Lord Battersea (Mr. Cyril Flower) is a little hurt at
the. sarcasms which have been lavished upon him because he, a Radical of Radicals, accepted, and, it is presumed, sought, a peerage. He took the opportunity, therefore, of a congratu- latory entertainment given him at Luton, on Wednesday, to ex- press his views. He thought he could remain as good a Radical when a Peer as when a Member, and with an odd defect of humour, quoted the lines, "There is no office in this needful world but dignifies the doer if done well," which would be more appropriate if he had accepted an Inspectorship of Sewage. He denied that he had ever advocated the abolition of the House of Lords. He had urged reforms which would make it a House " broad based upon the people's will." We should have thought, as students of Constitutions, that the one recommendation of the House of Lords was that it was independent of the people's will, and able, therefore, to compel the people to reflect if their will was a fixed resolve, or only a momentary impulse ; but perhaps Lord Battersea has a plan in his head for appointing Peers by popular election. One wonders whom the people would choose,—the millionaires or the winners of the Derby, or the amusing speakers. Mr. Pearson, of Pearson's Weekly, who has recently given them a new excite- ment and a new hope, would a week or two ago have probably had the best chance.
Previous page
