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List Of Irish Representative Peers

List of Irish representative peers

This is a list of representative peers elected from the Peerage of Ireland to sit in the House of Lords.

Notes

† Lord Ashtown's bankruptcy was reported on 28 October 1915, thereby disqualifying him from the House of Lords. He was therefore replaced before his death. Irish representative peers
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Representative peer

In the United Kingdom, representative peers were individuals elected by the members of the Peerage of Scotland and the Peerage of Ireland to represent them in the British House of Lords. Members of the Peerage of England, Peerage of Great Britain, and Peerage of the United Kingdom all had the right to sit in the House of Lords; they did not elect a limited group of representatives. Representative peers were introduced in 1707, when England and Scotland were united into the Kingdom of Great Britain. At the time, there were 168 English and 154 Scottish peers, though the English population was significantly higher than the Scottish population. The English peers feared that the House of Lords would be swamped by the Scottish element, and consequently arranged for the election of a small number of representative peers to represent Scotland. A similar arrangement was adopted when Great Britain and Ireland merged into the United Kingdom in 1801. Scotland was allowed to elect sixteen representative peers, whilst Ireland could elect twenty-eight. Those chosen by Scotland sat only for one Parliament; after each dissolution, new Scottish representative peers were elected. Irish representative peers, on the other hand, sat for life. Elections for Irish representative peers ceased when the Irish Free State left the Kingdom in 1922. Elections for Scottish representative peers ended in 1963, when all Scottish peers obtained the right to sit in the House of Lords, whether representative peers or not.

Scotland

1963 Under the Act of Union of 1707, the peers of Scotland were entitled to elect sixteen representative peers. Each representative peer served for the duration of one Parliament (a maximum of seven years), but could be re-elected during future Parliaments. Upon the summons of a new Parliament following the dissolution of a previous one, the Sovereign would issue a proclamation summoning Scottish peers to the Palace of Holyroodhouse. The elections were held in the Great Gallery, the large room that was decorated by eighty-nine of Jacob de Wet's portraits of real and legendary Scottish monarchs, from Fergus I to Charles II. The Lord Clerk Register would read aloud the Peerage Roll, and each peer would indicate his presence when called. The Roll was then re-read, with each peer responding by publicly announcing his votes. The same procedure was used whenever a vacancy arose. The block voting system was used, with each peer casting as many votes as there were seats to be filled. The system, however, permitted the party with the greatest number of peers, normally the Conservatives, to procure a disproportionate number of seats, with opposing parties sometimes being entirely unrepresented. The Lord Clerk Register was responsible for tallying the votes. The return issued by the Lord Clerk Register was sufficient evidence to admit the representative peers to Parliament; unlike other peers, Scottish representatives did not receive writs of summons. The position and rights of Scottish peers in relation to the House of Lords was unclear during most of the eighteenth century. In 1711, James Douglas, 4th Duke of Hamilton, a peer of Scotland, was created Duke of Brandon in the Peerage of Great Britain. When he sought to sit in the House of Lords, he was denied admittance, the Lords ruling that a peer of Scotland could not sit in the House of Lords unless he was a representative peer, even if he also held a British peerage dignity. They reasoned that the Act of Union 1707 had established the number of Scotsmen in the House of Lords at no more and no less than sixteen. In 1782, however, the House of Lords reversed the decision, holding that the Crown could admit anyone it pleases to the House of Lords, whether a Scottish peer or not, subject only to qualifications such as age and citizenship. Under the Peerage Act 1963, all Scottish peers procured the right to sit in the House of Lords, ending elections for representative peers. Scottish as well as British and English hereditary peers lost their automatic right to sit in the Upper House with the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999. When the House of Lords Bill underwent debate, the question arose as to whether the proposal would violate the Treaty of Union. In suggesting that the Bill did indeed violate the Articles of Union, it was submitted that, prior to Union, the Parliament of Scotland was entitled to impose conditions, and that one fundamental condition was a guarantee of representation of Scotland in both Houses of Parliament. It was implied, furthermore, that the Peerage Act of 1963 did not violate the requirement of Scottish representation, set out in the Article XXII of the Treaty of Union, by allowing all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords: as long as a minimum of sixteen seats were reserved for Scotland, the principles of the Article would be upheld. It was further argued that the only way to rescind the requirement of Article XXII would be to dissolve the Union between England and Scotland, which, of course, the House of Lords Bill did not seek to do. Counsel for the Government, however, held a different view. Firstly, it was noted that the Peerage Act 1963 explicitly repealed the portions of the Articles of Union relating to elections of representative peers, and that no parliamentary commentators had raised doubts as to the validity of those repeals. As Article XXII had been (at least purportedly) repealed, there was nothing specific in the Treaty that the bill transgressed. It was further asserted by the Government that Article XXII could be repealed because it had not been "entrenched." (Examples of "entrenched" provisions are numerous: England and Scotland were united "forever," the Court of Session was to remain "in all time coming within Scotland as it is now constituted," and the establishment of the Church of Scotland was "effectually and unalterably secured.") Article XXII, however, did not include any words of entrenchment, and, it was argued, was open to amendment. It was further pointed out by the Government that, even if the election of Scottish peers were entrenched, Parliament could amend the provision under the doctrine of Parliamentary sovereignty. Though the position of the Church of Scotland was "unalterably" secured, the Universities (Scotland) Act 1853 repealed the requirement that professors declare their faith before assuming a position. In Ireland, meanwhile, the Church of Ireland was entirely disestablished in 1869, though the Articles of Union with Ireland had clearly "entrenched" the establishment of that body. In 1922, the Union with Ireland was dissolved, though Great Britain and Ireland were united "forever." It was therefore suggested that Parliament could, if it pleased, repeal an Article of Union as well amend as any underlying principle. The Privileges Committee unanimously found that the Articles of Union would not be breached by the House of Lords Bill if it were enacted. The bill did receive Royal Assent, and from 2000, hereditary peers have not had the automatic right to sit in Parliament. Scotland, however, does not remain entirely unrepresented, as a significant number of life peers are from that part of the United Kingdom.

