The Irish standard., 1911-03-04
English Nation Restless on Eve o
Coronation Over Constitu-
tional Crisis
Unionists Agree With Asquith That
the House of Lords Needs to
be Reformed.
Balfour Still Contends That Reten-
ton of Hereditary Principle
is Necessary.

John Bull has little cause TO. salts.
faction when he considers the condi-
ton Of his affairs as it has been re-
house is being put in order, but he is
badly in want of Il strong man to
supervise the task. A whole group of
constitutional changes, more or less
closely connected, are unde:' consider
alton, which to be dealt with effectual-
ly should be dealt with as a whole,
says London dispatch.
That some Of these changes are ne-
cessary practically all parties agree,
as for example, that the House Of
Lords must be reformed. Violence
and bitterness to great extent have
gone out of the Home Rule question
Some reform of the House of Conf
mons is as clearly necessary, if less
urgent than the reform of the House
of Lords. These three questions with
others are all closely connected, but
seem to be doomed to remain in the
region Of fragmentary government bills
and party lnaneuvers. ..
The debate on the first reading of
the veto bill held out small hope Of
combined action to bring about genu-
ines and efficient reform of the House
OF Lords. The Government proposes
to deprive the Lords OF the veto pow
e. forthwith, but postpones the reform
which the bills preamble asserts is
necessary, to an indefinite future. The
Unionists, both in the House Of Lords
and the House of Commons, agree With
Premier Asquith that the House of
Lords needs to be reformed, but ap-
parently they are unable to agree on
the method. The rank and file of the
party and the party's newspapers are
divided on the question.
Split on Heredity.
The nature of Lord Lansdowne's
Forthcoming reform bill has not vet
been divulged, but it is generally as
sumed that it will be much on the
lines of Lord Curzon's suggestion Col
or is lent to this by Mr.. Balfour's
strong declaration for the necessity for
the retention to some extent of the
hereditary principle. 1t is obvious
that the retention Of that principle will
make anything like a general agree
ment impossible.
Lord Curzon's system, moreover.
would only give another strongly Con-
servative house. OF the 100 members
to be elected by the peers, the so sit
ting as having held great offices and
the 100 elected by local bodies, such
as County Councils and great towns
forming two-thirds of the proposed
House, great majority would almost
certainly be strongly Conservative.
At present the outlook 70: the avoid
ance of a crisis until the coronation
is over is not very hopeful. The Spec
tator suggests as the only possible
compromise an agreement that the
veto bill shall pass as it stands through
the House Of Lords, Mr.. Asquith con-
senting to submit Home Rule to
referendum before introducing it in the
form of d bill. A combination Of the
opposition and the Government on this
point would render the latter indepen-
dent of the Nationalists, but such an
agreement does not seem likely.
Coronation Horse Show.
The Olympia Horse Show manage
1nent is making every effort to break
all records during coronation week
Prizes of the value of about $4,000
will be offered and $250,oo0 will be
spent on a scheme of decoration which
will picture an old fashioned English
village. At one end of the arena there
Will be the old-time Lowtfer Arms
with a yard for post coaches, drink
ing troughs. Il pump and the stabing,
On the village green in front there
will be sundial. and stretching away
there will be rows of tinbered cot
tages, red tiled and with diamond
paned windows The cottages will
be used as private boxes.
The chief event will be the jumping
for the Edward VII. cup. Officers of
all armies will compete for this prize
in one heat, which will take place the