The Recent Volcanic Eruption in New Zealand. By Dr. Archibald Geikie Representative Government for the Empire. By G. Baden-Powell, M.P. I. Old Testament Literature. By Professor Driver I. Church History. By Professor G. T. Stokes II. Apologetic Theology. By Rev. J. R. Illingworth Tenant-Right and Agrarian Outrage in France. By R. E. Prothero IRELAND FOR THE IRISH ON AFFAIRS STRICTLY IRISH. THE HE government of Ireland has been time out of mind a stumblingblock in the way of English rule. Without going back over the seven centuries during which Ireland has been more or less under the dominion of England, let us consider her relations with England during the present century. The existing Act of Union was passed in 1800, under the auspices of Pitt, and under that Act the Parliament of Ireland, commonly called Grattan's Parliament, came to an end, the representation of Ireland being merged in the Parliament of Great Britain and Ireland. History records with shame the corrupt influences by which the Parliament of Ireland was drawn into this surrender of its privileges. Pitt may have justified such proceedings to his own mind by looking forward to the better government of Ireland as the object in view. Had he been left to the exercise of his own judgment, he would no doubt have dealt with the grievances of Ireland in a liberal and enlightened spirit; but he was encountered and thwarted by prejudices in various quarters, and his desire for the better government of the country was effectually checked. Had he been free to deal as he thought fit with the questions of Religious Liberty, of a dominant Church, and of a reform of the Land Laws, we should probably have been spared the constant conflicts with the Irish people which have prevailed throughout the present century ever since the so-called Union was established; for the Irish people might under such circumstances have been well affected to a British Parliament dealing justly with them. In the course of three successive generations the Irish, after protracted struggles, have wrung from reluctant British Parliaments : 1st. Catholic Emancipation in 1829; and 2ndly. The Disestablishment of the Church of a small minority 3rdly. The Reform of the Irish Land Laws has been the bone present day. Many of us are old enough to have witnessed the fierce struggles which have prevailed in Parliament touching the above measures. Ministries have been wrecked, Parties have been shattered, and the House of Commons has been forced to protect itself by stringent rules for the conduct of its proceedings and the restraint of its members; while reforms of various grievances earnestly desired by the people of England and Scotland, and of which there is now a long list of accumulated arrears, have been postponed in order to make way for the demands of Irish legislation. We might have been spared all these struggles in and out of Parliament had we sooner recognized the principle of self-government for Ireland; while the British Parliament would have been free to clear off its arrears of legislation. While the Irish have thus struggled throughout the present century for the redress of their grievances, they have never ceased at the same time to demand self-government in some form as the highest object of their aspirations: thus― Mr. O'Connell raised the cry of Repeal of the Union in 1829; subsequently Mr. Butt proposed a modified form of Home Rule. The Parliamentary contingent following these leaders did not exceed forty members. Mr. Parnell now maintains that the government of Ireland as to affairs strictly Irish should be left to an Irish Parliament; and he is at the head of a contingent of eighty-six members. The standard of self-government has therefore been constantly raised ever since the Union; and it is now borne by eighty-six members, being five-sixths of the representatives of the Irish people. The Parliament of 1885 was thus, at its birth in November last, brought face to face with the startling fact that five-sixths of the Irish people desired self-government in the form of an Irish Parliament for Irish affairs. Of the leading questions referred by the constituencies at the late general election to the Parliament of 1885 for settlement, the most important was that of self-government, whether in England, Scotland, or Ireland. Ireland spoke its mind upon that subject with redoubled force. It may be presumed that the magnitude of the return of Irish members pledged to Home Rule was an important factor in the consideration of statesmen both of the Government of Lord Salisbury and afterwards of the Government of Mr. Gladstone; and that it weighed both with the Government of Lord Salisbury in suspending for a short period coercive legislation and with that of Mr. Gladstone in taking up the Irish Question as one of pressing and paramount importance. Local self-government had been promised all round by all Parties to England, Scotland, and Ireland; but the state of Ireland stamped with urgency the question of local selfgovernment for Ireland, and gave it precedence over all other questions. The question which has stirred both Governments, and which now stirs the country, is this: Can the desire of the Irish for a separate Parliament for Irish affairs be met without detriment to Imperial interests? Upon some leading points it is to be hoped that there will be general agreement, although upon minor matters there may be wide differences. May we not look for general agreement upon the following propositions ? 