The Lords did a foolish thing on Tuesday. They threw
out a Bill, introduced by the Duke of St. Albans, to abolish the qualification now required of County Magistrates,—namely, possession of a freehold worth £100 a year, or a reversion to £300 a year in land. The restriction was probably once in- tended to prevent the appointment of unfit persons or non- residents ; but at present it operates only to prevent the Lords-Lieutenant from using their free judgments. A retired Indian Judge, or a barrister of large experience, or a returned Colonial Magistrate, cannot be appointed unless he goes through the farce or fraud of buying a piece of land to sell again. The Government resisted the Bill, on the ground that it left no guarantee for the independence of the Magistracy, but really, we fancy, because the Peers still cling as country gentlemen to the few remnants of the old privileges of the caste. They had much better give them up before Radicals propose to sweep away all unpaid Magistrates in favour either of elective officers or of Stipendiaries. If they are afraid of ignorant agitators being appointed, let them propose a Bill compelling all future candidates to pass a strict examination in law and letters. The Liberals cannot resist that, and education nowadays implies money.
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