LeighRayment-reppeersireland

REPRESENTATIVE PEERS – IRELAND

				Under the Act of Union of 1800 between Great Britain and Ireland, provision was made for the
				election by the Irish peers of 28 of their number to represent them in the House of Lords.
				Once elected, such peers held their places for life and those not elected were free to offer
				themselves as candidates for election to the House of Commons, as in the case of Earl
				Winterton, who sat in the Commons for 47 years, ending his service as “Father of the House.”
				Writs for the election of the Irish representative peers were issued by the Lord Chancellor of Ireland. No election has taken place since 1919 and the post of Lord Chancellor of Ireland was abolished after the establishment of the Irish Free State. The last Irish representative peer (the 4th Earl of Kilmorey) died in 1961. In 1966
				the House of Lords Committee for Privileges decided against a petition to revive the practice of such elections – for further information see the note at the foot of this page.
				As part of the Peerage Act 1963, Section 5 provided that an Irish peer can be elected as a member of the House of Commons for any constituency in the United Kingdom. Prior to this Act, an Irish peer was not permitted to be elected for a constituency in Northern Ireland.
				My thanks to Edward Law for planting the idea
				for compiling this information.
Date		No.	Replacing	Name	Born	Died	Age
				The original Representative Peers, arranged
				in order of date of death
2 Aug 1800		1	–	Robert Cuninghame, 1st Baron Rossmore	18 Apr 1726	6 Aug 1801	75
		2	–	Robert Clements, 1st Earl of Leitrim	25 Nov 1732	27 Jul 1804	71
		3	–	Otway Cuffe, 1st Earl of Desart	1737	9 Aug 1804	67
		4	–	Francis Mathew, 1st Earl of Landaff	Sep 1738	30 Jul 1806	67
		5	–	Lawrence Harman Parsons, 1st Viscount
				Oxmantown, later [1806] 1st Earl of Rosse	26 Jul 1749	20 Apr 1807	57
		6	–	John Thomas de Burgh, 1st Earl of Clanricarde	22 Sep 1744	27 Jul 1808	63
		7	–	John Denis Browne, 3rd Earl of Altamont,later
				[Dec 1800] 1st Marquess of Sligo	11 Jun 1756	2 Jan 1809	52
		8	–	Charles Agar, 1st Baron Somerton, later [1806]
				1st Earl of Normanton	22 Dec 1736	14 Jul 1809	72
		9	–	Richard Longfield, 1st Baron Longueville, later
				[Dec 1800] 1st Viscount Longueville	9 Oct 1734	23 May 1811	76
		10	–	George Frederick Nugent, 7th Earl of Westmeath	18 Nov 1760	30 Dec 1814	54
		11	–	John Crosbie, 2nd Earl of Glandore	25 May 1753	23 Oct 1815	62
		12	–	Robert Howard, 2nd Earl of Wicklow	7 Aug 1757	23 Oct 1815	58
		13	–	George Agar, 1st Baron Callan	18 Apr 1754	29 Oct 1815	61
		14	–	Thomas Knox, 1st Viscount Northland	20 Apr 1729	5 Nov 1818	89
		15	–	Richard Butler, 10th Baron Caher, later [1816]
