Lord Curzon spoke at the annual dinner of the United
Club on Friday week on the Parliament Bill and the Unionist Scheme for the Reform of the House of Lords. Throughout the struggle-that was in prospect he hoped the Unionist Party would adhere unflinchingly to the principle that their ancient Constitution should not be torn asunder to suit the exigencies of one party alone, and that if modification were admitted it should be arrived at by common consent and not be such as would lead to party reprisals. He dismissed the talk of party disunion as unfounded, and declared that so long as Mr. Balfour was willing to lead they knew no other leader. As for the statement in the Times that the Unionist leaders had decided to drop their scheme for reforming the Lords, it was news to him, and he repudiated the conclusions drawn from this statement by the Westminster Gazette—that the Peers were incapable of solving the problem and preferred to leave it to the Government—as destitute of a shred of foundation. Lord Curzon proceeded to outline a scheme under which the House of Lords would be reduced to 300 members : 100 to be elected by the Peers themselves, 50 to be chosen for distinguished services and 50 appointed by the Prime Minister of the day (" so many a year "), and 100 chosen by county and borough councils.
Previous page
