THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

Waikato Times, Volume XXVI, Issue 2125, 20 February 1886, Page 2 (Supplement)

THE IRISH PARLIAMENT.

(By an " A.i»ti'.iu m London," in the Pall Mall Gazette.)

It KPKhS JSNTATIOK. LiCT this be de\ ned and constituted by tho Irish tli. ins -Ivl-> It would probably be clone by .1 cm vention made a< representative nf nil «"rtion« and ideas as possible. The question >>f miiMiity representation coiihm up mi th^ thiirihold of this subject. Tho ln-li u I'ild object to no reasonable plan fur &euuiug thU, especially if the PariiAiiiiiit .it W. stmm-.tor wan willing to admit the <vn' principle for England and Scotl nil 'I iiit" .no lo^ than a million Piotf4.ints in Ireland, and they have 24 mumlifi-i i>nt <>f 103. Thi-re are two million* of (J itholii--. in (ire it Britain. In tho last P.uli mi -Tit they had just nne repre-sf-ntitu'- out "f "jl'.t, in thd new Parliament they will Liw 1 four out of 5'»7. Enßhslimr>n uiiy 1>- Niirpii&^d to le.irn that the lush m Miihi-, li ild thit when they leave We-tiniii'toi tliore will be a minority of citi/.'iis left hero f.ir more grievomly unrepreipntcl than UNter ever was or ever could b". )3nt they will not stand wit about this.

f»K BIUriSH MINISTRY. Theiv will li" no [n&l» representatives in tlio Bnthh Mini-tiy, no Irish member in the r.uhuuuut at \Veitmin>>ter. Ireland want-» n-ither privilt»ffps nor responsibilities in Impjn il .iffairs ; only to bo let alone to has c a chance to restore herself to health and prosperity.

HOI'SjE OF LORDS. Thero will be no House of Lords in this Parliament on the Green. They are played out. Even here in England, with all the vast social, clerical and moneyed interests behind them, they are a timid and ineffective body. In Ireland a similar little body of men, absolutely without popular support or respect, would be worse than useless in legislation. Tlih Irish Parliament will want no Mint, no postage "stamps no Ambu^adora or foreign r jLitious, no army or fleet, not even a tnihti.i, which would be an expense and might bj .v dauber. It will want absolute autonomy in tilings local in Ireland — sub ject, of coulee, to precedent stipulations, as m the inatti'l- of land. It will have control of the polise, and, through municipal channels, of t.ixntion.

FINANCIAL KELVTIONB WITH ENGLAND. The financial relations between Dublin and London aro, of course, among the most difficult of debateable things to settle. Irish judgment is against any contribution to the Imperial Exchequer, feeling that this exemption is due to Ireland s impoverished state. England would maintain garrisons in seaboard defences, at her own expense, and subject to conditions of restraint previously arranged. Ireland would ask for no financial aid for education, or for anything eke except the land settlement, in winch, as w ill be shown hereafter, Englishmen are deeply concerned.

THE TAHU'F. As for the question of a tariff, I think no trouble need bo feared. The Irish leaders are n<>t agreed upon the value of one, and I fancy none of them would nuke it an e-.senti.il point in the settlement. Even, at the worst, if Ireland were allowed to establish protection, we freetraders ought to have enough reasons for our faith to feel confident tint the experiment would be short-] 1 v cd. A rich continent like America may c >ncei\n.bly, up to a certain point, make protection jiroKtable. Poor Ireland, without coal or iron or wood, or any other great staple, would very soon realise that she was tho Li&t country in the world to attempt to feed on her own vital".

THE VETO. The vet> which the thirty odd millions mihf have upon the five could be vested in the Vicm'kv, i»r the Privy Council, or in an addi-^ by b IMI Houses of the Parliament at Weituuu-'tor. There are five reason.' why the 1 i>L named is the be.->t. Fir>t, it icontraiy to tho geniiib of English institu tion^ tli.it fin il power should rent in othei luml-i tluu those of the Ministers and Faili'iment — winch disposes of the Viceroy Secondly, the PrivyCmincil would me.ir practically, r tho existing English Ministry but without ministerial responsibility te Parliament, which is inadmissible Thirdly, an Address by Parliament woulc preserve in form and fact alike the supre inacy of th.it body over Ireland. Fourthly it would the Irish against uncon tidcrcd and h.ira»-ingr negatives on trivia or un-siib'it intial giouud>>. Fifthly, i' would ho .1 utilisation of machinery now ir umo in tho case of a judge, who hold' quemdiu '.c bene gesserit, and is only re moved by an addreii of both Houses agains him. The exercise of this veto would bi limited, of course, by the Act of Settle ment, within certain defined boundaries.

