IRISH FREE STATE.

Waikato Times, Volume 107, Issue 18024, 20 May 1930, Page 9

IRISH FREE STATE.

THE MINISTERIAL CRISIS. AIR COSGRAVE’S RESIGNATION. (From a Correspondent). DUBLIN, March 30. On Thursday last the Government was defeated 'by the narrow margin of two votes on the second reading of a private member’s Bill. The House was twenty-two members under full strength. The measure proposes to revise the method by which income from land is calculated for the purpose of old-age pensions. These pensions already absorb one-eighth -of our revenue, and this new proposal is estimated to cost a further £250,000. It would have brought no benefit to the poorer pensioners, who rarely own any land. The following day Mr Cosgrave announced his intention to resign, and he Dail was adjourned till Wednesday next, when his successor will be elected. This provision of : the Constitution by which the. Dail elects the President- should have a reassuring effect in the country and prevent any crisis on the present occasion. Mr Cosgrave is -certain to be re-elected. Labour will not support a Fianna Fail nominee, and in any case these two parties do not command a majority. The House and country at large are fully sensible of the courage and ability Mr Cosgrave has shown during the past eight strenuous years he has been in office/ A dissolution on the eve of the Budget will be most upsetting to trade, and in any event a general election is due in 1932 and will probably take -place next year. Till then Mr Cosgrave's Government will be able to -carry on as it has done for the past three years, if only the independent deputies, who hold the balance of power, will realise their responsibility and be more constant in their attendance. Poor Law Relief. For some -time past a project' has been under consideration among social workers to test the legality of poor law relief. This Jias now been done, the the judgment.of the High Court is to the effect that a destitute person is legally entitled to “due relief.” The judge, however, declined to define due relief or to say whether-the relief afforded to the parties in the action was adequate in law. The court held that the discretion of the guardians lay in the form of relief only, whether extern or intern, ' and that the obligation to make provision for due relief allowed no discretion as to the measure of such relief. The decision is one of considerable interest and no little concern to rate-

payers. It is impossible for the moment to foresee what doors it yet , may open. Hitherto, it .has been the practice for guardians p to take into account all the circumstances of the applicant and to allow personal knowledge of the family and the total earnings of. the home to influence their award. It is probable that this may no longer be permitted, and that

not only must each applicant stand apart but that the,adequacy of the relief will be reviewed by the courts. Already, in.this present case'the sufficiency of the official dietary was challenged by expert evidence.

Reli6f Without Discretion

Opponents of the commissioner system are naturally much gratified by this decision. They have always argued that the economies made by the official nominees were largely at the expense of the destitute poor. Charitable organisations whose funds are severely taxed to deal with present distress are also pleased. But the ratepayers are much concerned at the prospect of having to give relief ■without discretion. Only the other day the Minister of Local-Government quoted figures to show that the cost of relief in Ireland has risen 40 per cent over pre-war, compared with 200 per cent or more in England. Nobody can venture to say , t what the comparative figures will be under this new interpretation of the law. The citizens of Dublin ard specially concerned because recently legislation was passed to enable the local authorities To grant outdoor relief in the city in the same manner as is done in other parts of the country. The estimate of the increase this would involve varied from 2s to 4s in the pound. Under the obligation of adequate relief for every destitute person considered as an independent unit it may reach a penal figure. It is unfortunate for ratepayers that this whole matter has -come at a time when amending legislation may become an election issue.

Hospitals and Sweepstakes.

The proposal to revive the funds of our hospitals by sweepstakes has aroused a good deal of rather inconsistent comment- Once the Government has ’ decided to take a hand in the betting business it is b,ard to know where-to draw the line. The feeling of the Dail was that it was better to have hospitals financed by this means than closed for lack of funds, and the second reading of the measure passed without a division. The President, however, recorded a strong personal protest against the entire proposal, which has been endorsed by certain of the Bishops but not yet by the -organised Churches. The efficacy of the method was proved a’few years ago by one en-, terprising person who, in disregard of 1 the Jaw, raised a large sum for a hospital. It was then seen that the system, If uncontrolled, lay open to •grave and obvious abuse. Under the present Bill there are ample safeguards. Every scheme must.he approved by the Minister of Justice, the ratio of expenses must be limited, the accounts must be audited, proper trustees must be appointed, and the printing, when possible, must be carried out in the country and be of best material. In spite of these precautions there is strong opposition to the proposal to exploit human weakness even in the cause of charity. One hospital' has already announced that it will accept no benefits from so tainted a source. In the meantime ready money betting saloons in both poor and rich districts continue to ply a thriving trade and add their quota to the sum or human misery. Sovereign Status. The debate in the Dail on the operation of Dominion and Merchant Shipping legislation was verbose and dull. The Minister of External Affairs emphasised the importance of the subject, and dealt at length with the details of the report. He took pains to show that the work of the conference gave full effect to the principle of coequal status and independent sovereignty among the Dominions. So successful was he in his task that the utmost the anti-treaty party could do was to damn his case by faint praise and repeat the thread(Continued in next column.)

bare argument that no status -could be coequal if it was imposed and maintained by force. This seemed somewhat inconsistent with the ofttold tale that our freedom was wrested from England by armed rebellion. It may be a puzzle to -some why the Government is so insistent on the trappings and formalities of our sovereign status. Much of the report merely serves to regulate or confirm long-accepted practice. Except for the Privy Council appeal, which is reserved for the plenary conference in the autumn, our status is in no way dependent or subordinate to Gfeat Britain. But it is very hard to convince the masses of this. The antitreaty party are ever vigilant to discover. and exploit in the country any vestige or technicality that, however remotely, might -connote subordination. When critics are disposed so say that our policy is not that of generous cooperation with the British commonwealth they must not forget political suspicions at home. These must be allayed if the Treaty is to be preserved and worse things' avoided.