				1st Earl of Glengall	13 Nov 1775	30 Jan 1819	43
		16	–	Robert Jocelyn, 2nd Earl of Roden	26 Oct 1756	29 Jun 1820	63
		17	–	Robert Stewart, 1st Earl of Londonderry, later
				[1816] 1st Marquess of Londonderry	27 Sep 1739	8 Apr 1821	81
		18	–	James Cuffe, 1st Baron Tyrawley	by 1747	15 Jun 1821
		19	–	Richard Hely-Hutchinson, 1st Viscount
				Donoughmore, later [Dec 1800] 1st Earl of
				Donoughmore	29 Jan 1756	22 Aug 1825	69
		20	–	Hugh Carleton, 1st Viscount Carleton of Clare	11 Sep 1739	25 Feb 1826	86
		21	–	John Creighton,1st Earl Erne	1731	15 Dec 1828	97
		22	–	Thomas Taylour, 2nd Earl of Bective, later
				[Dec 1800] 1st Marquess of Headfort	18 Nov 1757	24 Oct 1829	71
		23	–	Francis Bernard, 1st Viscount Bandon, later
				[Aug 1800] 1st Earl of Bandon	26 Nov 1755	26 Nov 1830	75
		24	–	Henry Conyngham, 3rd Earl Conyngham, later
				[1816] 1st Marquess Conyngham	26 Dec 1766	28 Dec 1832	66
		25	–	Thomas Pakenham, 2nd Earl of Longford	14 May 1774	28 May 1835	61
		26	–	Richard Bingham, 2nd Earl of Lucan	4 Dec 1764	30 Jun 1839	74
		27	–	Charles Henry St.John O’Neill, 1st Earl O’Neill	22 Jan 1779	25 Mar 1841	62
		28	–	Edmond Henry Pery, 2nd Baron Glentworth,
				later [1803] 1st Earl of Limerick	8 Jan 1758	7 Dec 1844	86
				************************************
2 Nov 1801		29	1	Charles William Bury, 1st Viscount Charleville,
				later [1806] 1st Earl of Charleville	30 Jun 1764	31 Oct 1835	71
13 Oct 1804		30	2	John Willoughby Cole, 2nd Earl of Enniskillen	23 Mar 1768	31 Mar 1840	72
26 Nov 1804		31	3	Du Pre Alexander, 2nd Earl of Caledon	14 Dec 1777	8 Apr 1839	61
12 Dec 1806		32	4	Francis William Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont	3 Jan 1775	26 Dec 1863	88
11 Jul 1807		33	5	George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston	28 Apr 1771	18 Oct 1839	68
16 Dec 1808		34	6	Richard le Poer-Trench, 2nd Earl of Clancarty	18 May 1767	24 Nov 1837	70
15 Apr 1809		35	7	Charles John Gardiner, 2nd Viscount Mountjoy,
				later [1816] 1st Earl of Blessington	19 Jul 1782	25 May 1829	46
22 Oct 1809		36	8	Lawrence Parsons, 2nd Earl of Rosse	21 May 1758	24 Feb 1841	82
19 Aug 1811		37	9	Archibald Acheson, 2nd Earl of Gosford	1 Aug 1776	27 Mar 1849	72
24 Mar 1815		38	10	Stephen Moore, 2nd Earl Mount Cashell	19 Mar 1770	27 Oct 1822	52
2 Mar 1816		39	11	John James Maxwell, 2nd Earl of Farnham	5 Feb 1760	23 Jul 1823	63
2 Mar 1816		40	12	John Bourke, 4th Earl of Mayo	18 Jun 1766	23 May 1849	82
2 Mar 1816		41	13	William O’Brien, 2nd Marquess of Thomond	c 1765	21 Aug 1846
13 Mar 1819		42	14	Somerset Richard Butler, 3rd Earl of Carrick	28 Sep 1779	4 Feb 1838	58
5 May 1819		43	15	Somerset Lowry-Corry, 2nd Earl of Belmore	11 Jul 1774	18 Apr 1841	66
