Coal-owning Peers The House of Lords completed its work on
the Govern- ment's Coal Bill on Tuesday and the measure returns to the House of Commons, considerably amended in favour of the royalty-owners, with minatory observations from various coal-owning peers as to what the consequences will be if the elected representatives of the people presume to thwart the fiat of some four and a half dozen heieditary legislators, many or most of them financially affected by the Bill—for the amendments carried against the Government never had more than 55 votes behind them. Thus Lord Hastings, who as the 21st Baron owes his membership of the House of Lords to the all-sufficient fact that he was begotten without his knowledge or volition by the loth Baron, observed candidly that what little the mineral-owners had been able to achieve had been through their own efforts, "and if there was any attempt in the Commons to alter that little he could assure the Government that there would be the very strongest resistance in the House of Lords," while Lord Cromwell, whose barony was called out of abeyance fifteen years ago, said that " if any of the amendments which their lordships had seen fit to insert in the Bill were deleted in the Commons action should be resisted to the uttermost." So they have been warned. If the Government is incapable of whipping up sixty votes in a Chamber of nearly Boo members the vested interests almost deserve to keep " what little " they have snatched from the jaws of the confiscatory Commons.
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