42 THE BRITISH APPROACH TO POLITICS

majority in the Cofcunons, but not in the Lords, can, in the last
resort, advise the King to make a sufficient number of its own
supporters Peers to give it a majority in both Houses. Such a
"swamping" of the House of Lords has never occurred, though
on two occasions—in 1832 and 1910—it has been threatened,
and the threat was enough to make the Lords give way. It is
sometimes suggested that before agreeing to create Peers on this
scale the King could insist on dissolving Parliament, to ascertain
the country's wishes. Certainly, on both the occasions mentioned,
Dissolutions did occur, but there is no reason to suppose that
the Governments of the time were unwilling to have them.
The great majority in the House of Lords is Conservative, so
that it is only an anti-Conservative Government which will ever
need to use the "swamping" weapon. If special difficulties are
to be put in the way of its use, the constitutional scales are tilted
in favour of the Conservative party.

There is a historical interest in the creation of Peers. What
was once the personal right of the King to summon whom he
pleased to the Great Council t6 give him advice and grant him
money is now a tool with which the people, through the Govern-
ment they have chosen, may prevail over the Peers.

This connection with Parliament is probably the sphere in
which the King's personal wishes may be most important. They
will not be constantly at work, but will emerge at a crisis, wh^n
the question is raised, What is the real will of the people? It
has already been suggested that the underlying purpose of the
Constitution is to give this will effect; it now appears that a
function of the King is to hold the Constitution to this purpose,
and to recall Governments which stray from it. If the King is to
perform this duty properly, it is extremely important that he
should be in touch with all sections of opinion in the country*

3. Judicature. All justice in Britain is the King's justice;
he is "over all persons and in all causes, within his Domiaions,
supreme." The chief judges are appointed by him, on the advice
of the Prime Minister; they can be removed from office by him