7 Oct 1820		44	16	James Stevenson Blackwood, 2nd Baron
				Dufferin and Claneboye	8 Jul 1755	8 Aug 1836	81
3 Aug 1821		45	17	Richard Wingfield, 5th Viscount Powerscourt	11 Sep 1790	9 Aug 1823	32
10 Nov 1821		46	18	William Howard, 4th Earl of Wicklow	13 Feb 1788	22 Mar 1869	81
8 Feb 1823		47	38	Robert Edward King, 1st Viscount Lorton	12 Aug 1773	20 Nov 1854	81
30 Jan 1824		48	39	John Evans-Freke, 6th Baron Carbery	11 Nov 1765	12 May 1845	79
30 Jan 1824		49	45	Charles Vereker, 2nd Viscount Gort	1768	11 Nov 1842	74
17 Dec 1825		50	19	John Maxwell-Barry, 5th Baron Farnham	18 Jan 1767	20 Sep 1838	71
1 Jul 1826		51	20	Stephen Moore, 3rd Earl Mount Cashell	20 May 1792	10 Oct 1883	91
19 Dec 1828		52	21	Henry Sadlier Prittie, 2nd Baron Dunalley	3 Mar 1775	19 Oct 1854	79
1 Sep 1829		53	35	Richard Butler, 2nd Earl of Glengall	17 May 1794	22 Jan 1858	63
15 Mar 1830		54	22	Hayes St.Leger, 3rd Viscount Doneraile	9 May 1786	27 Mar 1854	67
26 Feb 1831		55	23	George Thomas John Nugent, 1st Marquess
				of Westmeath	17 Jul 1785	5 May 1871	85
30 Mar 1833		56	24	Ulysses de Burgh, 2nd Baron Downes	15 Aug 1788	26 Jul 1863	74
31 Jul 1835		57	25	James Bernard, 2nd Earl of Bandon	14 Jun 1785	31 Oct 1856	71
18 Jan 1836		58	29	Edward Wadding Plunkett, 14th Baron Dunsany	7 Apr 1773	11 Dec 1848	75
31 Oct 1836		59	44	Cornwallis Maude, 3rd Viscount Hawarden	28 Mar 1780	12 Oct 1856	76
20 Feb 1838		60	34	Robert Dillon, 3rd Baron Clonbrock	29 Mar 1807	4 Dec 1893	86
13 Apr 1838		61	42	Charles William Bury, 2nd Earl of Charleville	29 Apr 1801	14 Jul 1851	50
19 Jan 1839		62	50	John Vesey, 2nd Viscount de Vesci	15 Feb 1771	19 Oct 1855	84
2 Jul 1839		63	31	Henry Maxwell, 7th Baron Farnham	9 Aug 1799	20 Aug 1868	69
21 Sep 1839		64	26	Windham Henry Wyndham-Quin, 2nd Earl of
				Dunraven and Mount Earl	24 Sep 1782	6 Aug 1850	67
21 Jan 1840		65	33	Edward Crofton, 2nd Baron Crofton	1 Aug 1806	27 Dec 1869	63
22 Jun 1840		66	30	George Charles Bingham, 3rd Earl of Lucan	16 Apr 1800	10 Nov 1888	88
8 May 1841		67	36	James Du Pre Alexander, 3rd Earl of Caledon	27 Jul 1812	30 Jun 1855	42
12 Jun 1841		68	27	Cadwallader Davis Blayney, 12th Baron Blayney	19 Dec 1802	18 Jan 1874	71
6 Jul 1841		69	43	Richard Handcock, 3rd Baron Castlemaine	17 Nov 1791	4 Jul 1869	77
31 Jan 1843		70	49	John Bruce Richard O’Neill, 2nd Viscount O’Neill	30 Dec 1780	12 Feb 1855	74
24 Feb 1845		71	28	William Parsons, 3rd Earl of Rosse	17 Jun 1800	31 Oct 1867	67
24 Jul 1845		72	48	John Crichton, 3rd Earl Erne	30 Jul 1802	3 Oct 1885	83
11 Dec 1846		73	41	John Otway O’Connor Cuffe, 3rd Earl of Desart	12 Oct 1818	1 Apr 1865	46
16 Apr 1849		74	58	Eyre Massey, 3rd Baron Clarina	6 May 1798	18 Nov 1872	74
22 Jun 1849		75	37	John Cavendish Browne, 3rd Baron Kilmaine	11 Jun 1794	13 Jan 1873	78