Ireland

2000 Under the Act of Union of 1800, Irish peers elected twenty-eight representative peers, who served for life. The Chamber of the Irish House of Lords housed the first election, with the peers or their proxies attending. The Clerk of the Crown in Ireland was responsible for electoral arrangements; each peer voted by an open and public ballot. The results of the first election were announced by the Clerk of the Crown. After the Union, new elections were held whenever vacancies occurred due to the death of any peer. The Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (the presiding officer of the House of Lords) would certify the vacancy, and the Lord Chancellor of Ireland would direct the Clerk of the Crown to issue ballots to Irish peers. The ballots were returned to the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland, who was responsible for determining the victor. Ireland was also represented in the House of Lords by four Lords Spiritual, who sat in rotation for terms lasting one session each. At any one time, an Archbishop and three Bishops represented Ireland, with the seat passing according to a fixed rotation (except that those Lords Spiritual who were also elected to serve as representative peers would be omitted). The order for Archbishops was: the Archbishop of Armagh, the Archbishop of Dublin, the Archbishop of Cashel and the Archbishop of Tuam. The order for Bishops was: the Bishop of Meath, the Bishop of Kildare, the Bishop of Derry, the Bishop of Raphoe, the Bishop of Limerick, Ardsert and Adgadoe, the Bishop of Dromore, the Bishop of Ephin, the Bishop of Down and Connor, the Bishop of Waterford and Lismore, the Bishop of Leighlin and Ferns, the Bishop of Cloyne, the Bishop of Cork and Ross, the Bishop of Killaloe and Kilfenora, the Bishop of Kilmore, the Bishop of Clougher, the Bishop of Ossory, the Bishop of Killala and Achonry and finally the Bishop of Clonsert and Kilmacduagh. The rotation was changed by the Church Temporalities Act of 1833, which merged many dioceses and degraded the archbishoprics of Tuam and Cashel to bishoprics. Following its disestablishment in 1871, the Church of Ireland ceased to send spiritual representatives. In 1922, with the formation of the Irish Free State, Irish peers ceased to elect representatives, but those already elected continued to serve for life. The last of the temporal peers, Francis Charles Adelbert Needham, 4th Earl of Kilmorey, died in 1961. Disputes then arose as to whether or not representative peers could still be elected. The Act establishing the Irish Free State was silent on the matter, though it did abolish the mechanism for such elections by abolishing the posts of Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Clerk of the Crown in Ireland. Various Irish peers petitioned the House of Lords for a restoration of their right to elect representatives. In 1962, the Joint Committee on House of Lords Reform rejected such plans. In the next year, when the Peerage Act, which among other things gave all Scottish peers the right to sit in the House of Lords, was being considered, an amendment to similarly allow Irish peers to attend was defeated, ninety to eight. Two years later, in 1965, Randall John Somerled McDonnell, 8th Earl of Antrim and other Irish peers petitioned the House of Lords, arguing that the right to elect representative peers had never been formally abolished. The House of ruled against the Irish peers. The Lord Reid, a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, based his ruling on the Act of Union, which stated that representative peers sat "on the part of Ireland." He reasoned that, since the island had been divided into the Irish Free State and Northern Ireland, there was no such political entity called "Ireland" which the representative peers could be said to represent. Lord Reid wrote, "A statutory provision is impliedly repealed if a later enactment brings to an end a state of things the continuance of which is essential for its operation." The Lord Wilberforce, another Lord of Appeal in Ordinary, disagreed that a major enactment such as the Act of Union could be repealed by implication. He argued instead on the basis that the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act 1921—which was silent on the election of representative peers—abolished the posts of Lord Chancellor of Ireland and Clerk of the Crown in Ireland. The Lord Chancellor of Ireland was responsible for calling elections of representative peers, and the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland was responsible for sending peers their ballots. Since these offices had been abolished, Lord Wilberforce argued, there was no mechanism by which Irish peers could be elected. Here too, the petitioners lost. The petitioners did not bring up the point that Northern Ireland remained a part of the United Kingdom. Lord Reid's objections would then be rebutted, as representative peers would sit on the part of Northern Ireland. Similarly, Lord Wilberforce's arguments relating to the removal of the mechanism for the election could be answered, as the Lord Chancellor of Ireland and the Clerk of the Crown in Ireland did have replacements in Northern Ireland. Burke's Peerage & Baronetage suggests that the reason for which the arguments relating to Northern Ireland "was that leading counsel for the petitioning Irish peers was convinced that the members of the Committee for Privileges were with him on what he considered was his best argument and did not want to alienate them by introducing another point." In order to prevent further appeals on the matter, Parliament passed, as a part of the annual Statute Law Repeals Bill (1971), a clause revoking the sections of the Act of Union relating to the election of Irish representative peers.

House of Commons

After the Union between England and Scotland in 1707, Scottish peers (even those who did not sit as representative peers) were barred from sitting in the House of Commons. Irish peers, however, were not subjected to the same disability after 1801. It was provided that Irish peers (but not representative peers) could serve from a constituency in Great Britain provided they gave up their privileges. Under no circumstances were they allowed to represent an Irish constituency. The Peerage Act 1963, which allowed all Scottish peers to sit in the House of Lords, also permitted all Irish peers to sit in the House of Commons from any constituency in the United Kingdom. Irish peers were not required to renounce the privilege of the Peerage before taking their seats in the Lower House. Scottish peers were allowed to sit in the House of Commons by the House of Lords Act 1999.

See also


- List of Irish representative peers
- List of Scottish representative peers

References


- [http://home.freeuk.com/don-aitken/emayvols.html Farnborough, T. E. May, 1st Baron. (1896). Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George the Third, 11th ed. London: Longmans, Green and Co.]
- [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld199899/ldselect/ldprivi/106i/106i01.htm HL 106-I. (1998–1999).]
- [http://www.burkes-peerage.net/sites/ireland/sitepages/page93.asp Lysaght, C. (1999). "The Irish Peers and the House of Lords - The Final Chapter." Burke's Peerage & Baronetage, 106th ed. London: Fitzroy Dearborn.]
- "Peerage." (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press. Category:Peerage

House of Lords

:This article is about the British House of Lords. For the historical Irish body, see Irish House of Lords. The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament also includes the Sovereign and the lower house, the House of Commons. The House of Lords has 730 members. The House of Lords is an unelected body, consisting of two archbishops and 24 bishops of the established Church of England ("Lords Spiritual") and 706 members of the Peerage ("Lords Temporal"). Lords Spiritual serve as long as they continue to occupy their ecclesiastical positions, whereas Lords Temporal serve for life. Members of the House of Lords are known as "Lords of Parliament". The House of Lords originated in the 14th century and has been in almost continuous existence since. The name 'House of Lords' was not used as a name for the Upper House until 1544. It was abolished in 1649 by the revolutionary government that came to power during the English Civil War, but was restored in 1660. The House of Lords (the "Upper House") was once more powerful than the elected House of Commons (the "Lower House"). Since the 19th century, however, the powers of the House of Lords have been steadily declining; now, the Upper House is far weaker than its elected counterpart. Under the Parliament Acts (passed in 1911 and 1949) all legislation excluding "money bills" (including the Budget) passed by the House of Commons can be delayed for twelve months, but cannot be rejected. This power is called a suspensive veto in political science. Reforms were enacted under the House of Lords Act 1999, which removed the automatic hereditary right of peers to sit in the Upper House. A small number retain seats because they hold office as Great Officers of State, and an additional 92 are elected as representative peers. Additional reforms are contemplated by the current Labour Government, but have not been passed into law. In addition to performing legislative functions, the House of Lords also holds judicial powers: it constitutes the highest court of appeal for most cases in the United Kingdom. The judicial functions of the House of Lords are not performed by the whole Chamber, but rather by a group of members with legal experience, who are known as "Law Lords". The House of Lords is not the only court of last resort in the United Kingdom; in some cases, that role is fulfilled by the Privy Council. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 will transfer the judicial functions of the Lords to a new Supreme Court of the United Kingdom when it comes into effect. The full, formal style of the House of Lords is: The Right Honourable The Lords Spiritual and Temporal of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland in Parliament Assembled. The House of Lords, like the House of Commons, meets in the Palace of Westminster.

