The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1886-04-17 00:00:00

IRISH LABOURERS.

The Labourers (Ireland) Act v Amendment Bill was
read a second time, the Earl of Wemyvs and Lord Aatt-
bourne insisting upon a full examination of the details
of the measure in committee.

THE EASTER, RECE9S.
Earl Granville intimated that it was intended on
Friday next to move the adjournment of the House for
the Easter recess until Thursday,.blay 6.
Their lordships rose at ten minutes past seven
o'clock.

wortla ..
push FrOmF. RuLF. .
trial and commercial relations bid every year
In the HousE OF comMONS the adjourned debate on become more closely intertwined. In no part of Great
the Prime Minister's motion for leave to introduce a Britain was there a vestige of popular sentiment in
bill for the better Government of. Ireland was resumed favour of the change The policy of the Government
by Lord R. Churchill, wbo declared that the scheme was nothing less than giving up the enforcement of the
which had been explained to the Houne involved such law in despair; it was a capitulation to those who had
a complicated, inextricable, and multitudinous mass of successfully defied the authority of the executive and
contradictions and absurdities that if it had not been- the law of the Imperial Parliament. The bill could
propo?.ed on the high autheri/y of the Prime Minister not be a ;ea' or final settlement of the question, Inas-
-1
it would not have heetoUr One moment seriously con- rich as it fell, far short of the demands of Mr. Parnell
.siclered. The scheme was accompanied with. a calign:- . d his-friends, and it therefore was not a real alterna-
'fity of fanciftit'and Vceftrtri'ULAtial'riiiiteiis inid , e , eto coercion. If it were necessary, as he believed it
plank., which btl•okilitenged-stonViltdriattc6thir • - was, to enforce the law and the authority of the
If their purpose of proteding the "ProteSt - ,
.9ueen's Government, they ought to be enforced at any
and which were worthless and illusory- The retentioU ' soeifbni certainly there was nothing in the condition
in the hands of the British Parliament of the I of Ireland to warrant the House in taking thn step
power of imposing Customs and Excise duties violated I which the Prime Minister asked it to take.
the most ancient of our constitutional rights, that Mr. Gladstone, in replying upon the debate, reiterated
taxation and representation should go together. The the essential conditions to the granting of a domestic
arran;zerneet winch w...E nr::posed Trouid leave the

Legislature to Ireland, and declared that the assump-
tion of the customs and the excise by this country, and
the absence of the Irish members from the Parliament
at Westminster had never been intended as vital and
ersential provision of the bill. The Government
could not pledge themselves to adopt any of the
suggestions which had been offered upon the latter
point, but it would be presumptuous for them at that
early stage to close the door against any consideration
of the subject. As to the argument that this bill
would be followed by further demands, he held that
to give to the Irish people, as the Government pro-
posed to do, that which was substantially in full
accordance with a reasonable demand was the way to
stop further demands. The system of doling out to
Ireland year by year that which she did not want,
and which she would accept only for the purpose of
making farther demands, afforded no strong or per-
manent standing ground. The Government proposal
held the field; if it had enemies it had not a single
rival. The time had come when the House must
decide whether it would boldly attempt to free Parlia-
ment from its great and necessary work, and establish
harmony with Ireland by Irish laws, or whether it
would continue the old struggle, living from hand to
month, leaving England and Scotland to suffer from a
famine of needful legislation, and Ireland from a con-
tinuance of social disease which they did not know how
to deal with.
Leave to introduce the bill was then given, and the
second reading was fixed for May 6.
Some oi her business was disposed of, and the House
adjourned at 20 mi,,ntes to three o'clock.