14 Aug 1849		76	40	George John Danvers Butler-Danvers, 5th Earl
				of Lanesborough	6 Dec 1794	7 Jul 1866	71
19 Nov 1850		77	64	Randall Edward Plunkett, 15th Baron Dunsany	5 Sep 1804	7 Apr 1852	47
23 Sep 1851		78	61	Denis St.George Daly, 2nd Baron Dunsandle and
				Clanconal	10 Jul 1810	11 Jan 1893	82
22 Jun 1852		79	77	Robert Bourke, 5th Earl of Mayo	12 Jan 1797	12 Aug 1867	70
1 Jul 1854		80	54	Richard White, 2nd Earl of Bantry	16 Nov 1800	16 Jul 1868	67
9 Jan 1855		81	52	Edward Ward, 4th Viscount Bangor	23 Feb 1827	14 Sep 1881	54
2 May 1855		82	47	Hayes St.Leger, 4th Viscount Doneraile	1 Oct 1818	26 Aug 1887	68
11 Sep 1855		83	70	Arthur Hill-Trevor, 3rd Viscount Dungannon	9 Nov 1798	11 Aug 1862	63
24 Oct 1855		84	67	Henry John Reuben Dawson-Damer, 3rd Earl
				of Portarlington	5 Sep 1822	1 Mar 1889	66
23 Jan 1856		85	62	James Hewitt, 4th Viscount Lifford	31 Mar 1811	20 Nov 1887	76
10 Jan 1857		86	59	Thomas Vesey, 3rd Viscount de Vesci	21 Sep 1803	23 Dec 1875	72
13 Jan 1857		87	57	Somerset Lowry-Corry, 4th Earl of Belmore	9 Apr 1835	6 Apr 1913	77
21 Aug 1858		88	53	Francis Bernard, 3rd Earl of Bandon	3 Jan 1810	17 Feb 1877	67
2 Dec 1862		89	83	Cornwallis Maude, 4th Viscount Hawarden,
				later [1886] 1st Earl de Montalt	4 Apr 1817	9 Jan 1905	87
20 Oct 1863		90	56	Lucius O’Brien, 13th Baron Inchiquin	5 Dec 1800	22 Mar 1872	71
8 Mar 1864		91	32	Edward Plunkett, 16th Baron Dunsany	29 Nov 1808	22 Feb 1889	80
13 Jun 1865		92	73	John Prendergast Vereker, 3rd Viscount Gort	1 Jul 1790	20 Oct 1865	75
26 Dec 1865		93	92	Mervyn Wingfield, 7th Viscount Powerscourt	13 Oct 1836	5 Jun 1904	67
14 Sep 1866		94	76	George Frederick Upton, 3rd Viscount
				Templetown	5 Aug 1802	4 Jan 1890	87
15 Oct 1867		95	79	William Richard Annesley, 4th Earl Annesley	21 Feb 1830	10 Aug 1874	44
11 Jan 1868		96	71	Theobald Fitzwalter Butler, 14th Baron
				Dunboyne	11 Feb 1806	22 Mar 1881	75
28 Sep 1868		97	80	Charles Allanson-Winn, 3rd Baron Headley	25 Jun 1810	30 Jul 1877	67
22 Dec 1868		98	63	Lawrence Parsons, 4th Earl of Rosse	17 Nov 1840	29 Aug 1908	67
6 Jul 1869		99	46	William Henry Hare Hedges-White, 3rd Earl of
				Bantry	10 Nov 1801	15 Jan 1884	82
6 Sep 1869		100	69	Geoffrey Dominick Augustus Frederick Guthrie-
				Browne, 2nd Baron Oranmore and Browne	8 Jun 1819	15 Nov 1900	81
5 Apr 1870		101	65	John Vansittart Danvers Butler-Danvers,
				6th Earl of Lanesborough	18 Apr 1839	12 Sep 1905	66
10 Jul 1871		102	55	Dayrolles Blakeney Eveleigh-de-Moleyns,
				4th Baron Ventry	22 Jan 1828	8 Feb 1914	86
19 Jun 1872		103	90	Charles Francis Arnold Howard, 5th Earl
				of Wicklow	5 Nov 1839	20 Jun 1881	41
11 Feb 1873		104	74	Edward Henry Churchill Crofton, 3rd
				Baron Crofton	21 Oct 1834	22 Sep 1912	77