History

Parliament developed from the council that advised the King during mediæval times. This royal council came to be composed of ecclesiastics, noblemen, and representatives of the counties (afterwards, representatives of the boroughs as well). The first Parliament is often considered to be the "Model Parliament" (held in 1295), which included archbishops, bishops, abbots, earls, barons, and representatives of the shires and boroughs. The power of Parliament grew slowly, changing as the strength of the monarchy grew or declined. For example, during much of the reign of Edward II (1307–1327), the nobility was supreme, the Crown weak, and the shire and borough representatives entirely powerless. In 1322, the authority of Parliament was for the first time recognised not simply by custom or royal charter, but by an authoritative statute, passed by Parliament itself. Further developments occurred during the reign of Edward II's successor, Edward III. Most importantly, it was during this King's reign that Parliament clearly separated into two distinct chambers: the House of Commons (consisting of the shire and borough representatives) and the House of Lords (consisting of the senior clergy and the nobility). The authority of Parliament continued to grow, and, during the early fifteenth century, both Houses exercised powers to an extent not seen before. The Lords were far more powerful than the Commons, due to the great influence of the aristocrats and prelates of the realm. The power of the nobility suffered a relapse due to the civil wars of the late fifteenth century, known as the Wars of the Roses. Much of the nobility was either decimated on the battlefield or executed for participation in the war, and many aristocratic estates were lost to the Crown. Moreover, feudalism was dying, and the feudal armies controlled by the barons became obsolete. Hence, the Crown easily re-established its absolute supremacy in the realm. The domination of the Sovereign continued to grow during the reigns of the Tudor monarchs in the 16th century. The Crown was at the height of its power during the reign of Henry VIII (1509-1547). The House of Lords remained more powerful than the House of Commons, but the Lower House did continue to grow in influence, reaching its zenith in relation to the House of Lords during the middle 17th century. Conflicts between the King and the Parliament (for the most part, the House of Commons) ultimately led to the English Civil War during the 1640s. In 1649, after the defeat and execution of King Charles I, a republic (the Commonwealth of England) was declared, but the nation was truly a dictatorship under Oliver Cromwell. The House of Lords relapsed into a largely powerless body, with Cromwell and his supporters in the Commons dominating the Government. On 19 March 1649, the House of Lords was abolished by an Act of Parliament, which declared that "The Commons of England [find] by too long experience that the House of Lords is useless and dangerous to the people of England." The House of Lords did not assemble again until the Convention Parliament met in 1660 and the monarchy was restored. It returned to its former position as the more powerful chamber of Parliament—a position it would occupy until the 19th century. The 19th century was marked by several changes to the House of Lords. The House, once a body of only about 50 members, had been greatly enlarged by the liberality of George III and his successors in creating peerages. The individual influence of a Lord of Parliament was thus diminished. Moreover, the power of the House as a whole experienced a decrease, whilst that of the House of Commons grew. Particularly notable in the development of the Lower House's superiority was the Reform Bill Crisis of 1832. The electoral system of the House of Commons was not, at the time, democratic but antediluvian: property qualifications greatly restricted the size of the electorate, and the boundaries of many of the constituencies had not been changed for centuries. Entire cities such as Manchester were not represented by a single individual in the House of Commons, but the 11 voters of Old Sarum retained their ancient right to elect two Members of Parliament. A small borough was susceptible to bribery, and was often under the control of a patron, whose nominee was guaranteed to win an election. Some aristocrats were patrons of numerous "pocket boroughs", and therefore controlled a considerable part of the membership of the House of Commons. When, in 1831, the House of Commons passed a Reform Bill to correct some of these anomalies, the House of Lords rejected the proposal. The popular cause of reform, however, was not abandoned by the ministry, despite a second rejection of the bill in the Lords in 1832. The Prime Minister, Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey, then advised the King to overwhelm the opposition to the bill in the House of Lords by creating about 80 new pro-Reform peers. William IV originally baulked at the proposal, which effectively threatened the opposition of the House of Lords, but at length relented. Before the new peers were created, however, the Lords who opposed the bill admitted defeat, and abstained from the vote, allowing the passage of the bill. The crisis damaged the political influence of the House of Lords, but did not altogether end it. Over the course of the century, however, the power of the Upper House experienced further erosion, and the Commons gradually became the stronger branch of Parliament. William IV (above), precipitated a political crisis in 1909.]] The status of the House of Lords returned to the forefront after the election of a Liberal Government in 1906. In 1908, the Government under Herbert Henry Asquith introduced a number of social welfare programmes, which, together with an expensive arms race with Germany, had forced the Government to seek more funding in the form of tax increases. In 1909, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, David Lloyd George, introduced the "People's Budget", which proposed a new tax targeting wealthy landowners. The unpopular measure, however, failed in the heavily Conservative House of Lords. Having made the powers of the House of Lords a primary campaign issue, the Liberals were re-elected in January 1910. Asquith then proposed that the powers of the House of Lords be severely curtailed. Proceedings on the bill were briefly interrupted by the death of King Edward VII, but were soon recommenced under the new monarch, George V. After a General Election in December 1910, the Asquith Government secured the passage of a bill to curtail the powers of the House of Lords. The Prime Minister proposed, and the King agreed, that the House of Lords could be flooded by the creation of 500 new Liberal peers if it failed to pass the bill. (This was the same device used earlier to force the Upper House to consent to the passage of the Reform Act 1832.) The Parliament Act 1911 soon came into effect, destroying the House of Lords' power to reject most bills. Money Bills (bills that dealt solely with matters related to revenue and public expenditures, such as the Budget) could be delayed by the House of Lords for no more than one month, and most other bills for no more than three parliamentary sessions or two calendar years. The Parliament Act 1911 was not meant to be a permanent solution; rather, more comprehensive reforms were planned. Neither party, however, pursued the matter with much enthusiasm, and the House of Lords remained primarily hereditary. In 1949, the Parliament Act was slightly modified, so that the delaying power of the House of Lords with respect to most bills was reduced from three sessions or two years to two sessions or one year. In 1958, the predominantly hereditary nature of the House of Lords was changed by the Life Peerages Act 1958, which authorised the creation of life baronies, with no numerical limits. In 1968, the Labour Government of Harold Wilson attempted to reform the House of Lords by introducing a system under which hereditary peers would be allowed to remain in the House and take part in debate, but would be unable to vote. This plan, however, was defeated in the House of Commons by a combination of traditionalist Conservatives (such as Enoch Powell) and Labour members who advocated the outright abolition of the Upper House (such as Michael Foot). When Michael Foot attained the leadership of the Labour Party, abolition of the House of Lords became a part of the party's agenda; under Neil Kinnock, however, a reformed Upper House was instead proposed. In the meantime, the creation of hereditary peerages (except for members of the Royal Family) has been arrested, with the exception of three creations during the administration of the Conservative Margaret Thatcher in the 1980s.

Reform

The Labour Party's return to power in 1997 under Tony Blair finally heralded the reform of the House of Lords. The Blair Government introduced legislation to remove all hereditary peers from the Upper House as the first step in Lords reform. As a part of a compromise, however, it agreed to permit 92 hereditary peers to remain until the reforms are complete. The hereditary peers were removed under the House of Lords Act 1999 (see below for its provisions). Since then however, reform has stalled. The Wakeham Commission proposed introducing a 20% elected element to the Lords, but this plan was widely criticised. A Joint Committee was established in 2001 to resolve the issue, but it reached no conclusion and instead gave Parliament seven options to choose from (fully appointed, 20% elected, 40% elected, 50% elected, 60% elected, 80%, and fully elected). In a confusing series of votes in February 2003 all of these options were defeated although the 80% elected option fell by just three votes. MPs favouring outright abolition voted against all the options. Another proposal was put forward by a group of MPs, proposing a 70% elected house, with most of the remainder appointed by a Commission to ensure a mix of skills, knowledge and experience. This proposal also did not reach the statute book. New peers, therefore, are only created by appointment to the house. The Labour Party now intends to introduce reform early in the next Parliament, although they are yet to state exactly what system they will be proposing. It is understood, however, that they may be inclined to support Billy Bragg's Secondary Mandate system. The Conservative Party favour an eighty per cent elected Second Chamber, while the Liberal Democrats are calling for a fully elected Senate. Elect the Lords is a cross-party campaign initiative that was set up to make the case for a predominantly elected Second Chamber in the run up to the 2005 general election. The post-election Queen's Speech saw an announcement that the government "will bring forward proposals to continue the reform of the House of Lords" in the 2005/2006 legislative session. The Times reported on July 19 2005 that Labour Party proposals would see the House of Lords 80% elected and renamed the "Second Chamber."

Lords Spiritual

Members of the House of Lords who sit by virtue of their ecclesiastical offices are known as Lords Spiritual. Formerly, the Lords Spiritual comprised a majority in the House of Lords, including the Church of England's archbishops, diocesan bishops, abbots, and priors. After 1539, however, only the archbishops and bishops continued to attend, for the Dissolution of the Monasteries suppressed the positions of abbot and prior. In 1642, during the English Civil War, the Lords Spiritual were excluded altogether, but they returned under the Clergy Act 1661. The number of Lords Spiritual was further restricted by the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847, and by later acts. Now, there can be no more than 26 Lords Spiritual, always including the five most important prelates of the Church: the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Archbishop of York, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Durham, and the Bishop of Winchester. Membership of the House of Lords also extends to the 21 longest-serving other diocesan bishops of the Church of England. The Church of Scotland is not represented by any Lords Spiritual; being a Presbyterian institution, it has no archbishops or bishops. The Church of Ireland did obtain representation in the House of Lords after the union of Ireland and Great Britain in 1801. Of the Church of Ireland's ecclesiastics, four (one archbishop and three bishops) were to sit at any one time, with the members rotating at the end of every parliamentary session (which normally lasted approximately one year). The Church of Ireland, however, was disestablished in 1871, and ceased to be represented by Lords Spiritual. The same is true for the Church in Wales which was disestablished in 1920. The current Lords Spiritual, therefore, only represent the Church of England.

