It is in itself no great thing to be a lord; in fact, there used to be
a saying, "As drunk as a lord." But it is a great thing to sit in the
House of Lords. That House is an institution which I believe every
country wishing for constitutional government has, for the last
hundred years, striven to imitate, but without success, and in my
opinion they are never likely to succeed, because the House of Lords
is an institution which, being the growth of centuries, can not be
imitated in a day. It is recruited from various classes of society,
and it is simply impossible to create a body similar to it all in a
moment.
In the old days, some three hundred years ago, King James, being in
need of money, thought it would be a very good thing to create an
extra rank, namely, that of baronet, and he sold baronetcies at L1,000
a piece, which brought him in a goodly sum of money. Anyone applying
for a baronetcy was required to show a certain amount of pedigree,
proving that he had had a grandfather or something of that sort. Now,
if his Sovereign calls him, there is nothing to prevent any one,
having talent and worth, from entering the House of Lords, even if he
never had a grandfather. Great divines, great soldiers, great
statesmen, great lawyers, and great engineers, representatives of all
the rank and wealth of the country, are to be found in that august
body; and I think it is a long time since any expression on the part
of the House of Lords has been adverse to the general opinion of the
country.
_Licensed Victuallers' Dinner,
January 16th, 1876._