arity with the multitude will not make up to him for the want
of support in Parliament should an error of judgment undo him. The pages of
political history are strewn with the stories of high careers wrecked in a
feverish haste for fame, that overlooked dangers close at hand; of eminent
politicians broken in the full course of active life by the mere
forgetfulness of the existence of other persons. A simple miscalculation of
forces, and from lofty station a minister tumbles into the void.

The stability of the working-class leaders makes their future a matter of
fairly safe conjecture. Mr. Lloyd George, romantic in temperament, covetous
of honour, confident of popularity, but heedless of good-will alienated and
of positive ill-will created, has reached the Chancellorship of the
Exchequer. Will he climb still higher in office, or will he pass to the
limbo peopled by those who were and are not? Time alone can tell. But in
this year of grace 1911 Mr. Lloyd George, incarnation of the hard-working
middle class, is a very distinct personality in the government of the
country, and his presence in the Cabinet a fact in the history of
democracy.

THE PRESENT POSITION OF THE HOUSE OF LORDS

More than once since 1831 the House of Lords has come into conflict with
the House of Commons when a Liberal Government has been in power. A
compromise was effected between the two Houses over the Disestablishment of
the Irish Church in 1869, the Lords, on the whole, giving way. When the
Lords proposed to "amend" the Army Reform Bill (for abolishing the purchase
of commissions) in 1871, Gladstone overpowered their opposition by advising
the Crown to cancel the Royal Warrant which made purchase legal, and to
issue a new warrant ending the sale of commissions. This device completely
worsted the House of Lords, for a refusal to pass the Bill under the
circumstances merely deprived the holders of commissions of the
compensation awarded in the Bill. The Army Reform Bill became law, but
strong objection was taken by many Liberals to the sudden exercise of the
Royal Prerogative. In 1884 the Lords refused to pass the Bill for the
enfranchisement of the rural labourer unless a Bill was brought in at the
same time for a redistribution of seats. After some discussion Gladstone
yielded, the Redistribution Bill was drawn up, and passed the Commons
simultaneously with the Franchise Bill in the Lords.

Several Bills have been rejected or "amended" by the L