Lords Temporal

Since the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Lords Temporal have been the most numerous group in the House of Lords. Unlike the Lords Spiritual, they may be publicly partisan. Publicly non-partisan Lords are called cross-benchers. Originally, the Lords Temporal included several hereditary peers (that is, those whose peerages may be inherited), who ranked variously as dukes, marquesses, earls, viscounts, barons, and lords of Parliament. Such hereditary dignities are created by the Crown, in modern times on the advice of the Prime Minister of the day. Reforms enacted in 1999 (see above) caused several hundred hereditary peers to lose their seats in the House of Lords. The House of Lords Act 1999 provides that only 92 individuals may continue to sit in the Upper House by virtue of hereditary peerages. Two hereditary peers remain in the House of Lords because they hold hereditary offices connected with Parliament: the Earl Marshal and the Lord Great Chamberlain. Of the remaining 90 hereditary peers in the House of Lords, 15 are elected by the whole House. Seventy-five hereditary peers are chosen by fellow hereditaries in the House of Lords, grouped by party. The number of peers to be chosen by a party reflects the proportion of hereditary peers that belongs to that party (see current composition below). When an elected hereditary peer dies, a by-election is held, with a variant of the Alternative Vote system being used. If the recently deceased hereditary peer was elected by the whole House, then so is his or her replacement; a hereditary peer elected by a specific party is replaced by a vote of elected hereditary peers belonging to that party (whether elected as part of that party group or by the whole house). The Lords Temporal also include the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, a group of individuals appointed to the House of Lords so that they may exercise its judicial functions. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, more commonly known as Law Lords, were first appointed under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876. They are selected by the Prime Minister, but are formally appointed by the Sovereign. A Lord of Appeal in Ordinary must retire at the age of 70, or, if his or her term is extended by the Government, at the age of 75; after reaching such an age, the Law Lord cannot hear any further legal cases. The number of Lords of Appeal in Ordinary (excluding those who are no longer able to hear cases due to age restrictions) is limited to twelve, but may be changed by statutory instrument. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary traditionally do not participate in political debates, so as to maintain judicial independence. Lords of Appeal in Ordinary hold seats the House of Lords for life, remaining members even after reaching the retirement age of 70 or 75. Former Lord Chancellors and holders of other high judicial office may also sit as Law Lords under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act, although in practice this right is infrequently exercised. After the coming into force of the Constitutional Reform Act 2005, the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary will become judges of the Supreme Court of the United Kingdom and will be barred from sitting or voting until they retire as judges. The largest group of Lords Temporal, and indeed of the whole House, are life peers. Life peers with seats in the House of Lords rank only as barons or baronesses, and are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958. Like all other peers, life peers are created by the Sovereign, who acts on the advice of the Prime Minister. By convention, however, the Prime Minister allows leaders of other parties to select some life peers so as to maintain a political balance in the House of Lords. Moreover, some non-party life peers (the number being determined by the Prime Minister) are nominated by an independent House of Lords Appointments Commission. If an hereditary peer also holds a life peerage, he or she remains a member of the House of Lords without a need for an election. In 2000, the government announced it would set up an Independent Appointments Commission, under Lord Stevenson of Coddenham, to select fifteen so-called "People's Peers" for life peerages. However, when the choices were announced in April 2001, from a list of 3,000 applicants, the choices were treated with criticism in the media, as all were distinguished in their field, and none were "ordinary people" as some had originally hoped. In many historical instances, some peers were not permitted to sit in the Upper House. When Scotland united with England to form Great Britain in 1707, it was provided that the Scottish hereditary peers would only be able to elect 16 representative peers to sit in the House of Lords; the term of a representative was to extend until the next general election. A similar provision was enacted in respect of Ireland when that kingdom merged with Great Britain in 1801; the Irish peers were allowed to elect 28 representatives, who were to retain office for life. Elections for Irish representatives ended in 1922, when most of Ireland became an independent state; elections for Scottish representatives ended with the passage of the Peerage Act 1963, under which all Scottish peers obtained seats in the Upper House.

Qualifications

Peerage Act 1963 Several different qualifications apply for membership of the House of Lords. No person may sit in the House of Lords if under the age of 21. Furthermore, only Commonwealth citizens and citizens of the Republic of Ireland may sit in the House of Lords. The nationality restrictions were previously more stringent: under the Act of Settlement 1701, and prior to the British Nationality Act 1948, only natural-born subjects were qualified. Additionally, some bankruptcy-related restrictions apply to members of the Upper House. A person may not sit in the House of Lords if he or she is the subject of a Bankruptcy Restrictions Order (applicable in England and Wales only), or if he or she is adjudged bankrupt (in Northern Ireland), or if his or her estate is sequestered (in Scotland). A final restriction bars an individual convicted of high treason from sitting in the House of Lords until completing his or her full term of imprisonment. An exception applies, however, if the individual convicted of high treason receives a full pardon. Note that an individual serving a prison sentence for an offence other than high treason is not automatically disqualified. Finally, some qualifications apply only in the case of the Lords of Appeal in Ordinary. No person may be created a Lord of Appeal in Ordinary unless he or she has either held "high judicial office" for two years, or has been a practising barrister for fifteen years. The term "high judicial office" encompasses membership of the Court of Appeal of England and Wales, of the Inner House of the Court of Session (Scotland), or of the Court of Appeal in Northern Ireland. Women were formerly ineligible to sit in the House of Lords, even if they held peerages in their own right. It was only in 1958 that women were admitted to the House of Lords; the Life Peerages Act passed in that year granted seats to all life peeresses. Hereditary peeresses, however, continued to be excluded until the passage of the Peerage Act 1963. Since the passage of the House of Lords Act 1999, hereditary peeresses remain eligible for election to the Upper House. All women in the House of Lords are amongst the Lords Temporal; the Church of England does not presently permit the consecration of female bishops, though this issue is currently under consideration, with many observers expecting female bishops in the near future.

Officers

Unlike the House of Commons, the House of Lords does not elect its own Speaker; rather, the ex officio presiding officer is the Lord Chancellor (as of 2005, The Rt Hon. The Lord Falconer of Thoroton). The Lord Chancellor is not only the Speaker of the House of Lords, but also a member of the Cabinet; his or her department, formerly the Lord Chancellor's Department, is now called the Department for Constitutional Affairs. In addition, the Lord Chancellor is the head of the judiciary of England and Wales, serving as the President of the Supreme Court of England and Wales. Thus, the Lord Chancellor is a part of all three branches of Government: the legislative, the executive, and the judicial. In June 2003, the Blair Government announced its intention to abolish the post of Lord Chancellor, due to the office's mixed executive and judicial responsibilities. However, the abolition of the office was rejected by the House of Lords, and the Constitutional Reform Act 2005 preserves the office of Lord Chancellor, though ammended. The Act no longer guarantees that the office holder of Lord Chancellor is the presiding officer of the House of Lords and allows for the House of Lords to elect a Speaker of their own. For the time being however, the Lord Chancellor will continue to act as the presiding officer, until at least the new rules of speakership are created. Speaker The Lord Chancellor may be replaced as presiding officer by one of his or her deputies. The Chairman of Committees, the Principal Deputy Chairman of Committees, and several Deputy Chairmen of Committees are all deputies to the Lord Chancellor, and are all appointed by the House of Lords itself. By custom, the Crown appoints each Chairman, Principal Deputy Chairman, or Deputy Chairman to the additional office of Deputy Speaker of the House of Lords. There is no legal requirement that the Lord Chancellor or a Deputy Speaker be a member of the House of Lords, though the same has long been customary. Whilst presiding over the House of Lords, the Lord Chancellor wears ceremonial black and gold robes. The Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker sits on the Woolsack, a large red seat stuffed with wool, at the front of the Lords Chamber. When the House of Lords resolves itself into committee (see below), the Chairman or a Deputy Chairman presides, not from the Woolsack, but from a chair at the Table of the House. The presiding officer has little power compared to the Speaker of the House of Commons. He or she only acts as the mouthpiece of the House, performing duties such as announcing the results of votes. The Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker cannot determine which members may speak, or discipline members for violating the rules of the House; these measures may be taken only by the House itself. Unlike the politically neutral Speaker of the House of Commons, the Lord Chancellor and Deputy Speakers remain members of their respective parties, and may participate in debate. Another officer of the body is the Leader of the House of Lords, a peer selected by the Prime Minister. The Leader of the House is responsible for steering Government bills through the House of Lords, and is a member of the Cabinet. The Leader also advises the House on proper procedure when necessary, but such advice is merely informal, rather than official and binding. A Deputy Leader is also appointed by the Prime Minister, and takes the place of an absent or unavailable Leader. The Clerk of the Parliaments is the chief clerk and officer of the House of Lords (but is not a member of the House itself). The Clerk, who is appointed by the Crown, advises the presiding officer on the rules of the House, signs orders and official communications, endorses bills, and is the keeper of the official records of both Houses of Parliament. Moreover, the Clerk of the Parliaments is responsible for arranging by-elections of hereditary peers when necessary. The deputies of the Clerk of the Parliaments (the Clerk Assistant and the Reading Clerk) are appointed by the Lord Chancellor, subject to the House's approval. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod is also an officer of the House; he takes his title from the symbol of his office, a black rod. Black Rod (as the Gentleman Usher is normally known) is responsible for ceremonial arrangements, is in charge of the House's doorkeepers, and may (upon the order of the House) take action to end disorder or disturbance in the Chamber. Black Rod also holds the office of Serjeant-at-Arms of the House of Lords, and in this capacity attends upon the Lord Chancellor. The Gentleman Usher of the Black Rod's duties may be delegated to the Yeoman Usher of the Black Rod or to the Assistant Sergeant-at-Arms.

