GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



385 



GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND, a 



monarchy in western Europe. The legislative 

 power is exercised by Parliament, consisting of 

 the House of Peers and the House of Commons. 

 The roll of the Upper House contained 554 

 names in 1889. Of the hereditary peerages about 

 two thirds were created during the present cent- 

 ury, and only 19 date beyond the sixteenth cent- 

 ury. There "are 18 Scotch and 63 Irish peers 

 who have no seats in Parliament. The Lower 

 House consists of 670 members, who are elected 

 for the duration of each Parliament, which has 

 a constitutional limitation of seven years and 

 can be dissolved at any time by royal decree. 

 The average duration since the beginning of the 

 century has been less than four years. Of the 

 total number 253 are elected for English, 39 for 

 Scotch, and 85 for Irish county constituencies, 

 237 for English, 31 for Scotch, and 16 for Irish 

 boroughs, and 5 for English, 2 for Scotch, and 2 

 for Irish universities. In 1889 there were 2,704,- 

 035 county, 1,934,414 borough, and 15,287 uni- 

 versity electors in England and Wales, making 

 VOL. xxx. 25 A 



a total of 4,653,736 ; 321.415 county, 237,073 bor- 

 ough, and 15,584 university electors in Scotland, 

 a total of 574,072 ; and in Ireland 647,728 coun- 

 ty, 102,661 borough, and 4,156 university elect- 

 ors, a total of 754,545. An act of Parliament 

 that is renewed annually provides that all voting 

 shall be by secret ballot. English and Scotch 

 peers, clergymen, Government contractors, and 

 all sheriffs and election officers are ineligible to 

 the House of Commons. . 



The executive authority is supposed to oe 

 vested in the Crown, yet practically it is exer- 

 cised by the Cabinet, the members of which are 

 selected by the Prime Minister, who retains his 

 office only so long as his policy is sustained by 

 the House of Commons. In case of an adverse 

 vote on a Cabinet question he may appeal to the 

 country by dissolving Parliament. The Prime 

 Minister is usually a member of the Lower 

 House, filling the office of First Lord of the 

 Treasury. The present chief of the Cabinet is 

 the Marquis of Salisbury, sitting in the House 

 of Lords, who holds at the same time the office 