5 Apr 1873		105	75	Edward Donough O’Brien, 14th Baron Inchiquin	14 May 1839	9 Apr 1900	60
9 May 1874		106	68	Richard Handcock, 4th Baron Castlemaine	25 Jul 1826	26 Apr 1892	65
10 Nov 1874		107	95	John Henry Reginald Scott, 4th Earl of Clonmell	2 Mar 1839	22 Jun 1891	52
14 Mar 1876		108	86	John Thomas William Massy, 6th Baron Massy	30 Aug 1835	28 Nov 1915	80
28 Apr 1877		109	88	Hugh Annesley, 5th Earl Annesley	26 Jan 1831	15 Dec 1908	77
30 Oct 1877		110	97	James Alexander, 4th Earl of Caledon	11 Jul 1846	27 Apr 1898	51
6 Jun 1881		111	96	James Francis Bernard, 4th Earl of Bandon	12 Sep 1850	18 May 1924	73
23 Aug 1881		112	103	Edward Nugent Leeson, 6th Earl of Milltown	9 Oct 1835	30 May 1890	54
31 Dec 1881		113	81	Francis Charles Needham, 3rd Earl of Kilmorey	3 Aug 1842	28 Jul 1915	72
20 Dec 1883		114	51	Charles Mark Allanson-Winn, 4th Baron Headley	4 Dec 1845	13 Jan 1913	67
14 Mar 1884		115	99	Hercules Edward Rowley, 4th Baron Langford	1 Jun 1848	29 Oct 1919	71
12 Jan 1886		116	72	Henry William Crosbie Ward, 5th Viscount Bangor	26 Jul 1828	23 Feb 1911	82
24 Oct 1887		117	82	Henry Ernest Newcomen King-Tenison,8th
				Earl of Kingston	31 Jul 1848	13 Jan 1896	47
23 Jan 1888		118	85	Cecil Ralph Howard, 6th Earl of Wicklow	26 Mar 1842	24 Jul 1891	49
31 Dec 1888		119	66	Eyre Challoner Henry Massey, 4th Baron Clarina	29 Apr 1830	16 Dec 1897	67
8 Apr 1889		120	91	Thomas Kane McClintock-Bunbury, 2nd Baron
				Rathdonnell	29 Nov 1848	22 May 1929	80
19 Apr 1889		121	84	George Bingham, 4th Earl of Lucan	8 May 1830	5 Jun 1914	84
21 Feb 1890		122	94	Francis William Browne, 4th Baron Kilmaine	24 Mar 1843	9 Nov 1907	64
14 Jul 1890		123	112	Dermot Robert Wyndham Bourke, 7th
				Earl of Mayo	2 Jul 1851	31 Dec 1927	76
3 Aug 1891		124	107	William Charles Evans-Freke, 8th Baron Carbery	24 May 1812	7 Nov 1894	82
9 Oct 1891		125	118	Henry O’Callaghan Prittie, 4th Baron Dunalley	21 Mar 1851	5 Aug 1927	76
13 Jun 1892		126	106	Hamilton Matthew Tilson Fitzmaurice
				Deane-Morgan, 4th Baron Muskerry	18 May 1854	9 Jun 1929	75
6 Mar 1893		127	78	John William Plunkett, 17th Baron Dunsany	31 Aug 1853	16 Jan 1899	45
29 Jan 1894		128	60	Henry Edward Montagu Dorington
				Clotworthy Upton, 4th Viscount Templetown	20 Apr 1853	30 Sep 1939	86
21 Jan 1895		129	124	Luke Gerald Dillon, 4th Baron Clonbrock	10 Mar 1834	12 May 1917	83
20 Mar 1896		130	117	George Lionel Henry Seymour Dawson-Damer,
				5th Earl of Portarlington	19 Aug 1858	31 Aug 1900	42
7 Mar 1898		131	119	Albert Edward Handcock, 5th Baron Castlemaine	26 Mar 1863	6 Jul 1937	74
22 Jul 1898		132	110	Somerset Henry Maxwell, 10th Baron Farnham	7 Mar 1849	22 Nov 1900	51
31 Mar 1899		133	127	Ponsonby William Moore, 9th Earl of Drogheda	29 Apr 1846	28 Oct 1908	62
