Lord Redesdale on Saturday delivered to the reporters and a
very few Peers a review of the Session. The Lords had sent down to the Commons 37 Bills, of which four had been dropped,—the Betting Bill, Burial Grounds' Bill, Friendly Societies' Commis- sion, and Prison Ministers' Bill. On the other hand, 67 Bills had been sent up from the Commons, of which the Lords rejected only two,—the Wife's Sister's Marriage Bill and the Ballot Bill, which last Lord Redesdale called the Bill " enabling people to lie without being found out." He maintained that the House of Lords only did its duty when it compelled the country to mature its opinion, and that if it were obliged always to respect the deci- sion of the House of Commons, its independence and utility would be gone. He complained of perpetual advice from the Ministry to be very "cautious," advice which implied a threat, and declared that the Commons showed unusual regard to the Minister of the day and unusual disregard for their constituents, a taunt which provoked Lord Hatherley to retort that the constituency was the creation of Mr. Disraeli, and that the Commons most closely represented the opinion of the constituency.
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