Procedure

Serjeant-at-Arms The House of Lords and the House of Commons assemble in the Palace of Westminster. The Lords Chamber is lavishly decorated, in contrast with the more modestly furnished Commons Chamber. Benches in the Lords Chamber are coloured red; thus, the House of Lords is sometimes referred to as the "Red Chamber". The Woolsack is at the front of the Chamber; supporters of the Government sit on benches on the right of the Woolsack, whilst members of the Opposition sit on the left. Neutral members, known as Cross-benchers, sit on the benches immediately opposite the Woolsack. The Lords Chamber is the site of many formal ceremonies, the most famous of which is the State Opening of Parliament, held at the beginning of each new parliamentary session. During the State Opening, the Sovereign, seated on the Throne in the Lords Chamber and in the presence of both Houses of Parliament, delivers a speech outlining the Government's agenda for the upcoming parliamentary session. In the House of Lords, members need not seek the recognition of the presiding officer before speaking, as is done in the House of Commons. If two or more Lords simultaneously rise to speak, the House decides which one is to be heard by acclamation, or, if necessary, by voting on a motion. Often, however, the Leader of the House will suggest an order, which is thereafter generally followed. Speeches in the House of Lords are addressed to the House as a whole ("My Lords") rather than to the presiding officer alone (as is the custom in the Lower House). Members may not refer to each other in the second person (as "you"), but rather use third person forms such as "the noble Duke", "the noble Earl", "the noble Lord", "my noble friend", etc. Each member may make no more than one speech on a motion, except that the mover of the motion may make one speech at the beginning of the debate and another at the end. Speeches are not subject to any time limits in the House; however, the House may put an end to a speech by approving a motion "that the noble Lord be no longer heard". It is also possible for the House to end the debate entirely, by approving a motion "that the Question be now put". This procedure is known as Closure, and is extremely rare. Once all speeches on a motion have concluded, or Closure invoked, the motion may be put to a vote. The House first votes by voice vote; the Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker puts the question, and the Lords respond either "Content" (in favour of the motion) or "Not-Content" (against the motion). The presiding officer then announces the result of the voice vote, but if his assessment is challenged by any Lord, a recorded vote known as a division follows. Members of the House enter one of two lobbies (the "Content" lobby or the "Not-Content" lobby) on either side of the Chamber, where their names are recorded by clerks. At each lobby are two Tellers (themselves members of the House) who count the votes of the Lords. The Lord Chancellor or Deputy Speaker may vote from the Woolsack. Once the division concludes, the Tellers provide the results thereof to the presiding officer, who then announces them to the House. If there is an equality of votes, the motion is decided according to the following principles: legislation may proceed in its present form, unless there is a majority in favour of amending or rejecting it; any other motions are rejected, unless there is a majority in favour of approving it. The quorum of the House of Lords is just three members for a general or procedural vote, and 30 members for a vote on legislation. If fewer than three or 30 members (as appropriate) are present, the division is invalid.

Committees

The Parliament of the United Kingdom uses committees for a variety of purposes; one common use is for the review of bills. Committees of both Houses consider bills in detail, and may make amendments. In the House of Lords, the committee most commonly used for the consideration of bills is the Committee of the Whole House, which, as its name suggests, includes all members of the House. The Committee meets in the Lords Chamber, and is presided over not by the Lord Chancellor, but by the Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman. Different procedural rules apply in the Committee of the Whole House than in normal sessions of the Lords; in particular, members are allowed to make more than one speech each on a motion. Similar to the Committee of the Whole House are the Grand Committees, bodies in which any member of the House may participate. A Grand Committee does not meet in the Lords Chamber, but in a separate committee room. No divisions are held in Grand Committees, and any amendments to the bill require the unanimous consent of the body. Hence, the Grand Committee procedure is used only for uncontroversial bills. Bills may also be committed to Public Bill Committees, which consist of between twelve and sixteen members each. A Public Bill Committee is specifically constituted for a particular bill. A bill may also be referred to a Special Public Bill Committee, which, unlike the Public Bill Committee, has the power to hold hearings and collect evidence. These committees are used much less frequently than the Committee of the Whole House and Grand Committees. The House of Lords also has several Select Committees. The members of these committees are appointed by the House at the beginning of each session, and continue to serve until the next parliamentary session begins. The House of Lords may appoint a chairman for a committee; if it does not do so, the Chairman of Committees or a Deputy Chairman of Committees may preside instead. Most Select Committees are permanent, but the House may also establish ad hoc committees, which cease to exist upon the completion of a particular task (for instance, investigating the reform of the House of Lords). The primary function of Select Committees is to scrutinise and investigate Government activities; to fulfil these aims, they are permitted to hold hearings and collect evidence. Bills may be referred to Select Committees, but are more often sent to the Committee of the Whole House and Grand Committees. The committee system of the House of Lords also includes several Domestic Committees, which supervise or consider the House's procedures and administration. One of the Domestic Committees is the Committee of Selection, which is responsible for assigning members to many of the House's other committees.

Legislative functions

quorumMost legislation may be introduced in either House, but, most commonly, is introduced in the House of Commons. The power of the Lords to reject a bill passed by the House of Commons is severely restricted by the Parliament Acts. Under those Acts, certain types of bills may be presented for the Royal Assent without the consent of the House of Lords. The House of Lords cannot delay a money bill (a bill that, in the view of the Speaker of the House of Commons, solely concerns national taxation or public funds) for more than one month. Other public bills cannot be delayed by the House of Lords for more than two parliamentary sessions, or one calendar year. These provisions, however, only apply to public bills that originate in the House of Commons, and do not have the effect of extending a parliamentary term beyond five years. A further restriction is a constitutional convention known as the Salisbury Convention, which means that the House of Lords does not seek to oppose legislation promised in the Government's election manifesto. By a custom that prevailed even before the Parliament Acts, the House of Lords is further restrained insofar as financial bills are concerned. The House of Lords may neither originate a bill concerning taxation or Supply, nor amend a bill so as to insert a taxation or Supply-related provision. (The House of Commons, however, often waives its privileges and allows the Upper House to make amendments with financial implications.) Moreover, the Upper House may not amend any Supply Bill. The House of Lords formerly maintained the absolute power to reject a bill relating to revenue or Supply, but this power was curtailed by the Parliament Acts, as aforementioned. Hence, as the power of the House of Lords has been severely curtailed by statute and by practice, the House of Commons is clearly the more powerful chamber of Parliament.