5 Jun 1900		134	105	Raymond Harvey de Montmorency, 3rd Viscount
				Frankfort de Montmorency	21 Sep 1835	7 May 1902	66
23 Nov 1900		135	130	Lucius William O’Brien, 15th Baron Inchiquin	21 Jun 1864	9 Dec 1929	65
4 Jan 1901		136	100	Robert St.John Fitzwalter Butler, 16th Baron
				Dunboyne	20 Jan 1844	29 Aug 1913	69
4 Feb 1901		137	132	Anthony Francis Nugent, 11th Earl of Westmeath	11 Jan 1870	12 Dec 1933	63
11 Jul 1902		138	134	Geoffrey Henry Browne, 3rd Baron Oranmore
				and Browne	6 Jan 1861	30 Jun 1927	66
1 Aug 1904		139	93	Charles Bertram Bellew, 3rd Baron Bellew	19 Apr 1855	15 Jul 1911	56
10 Mar 1905		140	89	Ivo Francis Walter Bligh, 8th Earl of Darnley	13 Mar 1859	10 Apr 1927	68
27 Nov 1905		141	101	Ralph Francis Howard, 7th Earl of Wicklow	24 Dec 1877	11 Oct 1946	68
21 Jan 1908		142	122	George Nathaniel Curzon, 1st Baron Curzon of
				Kedleston, later [1921] Marquess Curzon of
				Kedleston	11 Jan 1859	20 Mar 1925	66
4 Nov 1908		143	98	Frederic Oliver Trench, 3rd Baron Ashtown	2 Feb 1868	20 Mar 1946	78
				(declared bankrupt 28 Oct 1915 and therefore
				ineligible to continue as a Representative Peer)
18 Dec 1908		144	133	Arthur Kenlis Maxwell, 11th Baron Farnham	2 Oct 1879	5 Feb 1957	77
13 Feb 1909		145	109	Yvo Richard Vesey, 5th Viscount de Vesci	16 Dec 1881	16 Aug 1958	76
14 Apr 1911		146	116	John Edward Deane Browne, 5th Baron Kilmaine	18 Mar 1878	27 Aug 1946	68
9 Oct 1911		147	139	William Edward Parsons, 5th Earl of Rosse	14 Jun 1873	10 Jun 1918	44
18 Nov 1912		148	104	John Graham Hope de la Poer Beresford,
				5th Baron Decies	5 Dec 1866	31 Jan 1944	77
7 Mar 1913		149	114	Maxwell Richard Crosbie Ward, 6th
				Viscount Bangor	4 May 1868	17 Nov 1950	82
2 Jun 1913		150	87	Charles John Brinsley Butler, 7th Earl of
				Lanesborough	12 Dec 1865	18 Aug 1929	63
21 Nov 1913		151	136	Henry Charles Ponsonby Moore, 10th
				Earl of Drogheda	21 Apr 1884	22 Nov 1957	73
20 Apr 1914		152	102	George Leopold Bryan Bellew-Bryan, 4th
				Baron Bellew	22 Jan 1857	15 Jun 1935	78
10 Aug 1914		153	121	George Charles Bingham, 5th Earl of Lucan	13 Dec 1860	20 Apr 1949	88
24 Sep 1915		154	113	Frederick Rudolph Lambart, 10th Earl of Cavan	16 Oct 1865	28 Aug 1946	80
10 Jan 1916		155	143	Arthur Edward Lowther Crofton, 4th
				Baron Crofton	7 Aug 1866	15 Jun 1942	75
14 Feb 1916		156	108	Francis Charles Adelbert Henry Needham,	26 Nov 1883	11 Jan 1961	77
				4th Earl of Kilmorey (the last surviving Irish
				Representative Peer)
13 Jul 1917		157	129	Henry Edwyn King-Tenison, 9th Earl of Kingston	19 Sep 1874	11 Jan 1946	71
19 Aug 1918		158	147	James Edward Geale Caulfeild, 8th Viscount
				Charlemont	12 May 1880	30 Aug 1949	69
22 Dec 1919		159	115	Robert Soame Jocelyn, 8th Earl of Roden	8 Sep 1883	30 Oct 1956	73

