The Washington herald., 1911-08-25
FOREIGN GOSSIP.

crossed the Rubicon; that the British
premier proudly has exclaimed "Jacta
| est Alea," Just as did Caesar after Cross
ing that river; now that the hereditary
legislative power OF the British House
| Of Lords-its veto power-is lost; now
that the House Of Commons has the
first, last, and only word in matters Of
finances. budgets, and appropriations for
the vast British empire, its revenues,
and armaments. the question is being
discussed widely what remains to the
| House Of Lords?"
| The Lords still possess great powers
For in the sphere Of executive govern
ment they can express their opinion
with greater freedom than would be pos
sible in a body where the bonds Of party
| discipline are strictly drawn and OBJ
served. Such authority is not to be
measured by votes. Debates in the House
Of Lords on questions Of policy and
| administration will prove Of great value,
carry weight, and influence the public
opinion Of the country. and through it
the action Of the government. Besides,
the Lords have a coordinate and decid-
ing vote on all social legislation.
1t Is timely. now that the House of
l
| ing revolutionized generally, to say some
| thing about the origin Of the second
| British chamber. Unless an exception is
| to be made n favor Of Hungary, the
House of Lords is the Oldest chamber of
It's kind, as it is the most numerous and
| the most hereditary. And what is more,
| 1t has undergone less changes than any
| legislative chamber. It is the direct de-
scendant Of the great council Of the
Plantagenet kings, from before the days
that that council was REINFORCED by the
addition of elected members. The only
things that have changed in the make
up of the House of Lords are its numbers
and composition.
There are now 62o-odd members OF the
House of Lords. including royal princes.
archbishops. dukes, marquesses. earls.
viscounts, bishops. barons, and five judi
ciai life peers. To the model Parliament
of 1.295 were summoned two archbishops,
eighteen bishops, about seventy abbots,
and other heads Of religious houses seven
earls, and forty-one barons less than
140 in all At first there was room for
doubt and for the exercise OF discretion
as to who should be summoned individu-
ally as greater barons and who should
be left to be represented with other lesser
barons. But the line was gradually
drawn, and the fact that an individual
writ Of summons had been sent to a par
ticular baron gave a hereditary right
to his descendants.
Dukes first made their appearances in
the House of Lords under Edward III,
marquesses under his successor, and
viscounts in the fifteenth century. The
practice grew OF creating a peerage by
the more formal method of granting
''lettres patent" This superseded the
earlier system. under which the right to
attend as peer depended on a writ"
or summons that had been issued to
an ancestor. The number OF abbots who
were summoned rapidly dwindled. and
they disappeared altogether after the
Reformation. The number OF bishops was
increased at that time, but remained sta
tionary for centuries afterward. When
1t was again increased in the nineteenth
century a provision was made that not
all the bishops should have seats in the
House of Lords. Only twenty-four
bishops now sit there, besides the arch
bishops; a Junior bishop has to wait. un-
less he holds the see Of Durham, Win
chester, or London.
The union with Scotland, in 1707, and
the union with Ireland. in 1901. gave rise
to another classification Of peerages-
There are peerages of England created
before l707. peerages of Great Britain
created between 1907 and 1901. and peer
ages OF the United Kingdom created
since 1901. All these confer on their
holders a hereditary right to sit in the
House of Lords.
But, besides these, there are peerages
of Scotland and peerages of Ireland.
and the holders of these peerages have
no right to sit in the House Of Lords.
unless they either hold, also, as many
Of them do peerages OF the other class,
or have been elected as representative
peers by their brother peers Of Scotland
or ireland. There are sixteen repre-
sentative peers of Scotland and twenty
eight representative peers of Ireland.
The Irish peers enjoy some advantages
over their Scottish brethren. In the
first place, II they are elected represent
ative peers, they are elected for life,
and not for a single Parliament, like
the Scottish peers. Then, II they are
mt elected. they are eligible for seats
in the House Of Commons. though not
for Irish seats. Lord Palmerston was
an Irish peer. but sat in the House of
Commons, Lord Curzon was created
an Irish peer when he went as viceroy
to India, and would be eligible to seat
in the House of Commons If he had not
been elected as representative Irish
peer. He is a member of the House Of
Lords at last. as pointed out only yes
Iernay, having Deen mace one Oh th6
coronation peers.
The power to create peers of Ireland is
still In force and partially exercised, but
not so in Scotland. where that power
has ceased. Altogether there are now
about twenty Scottish peers who are
without the right to sit in the House Of
Lords.
My readers will recollect that I insisted
several weeks ago in the face of all sorts
of denials, emphatic OF covert that
Lord Camoys was engaged to marry Mil
dred Sherman, of Providence, r. l.. and
recent official announcements have borne
me out. Lord Camoys is very poor and
badly in need Of the American dollars
Of his reputed fancee. Even while the
fate of the House Of Lords, in which he
is a hereditary member. was in the bal |
ance recently. Lord Camoys did not
leave plain and mediocre Dieppe, known |
as an exceptionally secure biding place |
for impoverished British nobility. where |
he was trying hard to add to his small
income of f1,0oo a year at the gaming |
tables of the Casino In this game Lord |
Camoys was not quite so lucky as In |
the more skillful game Of hearts. His |
small fund of ready money was soon |
exhausted, and he has returned to Lon |
don. However tradesmen and money |
hroI nj ;aIl To