THE "TIMES," THE LORDS, AND THE BUDGET.
LTO THE EDITOR Or TES "Sexeraoroo."]
Sin,—The "Bank Director" who writes in your issue of the 10th inst. has evidently very little idea of political matters. If the House of Lords alter in any way the Finance Bill, and return the Bill so altered to the House of Commons, the Speaker will most certainly report to the House of Commons that a breach of privilege has been committed by the House of Lords. The House of Commons will then return the Bill in its original shape as passed to the House of Lords. Then if the House of Lords stand to their guns and positively refuse to assent to the "Bill and the whole Bill," the Govern- ment will at once resign and leave the Opposition to find money to carry on the King's business as they think best ; but they will not give them any assistance whatever. You will then have on your hands, or rather the Opposition will have, a crisis which may end in a revolution. Of course it is highly probable that the General Election which the Tories will have to carry through will give them a majority, but that will not end the greatest political turmoil which England will have seen since the time of the Stuarts. The financial crisis will
[Our correspondent threatens very wildly. Is he as certain as he pretends to be that if the Peers do not alter any tax in the Finance Bill, but merely strike out certain taxes altogether—taxes founded on separate taxing Resolutions—the Speaker will report to the House that a breach of privilege has occurred P We venture to think that such a decision is by no means certain, for we doubt whether a direct precedent for it can be found. If the Speaker looks at the matter with an open mind, as we do not doubt that he will, c:- takes unbiassed legal advice, we think it quite possible that be will feel obliged to declare that no breach of privilege is involved in the Lords refusing assent to a particular tax.—. ED. Spectator.]
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