SALE OF HONOURS

IF the parliamentary agitation in England in connection with the conferment of honours, principally arising out of the birthday peerage awarded to the South African, Sir Joseph Robinson, will be the means of ending or at any rate mending what is undoubtedly an evil of growing magnitude, it will have served a very useful public purpose. The special feature of the present case that has given it a great political importance is the fact that in conferring the honour even the usual constitutional practice governing such cases was departed from. Neither the South African Premier nor the Colonial Secretary was consulted. General Smuts, replying to attacks on the peerage in the South African Parliament, stated that he had never been consulted and had never recommended the peerage. As regards the Colonial Secretary, the Lord Chancellor himself admitted that he had not been consulted on the subject as he should have been in order to enable him to exercise his constitutional duty and make himself the mouthpiece of the Dominions and acquaint the Prime Minister of the opinion and desire of the Dominions and generally advise him. “It was realised and admitted,” said his lordship, “that no British citizen resident in and primarily belonging to the Dominions ought ever to be recommended for honour in England except with the approval of his Government. So strongly do the Dominions feel in this matter that the latest addition to that list, Ireland, has, in her draft constitution, laid down that no honour shall be conferred on any of her citizens without the consent of her own executive Government. But grave as the omission was in this respect, the general subject is of much greater importance than this or any other special feature. It is not enough merely to follow the usual constitutional practice.