The attempt made in 1966 to reinstate the election process

The last Irish representative peer died in 1961. The remaining Irish peers arguedthat they were no longer represented in the House of Lords and sought to have the election system reinstated. After an attempt in 1962, the matter was finally resolved in 1966.

 

The following report on judgment by the Committee forPrivileges was reported in ‘The Times” on 6 July 1966:-‘The Committee for Privileges, by resolution, nemine contradicente [no-one speaking against], rejected the petition of the Earl of Antrim and 11 other Irishpeers asking that the House of Lords should declare that the peerage of Ireland had, in accordance with the provisions of the Union with Ireland Act, 1800, theright to be represented by 28 lords temporal of Ireland elected by the peers of Ireland for life to sit and vote in their Lordships’ House with privilege of Parliament;and that the House should take all such steps as might be necessary to enable the peers of Ireland to exercise their aforesaid right and decide all questionstouching the election of a lord temporal of Ireland to represent the peerage of Ireland in the House in succession to the late Francis Charles Adelbert, Earl of Kilmorey.

 

The therms of the resolution, in which the Committee expressed the opinion that the provisions of the Act of 1800 ceased to be effective on the passing ofthe Irish Free State (Agreement) Act, 1922, and that the right to elect Irishrepresentative peers no longer existed, are set out fully at the conclusion of the opinion of Lord Reid.

 

‘Lord Reid said that the facts giving rise to this petition were briefly these: 28Irish representative peers used to sit in this House. Each was elected for life. Before the next death of a representative peer in 1924 [the 4th Earl of Bandon], far-reaching constitutional changes had occurred in Ireland, and no election washeld in 1924. At that time the reason commonly put forward and accepted was that the machinery in Ireland for an election had to be set in motion by the LordChancellor of Ireland and operated by the Clerk of the Crown and Hanaper; thatin 1922 the office of Lord Chancellor of Ireland had been abolished and the holderof the office of the Clerk had become a civil servant of the Irish Free State; and that therefore it was impossible to hold an election. There seemed to have beenlittle or no discussion of the question whether any right to elect representative peers still remained. The last survivor of representative peers was the Earl ofKilmorey, who died in 1961. The matter was raised in evidence submitted in 1962 to the Joint Select Committee on House of Lords Reform, which in its report was not in favour of the revival of any form of representation for the Peerage of Ireland. The present petition was thereafter prepared and presented.

 

‘The first and most important question was the 28 Irish representativepeers ever did represent the peerage of Ireland in this House. That depended upon the proper interpretation of the Articles of Union which were incorporated in the Act for the Union of Great Britain and Ireland, 1800, and in a corresponding Act of the Irish Parliament.

