Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1910-12-08

The most serious constitutional contro-
versy that has arisen in Great Britain
since the days Of the revolution under
Oliver Cromwell il being decided by the
British electors in the general elections
now being held. Whether the final result
Is liberal or q conservative triumph
the constitution Of Great Britain never
again will be the same.
The fate Of the house Of lords hangs in
the balance No political party in Great
Britain publicly champions the continued
existence Of the house of lords In It's
present form. The ministertalist party,
composed of a coalition Of liberals, Irish
nationalists, laborites and socialists, Is
fighting as a unit under the radical en-
sign to end the existence Of the house of
lords as coordinate branch of the Brit
ish legislature. The opposition party.
technically an alliance Of conservatives
and liberal unionists. and having the sup
port of a few disaffected liberals and
malcontent Irishmen, is fighting as a
unit under the tory banner to mend the
house of lords.
But whether 1t be ended by the radicals,
or mended by the tories, 1t is certain
that the house of lords as a legislative
body, basing Its powers solely on the
hereditary principle - the accident OF
birth-cannot longer endure. 1t is the only
purely hereditary legislative assemblage
now existing in any tirst-class nation. 1t
is an anachronism, and the time has
come when it must fall before the ad-
vance Of democracy.
X y
Everybody in England, at least as far
as public utterances are concerned, is in
favor of democratizing
All Agreed the house of lords.
Everybody is agreed
III 1IlHclple. that the hereditary
principle no longer shall be the controll-
ing factor in making up the personnel of
the second and upper chamber Of the
national and imperial legislature. If one
could take the stump speeches of all
the candidates together and cut out the
details he would find that everybody was
committed to the same principles with
respect to the chief issue-those principles
being an acknowledgment Of the necessity
of second chamber, a reputation of
the hereditary principle IN the constitu-
ton of that chamber and the necessity
Of bringing the members Of the upper
house into more direct contact with the
people.
The proverbial man from Mars might
find it difficult to determine why, when
everybody is agreed in principle, there
should be such tremendous battle about
the details of the legislation intended to
make those principles effective. AS a
matter of fact, the details are all import
ant and the principles. simply as princi-
pies, amount to nothing.
The house Of lords now Is composed OF
something more than 600 hereditary peers,
Of whom all but about three> score are
tories-tories in politics. tories in religion
and tories in society. When the electors
Of Great Britain, are. pleased to elect
a parliament having "a conservative ma
jorfty the tory ministry formed under
and responsible to. that parliament has
no difficulty whatever in making up
legislative program, secure In the certain
knowledge that the government proposals.
as passed by the house Of commons, will
be approved by the house Of lords.
On the other hand, when the liberal
party has carried the country. when there
is liberal majority in the house OF COM
mons and liberal ministry is advising
the crown, then the government never.
is sure that any one Of It's measures has
even: remote chance OF being enacted
into law. In the past fifty years the
house OF lords has rejected or mutilated
not less than fifty important government
measures which had been duly passed by
the commons. In the same period of time
the lords have never rejected, nor have
they amended in important details. any
measure sent up by tory majority In the
lower chamber.