Judicial functions

The judicial functions of the House of Lords originate from the ancient role of the Curia Regis as a body that addressed the petitions of the King's subjects. The judicial functions of the House of Lords are exercised not by the whole House, but by a group of "Law Lords". The bulk of the House's judicial business is conducted by the twelve Lords of Appeal in Ordinary, who are specifically appointed for this purpose under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act. The judicial functions may also be exercised by Lords of Appeal (other members of the House who happen to have held high judicial office). No Lord of Appeal in Ordinary or Lord of Appeal may sit judicially beyond the age of seventy-five. The judicial business of the Lords is supervised by the Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary and his or her deputy, the Second Senior Lord of Appeal in Ordinary. The jurisdiction of the House of Lords extends, in civil and in criminal cases, to appeals from the courts of England and Wales, and of Northern Ireland. From Scotland, appeals are possible only in civil cases; Scotland's High Court of Justiciary is the highest court in criminal matters. The House of Lords is not the United Kingdom's only court of last resort; in some cases, the Privy Council performs such a function. The jurisdiction of the Privy Council in the United Kingdom, however, is narrower than that of the House of Lords; it encompasses appeals from ecclesiastical courts, issues related to devolution, disputes under the House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975, and a few other minor matters. Not all Law Lords sit to hear cases; rather, since World War Two cases have been heard by panels known as Appellate Committees, each of which normally consists of five members (selected by the Senior Lord). An Appellate Committee hearing an important case may consist of even more members. Though Appellate Committees meet in separate committee rooms, judgement is given in the Lords Chamber itself. No further appeal lies from the House of Lords. A distinct judicial function—one in which the whole House, rather than just the Law Lords, may participate—is that of trying impeachments. Impeachments are brought by the House of Commons, and are tried in the House of Lords; a conviction requires only a majority of the Lords voting. Impeachments, however, are essentially obsolete; the last impeachment was that of Henry Dundas, 1st Viscount Melville in 1806. Similarly, the House of Lords was once the court that tried peers charged with high treason or felony. The House would be presided over not by the Lord Chancellor, but by the Lord High Steward, an official especially appointed for the occasion of the trial. If Parliament was not in session, then peers could be tried in a separate court, known as the Lord High Steward's Court. Only peers, their wives, and their unremarried widows were entitled to trials in the House of Lords or the Lord High Steward's Court; the Lords Spiritual were tried in Ecclesiastical Courts. In 1948, the right of peers and peeresses to be tried in such special courts was abolished; now, they may be tried in the same courts as others. The Constitutional Reform Act 2005 will lead to the creation of a separate Supreme Court of the United Kingdom, to which the judicial function of the House of Lords, and some of the judicial functions of the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council, would be transferred. In addition, the office of Lord Chancellor will be reformed, to remove his ability to act as both a government minister and a judge. This is motivated in part by concerns that the historical admixture of legislative, judicial, and executive power, may not be in conformance with the requirements of the European Convention on Human Rights (a judicial officer having legislative or executive power not being likely to be considered sufficiently impartial to provide a fair trial), and in any case are considered undesirable according to modern constitutional theory concerning the separation of powers. The new Supreme Court will be located in Middlesex Guildhall.

Relationship with the Government

Unlike the House of Commons, the House of Lords does not control the term of the Prime Minister or of the Government. Only the Lower House may force the Prime Minister to resign or call elections by passing a motion of no-confidence or by withdrawing supply. Thus, the House of Lords' oversight of the government is limited. Most Cabinet ministers are from the House of Commons, rather than the House of Lords. In particular, all Prime Ministers since 1902 have been members of the Lower House. (Alec Douglas-Home, who became Prime Minister in 1963 whilst still an Earl, disclaimed his peerage and was elected to the Commons soon after his term began.) No major cabinet position (except Lord Chancellor and Leader of the House of Lords) has been filled by a peer since 1982. However, the House of Lords does remain a source for junior ministers.

Current composition

Source: [http://www.parliament.uk/directories/house_of_lords_information_office/analysis_by_composition.cfm House of Lord official figures] The House of Lords, as of July 1, 2005: Note: These figures exclude eight peers who are on leave of absence. †The number of hereditary peers 'allocated' to each party, which is based on the proportion of hereditary peers that belongs to that party, is:
- Conservative Party: 42 peers
- Labour Party: 2 peers
- Liberal Democrats: 3 peers
- Cross-benchers: 28 peers Of the initial 42 hereditary peers elected as Conservatives, one (The Lord Brabazon of Tara) now sits as a Cross-bencher, having become the House of Lords' Chairman of Committees, and another (The Lord Willoughby de Broke) now sits as a non-affiliated member.

See also


- Speakership of the House of Lords
- Introduction ceremony
- Members of the House of Lords
- UK topics
- Lords Reform

References


- Carmichael, Paul, Brice Dickson, and Guy Peters. (1999). The House of Lords: Its Parliamentary and Judicial Role. Oxford: Hart Publishing.
- [http://www.parliament.the-stationery-office.co.uk/pa/ld/ldcomp/compso.htm Davies, Michael. (2003). Companion to the Standing Orders and guide to the Proceedings of the House of Lords, 19th ed. London: HMSO.]
- Farnborough, T. E. May, 1st Baron. (1896). Constitutional History of England since the Accession of George the Third, 11th ed. London: Longmans, Green and Co.
- Longford, Frank Pakenham, 7th Earl of. (1999). A History of the House of Lords. Gloucestershire: Sutton Publishing.
- "Parliament" (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica, 11th ed. London: Cambridge University Press.
- Raphael, D. D., Donald Limon, and W. R. McKay. (2004). Erskine May: Parliamentary Practice, 23rd ed. London: Butterworths Tolley.

External links


- [http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/a-z_of_parliament/ The British Broadcasting Corporation. (2005). "A–Z of Parliament."]
- [http://politics.guardian.co.uk/lords/ The Guardian. (2005). "Special Report: House of Lords."]
- [http://www.parliament.uk/ The Parliament of the United Kingdom. Official website.]
- [http://www.parliamentlive.tv/ The Parliament of the United Kingdom. Parliament Live TV.] United Kingdom Category:National upper houses Category:Westminster Category:Government of the United Kingdom Category:Politics of the United Kingdom Category:United Kingdom constitution ja:貴族院

1915

1915 (MCMXV) was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar).

Events


- January 12 - The Rocky Mountain National Park is established by an act of the U.S. Congress.
- January 12 - United States House of Representatives rejects proposal to give women the right to vote.
- January 13 – An earthquake (6.8 in Richter scale) in Avezzano, Italy - 32.610 dead
- January 19 - George Claude patents the neon discharge tube for use in advertising.
- January 19 - German zeppelins bomb the cities of Great Yarmouth and King's Lynn in the United Kingdom for the first time, killing more than 20.
- January 21 - Kiwanis International is founded in Detroit, Michigan.
- January 27 - United States Marines occupy Haiti.
- January 27 - Chinese president Yuan Shikai declares himself Emperor
- January 28 - An act of the U.S. Congress creates the United States Coast Guard.
- January 31 - World War I: Germany uses poison gas against Russians.
- February 8 - The controversial film The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith premieres (Los Angeles, California).
- February 12 - In Washington, DC the first stone of the Lincoln Memorial is put into place.
- March 3 - NACA, the predecessor of NASA, is founded.
- March 14 - World War I: Off the coast of Chile, the Royal Navy sinks the German battleship SMS Dresden.
- March 14 - Britain, France and Russia agree to give Constantinople and the Bosporus to Russia in case of victory (the treaty is later nullified by the Bolshevik revolution)
- March 18 - World War I: British attack on the Dardanelles fails.
- March 19 - Pluto is photographed for the first time but was not recognized as a planet.
- March 25 - US submarine F-4 sinks off Hawaii - 21 dead
- March 28 - The first Roman Catholic Liturgy is celebrated by Archbishop John Ireland at the newly consecrated Cathedral of Saint Paul in Saint Paul.
- April 13 - Mexican Revolution - Pancho Villa's attack against Alvaro Obregon's troops in Celaya. Charge of Villa's troops is no match against Obregon's barbed wire and machineguns
- April 22 - World War I: Second Battle of Ypres - German troops introduce poison gas at Ypres, Belgium.
- April 24 - Turkish troops attack the Armenian region of Van, starting the Armenian Genocide. In Constantinople, Turkish officers round up 300 ethnically Armenian intellectuals and execute them
- April 25 - The Anzac tradition begins during World War I with a landing at Gallipoli on the Turkish coast.
- April 30 - Australian submarine AE2 sunk in Sea of Marmora.
- May 3 - John McCrae writes In Flanders Fields
- May 7 - World War I: The RMS Lusitania is sunk by a German U-boat killing 1,198.
- May 9 - World War I: Second Battle of Artois - German and French forces fight.
- May 17 - The last purely Liberal government in the United Kingdom ends when Prime Minister Herbert Henry Asquith forms an all party coalition.
- May 22 - Quintinshill railway disaster, Scotland, UK. 200 killed.
- May 23 - World War I: Italy joins the Allies after they declare war on Austria-Hungary.
- June 3 - Troops of Obregon and Villa clash at León. Obregon loses his right arm in grenade attack but Villa is decisively defeated
- June 9 - U.S. Secretary of State William Jennings Bryan resigns over a disagreement regarding his nation's handling of the RMS Lusitania sinking.
- June 16 - Foundation of the British Women's Institute
- June 29 – Roger Casement is sentenced to be hanged for treason
- July 24 - The steamer Eastland capsizes in central Chicago, Illinois, with the loss of 845 lives.
- August 5 – 23 - hurricane over Galveston and New Orleans – 275 dead
- August 6 - World War I: Battle of Sari Bair begins - The Allies mount a diversionary attack timed to coincide with a major Allied landing of reinforcements at Suvla Bay.
- August 16 - The Entente promises the Kingdom of Serbia, should victory be achieved over Austro-Hungary and it's allied Central Powers, the territories of Baranja, Srem and Slavonia from the Cisleithanian part of the Dual Monarchy; Bosnia and Herzegovina; and eastern 2/3 of Dalmatia (from the river of Krka to Bar).
- August 17 - Jewish American Leo Frank is lynched for the alleged murder of a 13-year-old girl in Atlanta, Georgia.
- September 6 - The first prototype tank is tested for the British Army for the first time.
- September 7 - Former cartoonist John B. Gruelle is given a patent for his Raggedy Ann doll.
- October 12 - World War I: British nurse Edith Cavell is executed by a German firing squad for helping Allied soldiers escape from Belgium.
- October 19 - US recognizes Mexican government of Victoriano Carranza de facto (not de jure until 1917)
- October 27 - William Morris Hughes becomes 7th Prime Minister of Australia.
- November 25 - The theory of general relativity is formulated.
- December 26 - Irish Republican Brotherhood Military Council decides to stage a rising on Easter Sunday 1916.

