THE PRIME MINISTER'S CRUSADE. pro THE EDITOR OF THE "SPECTATOR."]
SIR,—In your article on "The Prime Minister's Crusade" in the issue of October 12th you note that the probable course of events will be a Dissolution and an appeal to the country on the sole issue,—" the limitation of the Lords' veto to a single Parliament." Suppose the appeal to be successful, and that the Government again obtains a large majority. Would that be a sufficient motive-force to drive the House of Lords to vote for their own emasculation ? Before such a radical change is made in the British Constitution surely they and the Con- stitutional party in the country will demand Parliamentary reform of another kind,—a redistribution of seats in the House of Commons, and a reduction of the Members for Ireland to their due proportion. And is it pertinent to ask whether in a grave crisis the King's Constitutional right of veto is dead or only dormant F—I am, Sir, &c.,
A. T. ARUNDEL.
[We have never doubted that the Constitutional reform which is most urgently needed is the reduction of the over- representation of Ireland, and the abatement of the electoral injustice caused by the under-representation of England. Till that reform is carried out it is impossible for the House of Commons to claim that it truly represents the British reople.—En. Spectator.]
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