THE " LORDS "

Evening Post, Volume LXXIV, Issue 49, 26 August 1907, Page 7

THE " LORDS "

SERIOUS LEGISLATORS. SOME CHARACTERISTICS. . ; Probably many will remember the'agl* lation that once arose for' the total abolition of the Legislative Council. When anything happened in the country, from a drought to an outbreak of burglary, one renwdy was loudJy proclaimed-— destroy the House of Lords. If the poor Lords did one thing, they were the 'Vservil©. henchmen" of a "boss," and if they did not do it they wei-e- "dumb dogs" -or stumbling-blocks "to progress. Late-ty, •vrhen they have bt>;n Very noticeably sane, while the Cnanmons have been play-* ing leap-frog and kick-the-tin, tWc las not been so much nonsenss talked about the revising body, but there are still members of the Lower House — sometimes the dullest alid sometimes the lightest-Leaded— who raise the old cry— "End or mend" the Council. It is like the vaudeville stage calling upon grand opera to Ikivc a ''bit of common.'" HERE AND TB3ERE Going fiom tlie iLower -House to.fche Legislative Council is like , passing from * Uurly-buily football u»tch to 'a gam» bf Cricket, where the umpire is Tespected and each player believes . tibat bis oppor neat is a gentkman. A visitor may «nier, prepared to scoff, but a glsmce aV'tflto room hushes him. The-ascheme of deegration combines brightness witb intWEft respectability. The w.alii 1 ti£ ."draped, with red, but it is not. a violent ;cajontj. The carpets are redy bufc^ihey do not ecream. Th-3»i tfcei'e are white pillaro flecked with gold, nnd seats comfortably, but not ridiculously. -I" A tresiJaeser that aTreata tie eye among thefurniture is «. modern heater* thkt lear* convolutions of iron into the oldvwvrta air, , but its p^rkinefis is tempered with pale, green and gold , paint, ,. ' ,'"'., It is a conihttm superstition tlial.jdi* ' Upper House ie a plfcoe- where 1 pensiottert sleep plticidly, and' say iilyfe" or w ifo'' occasionally when they happen to XKfka. Whatever may have been tno habit of th? members of other days, na charge Oi somnolence can flow bo laid agaiiwt the Lords. Some of them are elderly,' but thiy are. far from dead. Indeed., anyone glancing ftom the gallery at the benches ednnot help noticing that the membeie listen to what is said.' Uhev a?o polite, and not conventionally polite, but intelligently respectful. It 'is not a case of on© maa talking at Hansard, and the dittos talking at one another or rnaUln? papers. In the Lower House a di&cnssion is often a scries of drediy monologues; itt the Upper House it is a debate by a c6hesive assembly. This a§Teea;He etanettt of politeness gives the Chamber an ait of Eolemnity in contrast with "the", oCher place," and the Council rot 'only looks serious, but is actually serious/ It realises that if exists to do business'/- and does it. v Joking is not encouraged. la the debate on the Adclress-in-l<eply"a new membo r narrated a seiies df" funny which were in-good t«t*,' nad tVe«Uy,cttjoyable, but the Spesfcer wr£ shocked. He did not smile. His tnce bceajne' mo» and mor? gravdy complicabel as ' th# fun became freer. He frofrucd, he cojocrc(l up, and might have ea&Jd the pressure with strong language if the forma of the House had permitted it. PERfcOJjiAUTIES. Such a staid assembly naturally- wins to boards. The Hon. C. ■ M.". L*V», ' with 1 a M luxunant growthr is pre*e«ihi£ni;, and his ■* lieutenant is an old West Oasteiv the Hon. James Holmes; the "silent member" of the Ccincil. There are a few {noustachcu, which look slightlr flippant in' this conglomeration of digrfky, arid there are half a dozen' "clean shavers." Four of these smooth fftGe3 aic in a gr6up, two and two, and they belong to Labour representatives. One of them is tile* Hon. J. T. Paul, of Dunedin, the boy of th» brigado. At first sight he appears lOjb a youth of twenty, and the observer fancies for a moment that a stranger has made his way into the ««cred inner urea, but the voice betrays Esm. The nonourable gentleman looks juvenile, but - his thought and speech are virile enough. The Hon. H. Scotland," v.lio is something over eighty, uot out, an.d Still scoring vigorously, is the veteran of the gathering. He does not sptv.k unless he has sdnicth:ng to oay ; aad (ban his utjtcr; ante 15 always caustic' Mo dearly loves a chance to thrusi a lance at scmetSing. The Speaker, the Hon. L\ C. Boweij, aji old-time io!oni?l, whose nsmo is- well established, js also one of the most 'advanced in years. * The Hon. Wi Pere, in a corccrNut the lower end of the loom, caa'net mis 3 th« eye. , Hi h a Traorabie M:ioii, with <« beaz;d turning white, and sextos so peaceful in T?poso that ouc woulcl rercr associate him with the eor.lessicu published last week. Ho lold liic colleagues that under gTcat provocation ho had soothed liis soul by cursing the pikchn, and felt better for it. Sir M;vvrico O'Rorke !s ret r- incessant sitier no;r, but when hs do.-,, lake, his ■place be sometimes gives ooae of th© orntory for whieli his rar 0 13 famous. *Hjs voice, mellow like a boll, riacs out'goldon* periods. Ho has two uir.in m.a iocs in life —oao to pet a Dhiciiy Uill mude h», and the other to secure a reversion to the .old provincial system, and in this- respect he roseaiblee- Sij William gto-vard, with, his maniagc problems aad c!c lire Legislative Council. The new flieaibcrs luve made v fyir impics3ion on t\sc> yLole, and the access of lci.il .taljpt Jr.; z,,, proved valuable. Vro;n his jjU'.'O at the left of the Speaker, the AMori;c?-tienoral (the Hon. Dr. Findlay) hf.t. delivered" souta siwrkling cp£o.-lics. WOIIKIXG., When a Bill has pssurl nil its 6t«gcs in the Lover House, it is introduced by message inio the Council, »nd then its previous hibtory 13 iei)eate<J.' ..Tls« a<)piovul of this Chamber' jjiuei' be s;Cupon a mcasme (except fmanci ] mstters) before it can become l?.v. I};* Assembly may also initiate legislation. whi?h passes down to tho Lower Hou?c 1,.r approbation or condemnation, but 'usually tho Council is content with the rsvision of the otiiei House's Acts. acd fiads plenty of scope for useful work, for which it often gets only abuse ftom the Ijuuglen. Divisions are not co noisy or cfmSeisonaa as they are in tho Houee cf Representatives. A bell rings, and aiUi the allotted notice — a couple of minutes— has elapsed, the doors arc quietly locked, and tho names are called. Each member gives his "Aye" or "No" from his cwn saat. I here aro no jstoneTOlls, no bombardments of questions, no eternal discussions about triffcs that do not matter to anybody. The Council does its business «ud goss home. It usually rises at about 4.30 oaoh afternoon, and sensibly takes a holiday when it has cleared its tables, and co encourages the Lower House to work a little faster. '

Any foooper who nas visions of himself posing as a Napoelon on a white charger is not encouraged in his dreams by the United Statca War Office. When the Government decided recently lo make an experimental purchase of tiireo hundred remounts in New South Wales for employment irt tho Philippines;' it was stipulated that no white or irrey steeds would be accepted. . The animals must be of 'uniform hardy c"b}our," f our to seven years" old j GSOlb "to HOQlb in weight according to height, l<U.to ■« hands* '- :