Unknown dates


- Alfred Wegener proposes the theory of Pangea.
- Emory College is rechartered as Emory University, and plans to move its main campus from Oxford, Georgia to Atlanta.
- U.S. recognizes government of President Venustiano Carranza of Mexico.
- Lord Beaverbrook buys the London Daily Express.
- Automobile speed record of 102.6 m.p.h. set at Sheepshead Bay, N.Y.. by Gil Anderson driving a Stutz.
- The first stop sign appears in Detroit, Michigan.
- Female suffrage in Denmark and Iceland
- Henri Désiré Landru begins his serial kills
- Typhoid Mary isolated

Ongoing events


- World War I (1914-1918)
- Armenian Genocide (1915-1918)
- Assyrian Genocide (1914-1922)

Births

January


- January 5 - Arthur H. Robinson, American geographer and cartographer (d. 2004)
- January 14 - Mark Goodson, American television game show producer (d. 1992)
- January 20 - Ghulam Ishaq Khan, President of Pakistan
- January 23 - Arthur Lewis, British economist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1991)
- January 24 - Robert Motherwell, American painter (d. 1991)
- January 30 - Joachim Peiper, German SS officer (d. 1976)
- January 31 - Alan Lomax, American folklorist and musicologist (d. 2002)
- January 31 - Thomas Merton, American monk and author (d. 1968)

February


- February 1 - Artur London, Czech statesman (d. 1986)
- February 1 - Sir Stanley Matthews, English footballer (d. 2000)
- February 2 - Khushwant Singh, Indian writer
- February 4 - Sir Norman Wisdom, English comedian, singer, and actor
- February 5 - Robert Hofstadter, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1990)
- February 16 - Jim O'Hora, American college football coach, (d. 2005)
- February 28 - Peter Medawar, Brazilian-born scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1987)

March


- March 9 - John Edgar "Johnnie" Johnson, English WW2 pilot (d. 2001)
- March 10 - Harry Bertoia, Italian artist and designer (d. 1978)
- March 11 - Vijay Hazare, Indian cricketer (d. 2004)
- March 14 - Alexander Brott, Canadian conductor and composer (d. 2005)
- March 20 - Sviatoslav Richter, Ukrainian born Soviet pianist (d. 1997)
- March 23 - Vasily Zaitsev, Soviet sniper, World War II hero (d. 1991).
- March 30 - Arsenio Erico, Paraguayan footballer in Argentina (d. 1977)
- March 31 - Albert Hourani, English Middle Eastern historian (d. 1993)

April


- April 4 - Muddy Waters, American blues musician (d. 1983)
- April 7 - Billie Holiday, American jazz and blues singer (d. 1959)
- April 21 - Anthony Quinn, Mexican actor (d. 2001)

May


- May 1 - Krystyna Skarbek, Polish-born heroine of World War II (d. 1952)
- May 1 - Archie Williams, American athlete (d. 1993)
- May 2 - Doris Fisher, American singer and songwriter (d. 2003)
- May 5 - Alice Faye, American entertainer (d. 1998)
- May 6 - Orson Welles, American film director (d. 1985)
- May 10 - Denis Thatcher, husband of Margaret Thatcher (d. 2003)
- May 15 - Paul Samuelson, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate
- May 20 - Moshe Dayan, Israeli military leader and politician (d. 1981)
- May 26 - Sam Edwards, American actor (d. 2004)
- May 29 - Karl Münchinger, German conductor (d. 1990)

June


- June 1 - John Randolph, American actor (d. 2004)
- June 10 - Saul Bellow, Canadian-born writer, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)
- June 15 - Thomas Huckle Weller, American virologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
- June 17 - Karl Targownik, Hungarian psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor (d. 1996)
- June 24 - Sir Fred Hoyle, British astronomer (d. 2001)

July-August


- July 28 - Charles Townes, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
- August 22 - Hugh Paddick, British actor (d. 2000)
- August 27 - Norman F. Ramsey, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate

September-October


- September 23 - Clifford Shull, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2001)
- September 30 - Lester Maddox, Governor of Georgia (d. 2003)
- October 13 - Terry Frost, English artist (d. 2003)
- October 9 - Clifford M. Hardin, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture
- October 17 - Arthur Miller, American playwright (d. 2005)
- October 24 - Bob Kane, American comic book creator, Creator of Batman (d. 1998)
- October 24 - Tito Gobbi, Italian baritone (d. 1984)
- October 29 - William Berenberg, American physician (d. 2005)

November


- November 9 - Sargent Shriver, American politician
- November 11 - William Proxmire, American politician
- November 12 - Roland Barthes, French philosopher and literary critic (d. 1980)
- November 14 - Martha Tilton, Britih actress
- November 19 - Earl Wilbur Sutherland Jr., American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1974)
- November 25 - Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile
- November 30 - Brownie McGhee, American musician (d. 1996)
- November 30 - Henry Taube, Canadian-born chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2005)

December


- December 7 - Eli Wallach, American actor
- December 8 - Ernest Lehman American screenwriter (d. 2005)
- December 9 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German soprano
- December 12 - Frank Sinatra, American entertainer (d. 1998)
- December 19 - Edith Piaf, French singer (d. 1963)
- December 27 - Gyula Zsengellér, Hungarian footballer

Deaths


- January 15 - Mary Slessor, Scottish Christian missionary (b. 1848)
- February 5 - Ross Barnes, baseball player (b. 1850)
- March 31 - Wyndham Halswelle, Scottish runner (b. 1882)
- April 16 - Nelson W. Aldrich, Senator from Rhode Island (b. 1841)
- April 23 - Rupert Brooke, English poet (b. 1887)
- July 16 - Ellen G. White, American prophetess, co-founder of Seventh-Day Adventism (b. 1827)
- August 20 - Paul Ehrlich, German scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1854)
- August 26 - John Bunny American silent film comedian (b. 1863)
- September 9 - Albert Spalding, baseball player and sporting goods manufacturer (b. 1850)
- September 13 - Andrew L. Harris, American Civil War hero and Governor of Ohio (b. 1835)
- October 12 - Charles Sorley, British poet (b. 1895)
- November 15 - Booker T. Washington, African-American educator (b. 1856)

