-Caveat Lector- >From The Toronto Star http://www.thestar.ca/thestar/editorial/updates/intlnews/20030.html {{<Begin>}} Nov 05, 14:18 est Some British Lords without peers LONDON (CP) … Hereditary peers in the House of Lords learned Friday who among them will soon lose an ancient privilege that has been passed down for generations in the British aristocracy. There was no celebrating as the chief clerk read out the names of the 75 hereditary peers who won election to sit as temporary members of the House of Lords while the government figures out how the new upper chamber will be configured. ``This is for me a day of sadness and regret that colleagues old and new are retiring because the government has cut the ground from under their feet,'' said hereditary Tory peer Lord Skelmersdale. The sense of sadness was accentuated by the death Friday of life peer Lord Montague of Oxford, 67, who collapsed in the chamber shortly after speaking in a debate. He died while being transferred by ambulance to a nearby hospital. ``For those who won it is no cause for celebration, it is an honour. For those who lost it is no cause for shame,'' said Lord Strathclyde, Conservative leader in the Lords, said following the reading of the results. He insisted the hereditary peers had performed an important service to the country and would be missed. ``They have time and time again stood up for common sense and the rights of the weak and powerful governments of all colours. History will judge them better than fashion now does. ``Parliament will be the less for their going.'' The first-ever elections for seats (albeit temporary ones) in the House of Lords followed a process in which candidates were allowed to explain in 75 words or fewer why they should be chosen by their peers. Baroness Strange, who noted she brings flowers to the House, was among the lucky ones. Lord Monckton, who called for the muzzling of cats outdoors to stop the killing of mice and birds, was unsuccessful in his bid, however. At least two peers with Canadian connections failed to win a spot among the 75. Lord Beaverbrook, grandson of New Brunswick newspaper baron Max Aitken, was defeated in his bid for one of the 48 spots reserved for Conservatives. And Montreal-born Lord Shaughnessy was not among the 28 crossbenchers (independents) elected to continue to serve. He was not immediately available for comment. A third, Lord Thomson of Fleet, has never taken his seat in the Lords as it would have required him to relinquish his Canadian citizenship. The Nickle resolution of the Canadian Parliament blocks Canadians from accepting British peerages. Lord Thomson of Fleet, or Ken Thomson, runs a vast Toronto-based press, retail, and real estate empire. The announcement of the results of the elections for seats in the House of Lords came on the 394th anniversary of Guy Fawkes's failed bid to blow up Parliament. Throughout Britain, celebrations marking that anniversary were to take place Friday, with fireworks and the traditional burning of effigies known as ``the Guy.'' But in the Lords, there was only a sense of sadness for the passing of the centuries old institution which allows the Monarch, on the advice of the government of the day, to bestow on the great and the good - and their heirs - the right to sit in the upper chamber. ``I think this is a very sad day for the Lords and a sad day for the country,'' said Baroness Trumpington, a Conservative life peer. There are 759 hereditary peers. Once reform of the upper house is completed, only life peers - people rewarded for their own works who cannot pass on their titles - will be allowed to sit. In total, 92 hereditary peers will be allowed to remain in the chamber once the current session of Parliament ends. That is expected to take place at the end of next week. In addition to the 75 announced Friday, an earlier election selected 15 office holders. Two officials of the House, the Earl Marshall and the Lord Great Chamberlain, did not have to face election. Earlier this week the government also announced it was converting 10 hereditary peerages into life peerages. Among the 10 are several former government leaders in the Lords and Lord Snowdon, former husband of Princess Margaret. Contents copyright © 1996-1999, The Toronto Star. User interface, selection and arrangement copyright © 1996-1999, Torstar Electronic Publishing Ltd. {{<End>}} <<The UK King (Queen) Dom continues its unravelling. What will be interesting to see is how the whole Britlander system of governing emerges once the government casts off the remaining various parts of its former empire ... and once the system itself is redefined. Assuming it's not actually mired in quicksand up to there. 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