondly. that they
represented too much Of one interest,
though this latter point has been some
what exaggerated.
Colonies Have second Chamber.
Defending the people Of q second CHAM
I Der, Lord Roseberry pointed out that the
colonies had them. We. he said have
Just instituted, with the Kings consent,
a second chamber with financial con-
troll. in South Africa. Now If We were
70 uproot the constitution. was not this
digging the empires grave?
| Lord ROseberry went on: Think OF
the United States Of America" He de-
clared that he trembled at the seorn of
the United States when II contemplated
Great Britain's one-xyed, one-legged
| search for a constitution. In America, his
lordshiD said. the constitution was
stronger than ever. France. with her
great democratic experience, had con-
stituted the strongest possible senate
which possessed q veto over even DISCO
luton, Yet We" said the former pre-
mier. ARE 20 establish system like that
of Greece or Costa Rico, which results In
| constant recourse to a Dictatorship
| In conclusion, he said that the govern
ment must soon go to the country with
theirs. He asked them TO surrender these
powers which were yerging on the
obsolete. He recalled TO the lords that
night when the aristocraey of France
surrendered one privilege after another
and left the assembly TO private citizens.
If any noble friend told them that the
concessions had brought about the
French revolution he would tell them
wrongly. The Bastile had fallen. the
revolution had already begun The les
son of 1t was too late" Had the French
aristocracy made their concessions 100
years earlier they would have saved the
monarchy
Concessions Must BE Made.
Speaking in deep. solemn tones he con-
cluded:
Those words Too late shall not be re-
peated here. l rest confident in the
wisdom and patriotism of this house
so confident that / am convinced that
they viii rise to the height OF the oe-
casion and vindicate the principles of the
constitution.
you viii, my lords, if / am not greatly
mistaken, save the constitution by main
tanning the guarantees that the constitu-
tons demand. You will save the future
of our country when nothing less than
the future Of our country is involved
You will earn imperishable honor and
imperishable gratitude not merely from
the nation now, but as long as the his
tory OF this country shall survive"
He spoke for two hours.
Lord Morley followed Rosebery. whose
proposals, he contended, did not touch
even the fringe of the emergency which
confronted the country. Lord Rosebery
had admitted that the present constitu-
ton of the House OF Lords was indefen-
sIble and that 1t needed 10 be reformed.
1t was about as unfit revising chamber
as It was possible 10 find. 1t had CON-
mitted homicide by Staying the budget
and now purposed to commit suicide by
declaring It was unfit TO do what it had
done.
Lord Morley's speech left upon his
hearers the impression that the govern
ment will take no hand in dealing with
Lord Rosebery's proposals.