SCOTTISH HOME RULE.

Evening Post, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 85, 10 April 1912, Page 11

SCOTTISH HOME RULE.

DR. CHAFPLE'S RESOLUTION CARRIED IN THE COMMONS. £fbom o'jr own connESPONinujT.] ' LONDON, let March. Dr. VV. A. Chappie, M.P., brought forward in in© Commons on Wednesday night a resolution affirming -he principle ; that Scotland £hould ei-ratually be j granted self-government, as the natural sequel to Any meaaurc of Homo Rule for Ireland. The motion was as follows : "Thai, in tlie opinion of this House, any measure providing for the delegation of Parliamentary powers to Inland should be followed in this Parliament by the granting of similar puweis of s^lf-go-vernment to Scotland as part of a general schema of devolution." Dr. Chappie said that his support of Home Rule for Ireland was not conditional on any pronu'se which might be given by the Ciovernmenb to accept his motion; but if Ireland got the measure I of Home- RpJ© for- which sue had fought, I and a similar rae&sur« was denied to I Scotland, such a wave of indignation would spread ever the latl4r country as would shako every Liberal stat t-o its foundation — (" Hear, hear," and laughter) — :ind the practical difficulty in endeavouring io establish Home Rule in Ireland without ex! ending it to tho other . e!oTnenLs of the Kingdom would bo such I that the fact would be forced upon statesmen that there was m> half-way house to the scheme of devolution. The Union of 1707 was i:ol a Union in the true sense j it was an absorption of Sootland. The mistake of 1707 h« now wished to correct. Recently within a period of eleven years 523 Acts had been passed by this Parliament, and of these only forty-four- applied' to Scotland. Mr. Munro -Ferguson (Leith Burghs, Mm.), in seconding the motion, said that it represented a growing general opinion in the Empire, from Scotland to New Zealand, in favour of the disentanglement of local and national from Imperial affairs, and on the eve of the third effort to deal with the case of Ireland they invited the House to resolve that the delegation of powers to subordinate Legislatures was essential to the good government of each division of the United (Kingdom as well as to the security of the ' Empire as a whole. A BOGUS AGITATION.- • Mr. Ma&kiuder (Glasgow, Camlaclue), Opposition, said the hon. gentleman who had" moved the amendment came from New . Zealand, where the federal system of government had been superseded by unitary government. The whole tendency was to regard the federal system as a step towards closer union. It was no argument to say that the Scottish pembers were in favour . of a federal system. Scotland was misrepresented in Parliament, for , each. Liberal member represented -only. 8000 or- 10,000 electors, while each Conservative member represented, -abonr 25,000 . electors. This was a bogus and' 1 sham .agitation. (Cheers.) The members on 'the Government side .of- the* House had been ordered to help Home Rule by throwing dust in the eyes of those electors of Scotland who did not know Ireland. (Cheers.) The Marquis of Tullibardine said that the subject had never been officially -mentioned in election addresses in Scotland since the movement was first started. Of forty-eight Radical addresses only twenty-two mentioned' Home Rule for Ireland or Scotland. None of the rest mentioned it at ail. THE NEW ZEALAND SCHEME. Mj-. Wilkie (Dundee, Labour) observed that he would have the, fullest autonomy allowed' fo each part of theUnited Kingdom, with a Federal Im-' perial Pailiament over all, in which the colonies should be represented. Mr. E. Wason (Clackmannan and' Kinross, Ministerialist), as chairman of the Scottish Liberal unofficial members, said they stood shoulder to shoulder, with those who had advanced the cause of Scottish nationality to its present ■ stage. They regarded the claim put forward in the motion as reasonable and equitable, and every Scottish Liberal member present would vote in support of it. (Cheers.) Sir G. Younger asked was it necessary to regard the resolution as a serious one ? They had only to read it to see that at was a f complete sham. - (Hear, hear, and "Oh !") It was a purely window-dress-ing resolution, intended to cover the neglect of Scotland since the Government came 'into power six years ago. Th© Secretary ' for Scotland had just had a salutary warning to avoid this policy, which appeared to be rim by the youthful political prigs of the Young Scots Society, who had been themselves the laughing-stock of every serious and grown-up politician. He would strongly recommend the right hon. gentleman to avoid adopting his politics from the nursery. (Cheers.) THE CLAIM FOR SCOTLAND. Mr. M'Kinnon Wood, for the Government, argued 'that Scottish Jegislation had been retarded not by unwillingness on the part of the Government to undertake it, but by the majority in the House of Lords. If 'there had been, a bairenness in Scofiash legislation that was an argument in favour of Home Rule for Scotland, [f they looked at the addresses of Unionist candidates recently they would not find any attack upon Scottish Home Rule. ("Oh ! OJI I" aild laughter.) Tho Unionist newspapers were educating Iheir party with li'gurd to Devolution, and there was m> real opposition in respect of devolving local government to the different parts ol ttjo United .Kingdom. Tho Scottish people, being eminently reasonable, were educating their party with regard to Devolution, 'and there I was no real opfjosition in. respecfi of devolving local government' to the different parts of' the United Kingdom. The Scottish people beiug eminently reasonable, were prepared to give England self-government also — (laughter and cheers) — but he based the claim for Scotland on three giounds — (1) an increase of Imperial efficiency, (2) tin increase of local efficiency, and (3) to enable the Government to carry measures' long • overdue. Scotland, for example, was in advance of England on temperance questions ana on land legislation, and there was no I reason why that country sliould be kept I back in the handling ot these and other questions because England desired to inov* more slowly. (Cheers.) Mr, Bonar Law expressed the opinion that the agitation was purely a hpthouse grievance. "What could Scotland possibly gain by a change of this kind ? She could gum nothing from the point of view of national characteristics or love of national traditions. No one •ivould deny that the Scottish character «.r nationality was as firmly rod ted as that of any people in the world, ami that aftor two centuries >of the closest connection with England. That had pnjvpd beyond, doubt tint whatever was good in nationality could continue, and even increase, in spite of union with a larger country. He remembered at the lima of the K«lm»rn'ock' election the Patronage Secroia'-y, who was a complete Scotsman — (laughter) — and would not like to lose the coniifction with the Enjli^h PHri'o.ment — (laughter) — brought forward the question of nationality in a rather dangerous way. Tho Young Scots took exception to the candidature of the present member (Mr. C. W. E. Gladstone) because ho was net ScoUith I enough. (Laughter.) The rigliL uoa.

gentleman , pointed out to them t how j brge- a part of the bicod of the lion, member was Scotch, and that whatever was not Scotch was Wekh. adding, ; \ there is .not a drop of English blood In him." (Laughter.) Jt was ti tlear .indication to the electors that no English need apply. If it were accepted that Scotland was- to be entirely lor the Scottish, tho oiid would be that England would be for the English. (Cheeis.) That was an arrangement which he confessed would not afc all suit him. (Laughcer and icueera.) Tho House divided, and there voted : - For the motion ... 226 Against . ... 123 Majority ... 98 The_ announcement of the figures was received with Ministerial cheerc. Amon» the Bilk read a first time is one in Dr. Chappie's name to consoli- , date and amend enactments relating to j animals and to knackers, and to make further provision with respect thereto.