1. That self-government is a safe and sound principle of government, if applied within proper limits. 2. That self-government should be given in all cases in such form as may be desired by the governed, provided no injury be thereby done to the common good. 3. That the form of self-government desired by the Irish should accordingly be conceded, provided the common good is not thereby damaged. Now, we may look upon the Government of Ireland Bill lately rejected by the House of Commons as a bona fide attempt to satisfy Ireland without injury to the State, although there may be wide diversity of opinion whether both those objects will be effectually secured by it. The House, by refusing to read the Bill a second time, has rejected the essential principle of the Bill—that is, the government of Ireland by an Irish legislative body-and has rendered necessary an appeal to the people on that question. It is for the electors of the United Kingdom to determine whether the Irish shall or shall not have self-government as they desire, securities being taken for safeguarding the honour and interests of the State. For the proper determination of this grave question it is important to bear in mind that there are Parliaments and Parliaments. Of all Parliaments in the world our English Parliament has the largest powers. It is, humanly speaking, omnipotent. But Parliaments differ widely in the extent of their prerogatives. We have colonial and foreign Parliaments of varying types, exercising functions more or less extensive. In England, when we speak of a Parliament, we naturally have in view that branch of our Parliament with which we are all familiar-our House of Commons. But we should commit a gross mistake if we attributed to all Parliaments powers such as those wielded by the House of Commons. And if we look at the Parliament of Ireland, as defined by the Government of Ireland Bill, we find that its powers are much restrictedfar more restricted, indeed, than those of our colonies. It cannot make peace or war, nor can it enter into treaties with foreign Powers, nor can it make laws with regard to the army, navy, militia, or volunteers, or with respect to trade or navigation, or the postal service or the currency. It can raise neither soldiers, nor sailors, nor militia, nor volunteers; neither can it man a ship of war. It cannot appoint a postman, nor a tidewaiter, nor a consul or other officer to conduct our business with a foreign Power. Its jurisdiction is strictly limited to Ireland alone, and it has no force beyond the shores of that island. At the same time, while the Parliament of Ireland is by the Bill thus strictly limited in its functions and powers, the Imperial Parliament will retain all its functions and powers, and will be relieved of the constant demands upon its time for legislation for Ireland, which will be relegated to the Irish Parliament. Let us, therefore, not be deluded by the baseless cry that the Imperial Parliament and the Irish Parliament will be of co-ordinate authority. The Government of Ireland Bill, as introduced by Mr. Gladstone, was not without its faults, but these would have been open to correction in Committee by a friendly Parliament. The House of Commons, however, by rejecting the second reading, showed that it was not friendly to the essential principle of the Bill-that is, the establishment of a legislative body in Ireland for the government of Ireland. What may be the form and substance of the next Government of Ireland Bill we cannot pretend to say, nor can we predict by whose hands it will be presented to Parliament; but we may be sure that self-government for Ireland in some form will engross the time and attention of Parliament until the question is finally set at rest by concession to the reasonable demands of Ireland. The main objections to the Bill which have been raised are1. That the Irish members are at all times totally excluded from the Imperial Parliament. 2. That the rights of property and of the person are not sufficiently protected. 3. That the Protestant minority in Ulster and elsewhere are left exposed to the vengeance of the Roman Catholic priests. As to the first objection above stated, Mr. Gladstone has himself held out hopes that he can meet it, and there are several ways in which it might be met. We may be assured that he will take care that the questions upon which the judgment of the Irish members may be taken shall be strictly defined and limited to Imperial matters; otherwise confusion may ensue, and Irish members may be again taking part in the affairs of Great Britain. |