All-Party Study of Membership Of House Of Lords Advocated

Wanganui Chronicle, 29 January 1948, Page 5

All-Party Study of Membership Of House Of Lords Advocated

(N.Z.P. A.—Copyright.) Reed. 6 p.m. London, Jan. 27 The House of Lords adjourned yesterday until Monday to further enable members to study a proposal by the Leader of the Opposition (Lord Salisbury) that further opportunity be given for considering reform of the Lords. Second reading debate yesterday on the Government’s Parliament Bill, which reduces the power of the Lords to veto legislation from the House of Commons, caused speculation about the future position of hereditary peers in the Lords, when Lord Salisbury said the Opposition was ready to take part in an all-

party examination of membership ot i the Lords, says the "Daily Mail’s" I political correspondent. Lord Salis--1 bury assured the Government that - the Opposition would not be “tied . to any preconceived ideas on tills or ' that principle, whatever it might be.”, Reuter’s political correspondent t says what is being considered bep tween now and February 2 is whether an acceptable amendment ■ can be drawn up tc enable the Parliament Bill to be passed quickly, so / that all parties can get together on , the question of reform. | e There were remarkable scenes in e the House of Lords yesterday when - it met for the second reading of the f Bill. t Peers, many of them "backwoodsi men,” which is a term for those who ■ - seldom attend debates, crammed the |

Chamber. Some had to squat on the floor around the steps of the throne and others stood in lobbies and lined : the sides of the Chamber. ; Lord Addison, opening the debate, told the Lords that they had exer- • cised the functions of criticism and . revision with singular ability during the past two years, but it might hapi pen that before the end of the present session a Bill would be presented giving rise to differences of opinion. ' “We don’t accept that this entirei ly unrepresentative House shall be i the final arbiter of the people’s opinion,” he said. The Opposition leader (Lord Salisbury) moved the rejection of the Bill i which, he said, the Government had introduced to enable it to pass the Iron and Steel Nationalisation Bill in | two years’ time.