i KCLII.IOUS EQUALITY. There would ba no disposition to in auj way abndge leligious liberty, and no disin clination to give all reasonable guarantee! on this point. The presence of Protestani Mr P.miell at the head of the movement, and thi 1 five Protestants among his nev p u'lidtnent vry follower:*, ought in itself t< make this clear. No doubt there is a gieai deal of intolerance in Ireland. But has the Orangeman any title to complain o •superioi bigotry in the Papist ? Could noi Archbishop WaKh tell a story about Pro testant persecution which, via the heel iiiaiks of Sir George Errinjjton, wouU reach into Downing stieet itself? For tumtely, Monsignor Walsh is a broad minded, generous, tolerant, Statesman with no idev of repnying in kind his owi griewmce-. There will be s>nne friction until the minority learns that the old day when it had a big brother to back it ii throwing bricks at the majority havepassec away. Then there will be peace.

tui: L\xn QUEsnoN. Here is tho i üb. Ireland wanr« the loai of enough money to buy the landlords out Granting tint, the remaining question is o valuation. But the British taxpayer, wlinsi money is being advanced on the security o the land, will have as keen an interest ii seeing: that hi-, security is solid as the Irisl tenant-purchaser will in keeping price down. This common concern in justia ought to be s.vfe ground upon which tf build a settlement. It ought to secure i valuation ot the land on strictly commercia lines, the absenca of which in the past ha< been an unspeakable curse to Ireland. I is no secret, surely, that tens of thousand: of Irisli tenants think themselves fort\raat< if they can pjft a bare living out of theii holdings and do not dream of paying th< rent from tho proceeds as well. That inus come fiom harvesting in Eugland, or from relatives iv A.merica. The new valuatioi must include both living and rent (or iti equivalent in instalments and interest 01 the loan). The fact that any other systeit was runious and criminal has not matterec much in the past, because ouly the Imt suffered by it. But when the British tax payer finds his ten pounds loaned on tht seaurity of land which cannot decently feec it-j occupiers, lot alone ten shillings for in teret>t and a moiety of the debt, it wil matter a great deal. The only danger lies in a false valuation through favoritism, The only safeguard lies in making Bnglanc and Scotland responsible in pocket for such a result. The subject suggests so much that then must be no attempt whatever at discuasior here, or your pages would be swamped. One thing, however, should be said— a per fectly fair valuatiou, based upon the productive worth of the land, would force th« usuiers who have been bleeding Ireland worse than Egypt was ever bled, to term: of composition. Perhaps these could be arranged by private treaty, so that the landlords whom the money-lenders hold in their talons might escape utter ruin. Perhaps the amount owed is too great, foi this accursed system permeates all Irish finance, from the London bank which loans the Cabinet Minister money at 20 per cent, to build his castle, down to the gombeen man who loans to the tenant at 250 per cent, for the purchase of seed. If the case is too bad for ordinary remedies, then no ideas about the rights of property ought to stand in the way of an heroic and extraordinary remedy, any more than they availed to prevent our freeing the slaves twenty-two year 3 ago.

THE DREAM OF FEDEK VHON. All this may easily be tho first great S-nctic.il &tcp towards a Federation of the ritish empire — of the English-speaking peoples. Ii eland, worn, exhausted, sick at heart over her own desolation, has now no e\tern.il ambition, while Englishmen think of u semi-independent Ireland as plotting rebellion and fomenting foreign troubles ! The one consuming idea of the men whom Ireland trust-*, the Pamells, O'Connore, Healys, Sextons and O'Briens, is to take this wretched, slovenly, woe-begone Ireland out of tho mire, as one might take a foundling otf the streets, and clean, clothe, teach, and nourish her into self-respect, thrift, and dignity. Ireland is> the wasted waif and stray of nations ; they aspire to restore her to health and strength. Ten years of the new life, by inculcating self-restraint and self-reliance, by instilling wholescine selfpride, by softening the race bitterness which has been glaring across the Irish Sea foe cooturies, will do much to copper

the Irish ready for a real Federation. Moit Irishmen arc Democrats, and religious moa as well, and the idea of a v.-u.t Empire consecrated to propaganda of peace would attract them. Then their representative* would come back to Westminster and moot their delegates from Australia, from India, from Canada, in a common purpose of construetire union.