Marriages


- January 20 - Richard E. Byrd & Marie Donaldson
- April 27 - Bert Wheeler & Margaret Grae
- June 26 - T.S. Eliot & Vivienne Haigh-Wood
- August 11 - Buck Jones & Odelle Osborne
- August 29 - Julian Reed & Mrs. Mary Darcey Goodwin
- September 21 - Averell Harriman & Kitty Lawrence
- September 22 - Siegfried Wagner & Winifred Wagner
- October 21 - Graciliano Ramos & Maria Augusta de Barros
- December 5 - Kurt Schwitters & Helma Fischer
- December 12 - Mae Busch & Francis McDonald
- December 17 - Benito Mussolini & Donna Rachele Guidi
- December 18 - Paul Hoffman & Dorothy Brown
- December 18 - Woodrow Wilson & Edith Bolling Galt

Nobel Prizes


- Chemistry - Richard Willstätter
- Literature - Romain Rolland
- Medicine - not awarded
- Peace - not awarded
- Physics - William Henry Bragg and William Lawrence Bragg Category:1915 ---- ko:1915년 ms:1915 ja:1915年 simple:1915 th:พ.ศ. 2458

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Lakitu

Lakitu (Japanese ジュゲム, jugemu) is a character in the Mario series of video games from Nintendo. He is typically depicted as a turtle-like creature (a Koopa Troopa in Mario terms) with a green shell, orange or yellow body, and thick, black glasses. He usually rides in a cloud with a smiling face (known as Jugem's Cloud). The name Lakitu is also used for an entire race of Koopas, most of whom fly about in this fashion. The origin and pronunciation of the name Lakitu are unknown, but the Japanese and English names do not appear to be related. Lakitu is one of the few Mario enemies to have appeared in the series from the beginning. This puts Lakitu into the same pantheon as foes such as Goombas, Koopa Troopas, Bullet Bills and Piranha Plants. Unlike most of these other enemy characters, however, Lakitu has not changed a great deal from one game to the next. In his role as an enemy character, Lakitu typically flies about and throws spiked eggs at Mario, although variant types employ other attack patterns. Unique among Nintendo enemy characters, Lakitu also appears in a number of games as a figure neutral to Mario. Furthermore, Lakitu features in a handful of non-Mario games as well as media such as comic books and animated cartoons.

Characteristics

animated cartoon Lakitu's basic attributes appear as early as the 1985 game Super Mario Bros. for the Famicom/Nintendo Entertainment System (NES). He rides on a cloud and throws spiked eggs at Mario (or Luigi for the second player). Though these hurt the hero should they touch him, the real difficulty Lakitu presents is that the eggs become Spinies, turtle-like creatures with spiked shells, when they touch the ground. As a result, Mario's path soon becomes littered with the foes. Lakitu typically hovers above Mario and speeds up or slows down at the same rate as the hero. Later games add other arms to Lakitu's arsenal, such as homing eggs in Super Mario Bros. 3 (1988). These basic attack patterns remain largely unchanged until the three-dimensional environments of the Nintendo 64 game Super Mario 64 (1996), where Lakitu may move in all directions. Mario may defeat Lakitu by shooting him with a fireball, stomping on him, or hitting him with some other projectile such as a hammer or a Koopa shell in the games that allow such attacks. In the games where Mario's ally Yoshi is a controllable character, the dinosaur can also eat Lakitu or his cloud. Stomping requires some effort, as Mario must find a sufficiently elevated perch from which to jump, and must time the leap so as not to land on a Spiny egg. Yoshi Lakitu also plays a neutral role in a number of Mario-series titles. This trend began with Super Mario Kart in 1992. Here Lakitu flies about the Mario Grand Prix racetrack and aids the go-kart drivers who race there. The Lakitu Brothers in Super Mario 64 (1996) are another example; they hold the camera that "films" Mario's exploits, thus personifying the player's point of view of the three-dimensional game stages. Despite the moniker, only one Lakitu "Brother" ever appears on screen at a time.

Jugem's Cloud

The cloud on which Lakitu rides is called the Jugem's Cloud in Super Mario Bros. 3, though later games do not refer to it by name. It is roughly the same size as Lakitu, and it is characterized by its smiling face in every game except Super Mario 64. The name comes from jugemu, Lakitu's Japanese name. Beginning with Super Mario World (1990) for the Super Famicom/Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES), many games allow Mario to make use of the cloud after dispatching Lakitu. Mario may then hop aboard the cloud and use it to fly for a short period of time before it dissipates. Super Mario Bros. 3 also offers the Jugem's Cloud as a power-up item. If the player uses the Jugem's Cloud on the overworld map (from which individual game levels are selected), he may skip over one stage without having to play it.

Variants

Beginning with Super Mario World in 1990, Nintendo has introduced many new varieties of Lakitu enemies for Mario to encounter. Most are simply standard Lakitu who do not fly about in clouds, who throw a special projectile, or both. power-up

Fishin' Lakitu

The first variant the player encounters is the Fishin' Lakitu. Instead of raining Spinies down upon Mario, the enemy hovers slowly, dangling a 1-up mushroom at the end of a fishing pole. Should Mario grab it, the Lakitu speeds up and throws Spiny eggs. In Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island (1995), he attempts to steal Baby Mario from Yoshi's back; success causes the player to lose the game. The Fishin' Boo is the undead version; rather than an extra life, it dangles a deadly flame from its fishing rod. This pole is now one of Lakitu's major characteristics in various Mario spin-off games. In the Mario Kart series, for example, Lakitu carries a stoplight and various signs on the pole.

Other varieties

Some Lakitu variants do not fly about on clouds. Super Mario World introduces the Pipe Lakitu, who emerges from a large, green pipe to throw spiked eggs at Mario. Similarly, the first game in the Yoshi subseries, Super Mario World 2: Yoshi's Island, introduces the Wall Lakitu, who hide behind walls, throwing projectiles. Similarly, Aqua Lakitu appear behind walls on underwater levels and breathe through a snorkel. Wall Lakitu are more common than flying Lakitu in Yoshi's Island. A rare Lakitu type, the Thunder Lakitu, flies in occasionally and throws balls of thunder at Yoshi. In the sequel, Yoshi's Story (1998), Lakitu can throw other types of items, such as rocks or jets of water. The Game Boy Advance title Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga (2003) introduces a variety of Lakitu known as a Lakipea, one of a series of vegetable-themed enemies, which flies about in a vine-covered cloud and throws Spiny-like Sharpeas.

Lakitu in secondary games

Mario Kart series

2003 Super Mario Kart, a 1992 SNES release, is the first game to feature Lakitu in a non-combatant role. Lakitu owns and runs the Mario Grand Prix tracks on which the other Nintendo characters race go-carts. The character's two main tools remain his Jugem's Cloud (which he uses to move about the raceways) and his fishing rod. Rather than harming the players, however, Lakitu aids them by starting each race, alerting them when they complete laps or drive in the wrong direction, and by hooking them and moving them back to the track if they go off course.

Sports games

As in the Mario Kart series, the various Nintendo sports games that feature Mario characters often employ Lakitu in some sort of referee or support capacity. In Mario's Tennis for the Virtual Boy (1995), for example, Lakitu serves as the chair umpire and score keeper. In the GameCube title Mario Power Tennis (2004) he uses his fishing pole merely to retrieve wayward tennis balls. Mario Golf for Nintendo 64 (1999) instead follows the precedent of Super Mario 64 and makes Lakitu the cameraman. The 2003 title Mario Golf: Toadstool Tour includes a course named Lakitu Valley, though Lakitu himself makes no appearance. Most recently, Lakitu serves as umpire in Mario Superstar Baseball (2005). 2005

Mario role-playing game series

Beginning with Super Mario RPG, a 1996 SQUARE/Nintendo collaboration for the SNES, Lakitu has been a somewhat rare enemy in Mario's various role-playing game adventures. These games typically take place on a playing field with both a north-south and east-west playing axis but without much up or down movement possible. This typically allows Lakitu to fly about in every direction except up and down. These games often feature the other varieties of Lakitu as well, such as Fishin' Lakitu. Some introduce new kinds, such as the Dark Lakitu in the 2004 GameCube title Paper Mario: The Thousand-Year Door. These are similar to regular Lakitu, except that they throw sky-blue Spinies. Mario may fight Lakitu in these games by touching him in the main gameplay mode. This leads to the game's battle mode (though this is difficult since Mario must find elevated ground from which to jump). In these e