 

‘His Lordship considered the relevant provisions of the Articles of Union and said that there was in them no reference to peers sitting in this House as represent-atives of the Irish peers, but there were numerous references to lords temporalas well as lords spiritual and commoners sitting in the Parliament of the United Kingdom “on the part of Ireland” and one reference to members of both Houses ofthe then existing Parliament of Great Britain continuing to sit in the new Parliamentof the United Kingdom “on the part of Great Britain.

 

“‘But the Act of the Irish Parliament, passed in consequence of a provision in the Act of Union, to regulate the mode by which lords spiritual and temporal and commoners to serve on the part of Ireland should be summoned and returned, wasnot so consistent. For several pages it used the phrase “on the part of Ireland.”But then there was a change. The primate of all Ireland and three specifiedbishops were to be “declared to be the representatives of the lords spiritual ofIreland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom for the first session thereof”; andthere was a reference to the temporal peers of Ireland proceeding “to elect 28 lords temporal to represent the peerage of Ireland in the Parliament of the United Kingdom”, and that was followed by at least one more reference to sitting”as representatives of the peers of Ireland”. But that was followed by a reversionto the phrase “on the part of Ireland” in two or three places.

 

‘His Lordship considered later statutory enactments and the terms of the Writs ofSummons of Irish representative peers and said that so long as the Union withIreland remained unimpaired he could think of no circumstance where it would have made any practical difference whether the elected Irish peers were truly representatives of the Irish peerage or of Ireland as a whole; so it was hardly surprising that no writer on constitutional matters appeared to have given muchattention to the question. The Committee had been referred to the Act of Unionof the Kingdoms of England and Scotland (5 and 6 Anne c. 8). There wasconsiderable similarity between the procedure adopted then and in thatconnexion with the union with Ireland; but his Lordship found no clear indicationthat the 16 Scottish representative peers were to represent Scotland rather than the peerage of Scotland.

 

‘The first substantial constitutional change in the position of Ireland, his Lordship continued, was made by the Government of Ireland Act, 1920, which provided forseparate Parliaments for Southern and for Northern Ireland. It did not destroy the unity of Ireland. While it remained in force, no occasion arose for theelection of an Irish representative peer; but his Lordship did not doubt that it would have been proper to hold such an election had occasion arisen.

 

‘A very different position was created by the Irish Free State (Agreement) Act,1922. Its general effect was that that part of Ireland which became the Irish FreeState acquired what was commonly known as Dominion status, while Northern Ireland remained part of the United Kingdom. His Lordship did not think that anyofficer remained whose political or executive functions extended to the whole of Ireland; and there was a complete political separation between the Irish FreeState and Northern Ireland, which had remained. In 1949 that part of Irelandwhich had been the Irish Free State was declared by the Ireland Act, 1949, to have ceased to be a part of his Majesty’s dominions. Section 2 declared that, notwithstanding that fact, the Republic of Ireland was not a foreign country; but that did not appear important in this connexion.

 

‘As a result of those changes it appeared clear that Ireland as a whole no longer existed politically. On the other hand, there had been no statutory alteration ofthe position of the Irish peerage or the rights of Irish Peers. So if the Irish repres-entative peers were elected to represent Ireland, his Lordship could not see howthere could now be an election of a peer to represent something which no longer existed politically. A statutory provision became obsolete and was impliedly repealed if the state of things on which its existence depended had ceased to exist.

 

‘If the Committee for Privileges agreed with his Lordship’s opinion the Report ofthe Committee to the House could be based on the facts that by virtue of theprovisons of the Union with Ireland Act, 1800, 28 Irish representative peers satin this House on the part of Ireland, each being elected for life; that on the deathof an Irish representative peer an election of a successor was held in a mannerprovided by the Act; that no such election had been held since 1919; that those Irish peers who had been so elected continued to sit as members of the House until their respective deaths and that the last Irish peer so elected died in 1961;that the provisions of the Act of 1800 relating to the election of Irish represent-active peers ceased to be effective on the passing of the Irish Free State(Agreement) Act, 1922; and that the right to elect Irish representative peers nolonger existed.’