 Judges at the House of Lords secured their position by mere virtue of the fact that their fathers were hereditary peers and so individuals would automatically inherit seats in the upper house rather than securing their position through merit.Therefore, some of the best lawyers in the land were prohibited from sitting as judges in the upper house simply because of their parentage.However, under the Conservative government, the 1874 and 1875 Acts retained the judicial aspect of the House of Lords and ensured the quality of judicial appointments to the House of Lords by legislating under the Appellate Jurisdiction Act 1876, for the mechanism of law lords.