Parliament's Week

COMMONWEALTH

(British Commonwealth of Nations)

The Lords--

P:Gathered excitedly in unusual numbers and commenced august debate when the Conservative Government of Premier Stanley Baldwin suddenly put forward its long mooted and highly reactionary proposal to "reform" the House of Lords.

The Lord Chancellor, Rt. Hon. George, Viscount Cave, broached the Government's program in carefully generalized terms. He called for three major "reforms":

I. The number of members in the House of Lords to be reduced from the present 740 peers to 350.*

II. The House of Commons to have no power to pass any act altering the Constitution or the powers of the House of Lords.

III. The House of Lords to resume a portion of its onetime competence over "money bills."/-

Alan Ian Percy, Eighth Duke of Northumberland, Earl Percy, stoutly voiced the attitude of the landed peerage, saying: "The House of Lords is the last line of defense against the forces of anarchy and chaos. ... It would be folly to leave the Constitution of the House of Lords indefensible as it now is."

Richard Burden Haldane, First Viscount Haldane ("Labor Peer"), took exactly the opposite stand, saying ominously: "If you try to strengthen the House of Lords, we part from you. We will fight you as long as we are here."

Charles Richard John Spencer-Churchill, Ninth Duke of Marlborough, Prince of the Holy Roman Empire, Prince of Mindelheim in Suabia, 55, twice a baron, twice an earl, divorced husband of onetime Consuelo Vanderbilt, owner of estates totaling 19,685 acres, exhibited last week toward the proposed reforms an attitude of flippancy.

"Any scheme to reform the House," said he, "must fail to arouse public interest, while so many of its members pass the time on their estates upholding the traditions of British sportsmanship."

Reprovingly replied Earl Selborne, a director of Lloyd's Bank: "By far the most potent reason why many of the noble Lords do not attend the House is they can no longer afford to come to London very often. They gave all they had to the country during the War and they are now suffering the burden of taxation."

Debate on the "reform" proposals was very largely attended last week, became the leading political topic, roused Labor orators throughout Britain to violent protest. There seemed little chance, however, that the projected Reform Act can be drawn up, much less presented to Parliament, before next year.

The Commons--

P:Passed by a majority of 215 the Conservative Government's highly reactionary Trade Unions Bill (TIME, May 30), drafted to prevent the recurrence of the British General Strike (TIME, May 10 to Nov. 29, 1926, et seq.).

Attorney General Sir Douglas McGarel Hogg, sponsor of the Trade Unions Bill, was called during the final debate, "You blackguard! You liar!" by Laborite James Maxton, whom the Speaker forthwith suspended.

During debate the Laborite Opposition became at one point so obstreperous that Winston S. Churchill, who had the floor, cried:

"I don't wish to cast my pearls before [significant pause]--those who don't want them."

At Brixton, David Lloyd George made a speech last week, attacking the projected "reform." Said he:

"The House of Lords' proposals, are a greater attack on the liberties of the commoners of England than has been made since the days of Charles the First. They mean the dethronement of the people and the establishment of hereditary peerage as a power which cannot be overthrown. That is a straight road to revolution.

"In Russia, Bolsheviks of a small majority are governing by force. That is exactly what the peers would do in this country. Our danger here is that it is not from a dead Lenin but from a live Baldwin."

*These to be chosen in four categories: 1) certain hereditary lords to retain their seats; 2) the residual hereditary peers to elect representatives from their number; 3) each successive Cabinet to designate persons to represent it in the House of Lords who would be known as temporary "Lords of Parliament"; 4) a small number of temporary "Lords" to be elected by popular vote.

/-The crux of the entire measure is at this point, for it was to deprive the House of Lords of its power over "money bills" that the Parliament Act of 1911 was epochally passed. At present the Speaker of the House of Commons declares whether a bill is a "money bill," and such bills may not be rejected by the Lords. Under the scheme proposed last week, a committee of Lords and Commons would be given power to decide what bills are "money bills." This committee, if partial to the Lords, might easily place vital financial legislation once more within tho power of their Lordships' veto.