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

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT

TFIE POOR RELIEF (IRELAND) BILL.
In the Hots OF Loans, April 9; Earl Spencer, in
moving the second reading of the Poor Relief (Ireland)
Bill, expressed his regret at the loss sustained by the
country through the death of Mr. Forster. whose Fer.
vices in connection with the administration of Ireland
he specially eulogised.
The Earl of Iddesleigh also paid a tribute to the high
character and great abilit:es of the decersed statesman;
and Earl Cowper declared his full concurrence in the
sentiments which had been expressed by both noble
lords.

The bill was read a second time, ag were the Con-
tagious Diseases Acts Repeal Bill and the Lunacy
(Vacating of Seats) Bill.
Their lordships rose at a quarter past six o'clock.
THE HOME RULE DEBATE.

In the HOVSE OF COMMONS, the adjourned debate
on Mr. Gladstone's motion for leave to introduce a bill '
fcr the future government of Ireland was resumed by ;
Mr. Chamberlain, who explained the causes which had '
led to his resignation of office. He took °face upon
the distinct understanding that • the Prime Minister
was committed only to examination and inquiry in
conjunction with his colleagues as to how far it was
possible to meet the wishes of the Ir.sh people for a
legislaPive body sitting in Dublin, the fulles- guarantees
being given for the integrity of the Empire and the
protection of the minority. He had felt compelled to
sever himself from the Prime blinister because the
scheme which the right bon gentleman had now ex-
plained did not maintain the limitations which he had
always declared himself _determined to preserve. The ,
inquiry, he understood, would be undertaken by the
Prime Minister in conjunction with hi a colleagues, but
it was not until the 13th of March that the matter was
mentioned for the first time in the Cabinet in connec-
tion with a scheme for land purchase, which had
been circulated to members of the Cabinet the day
previously. The scheme •involved the issue of
£120,000,000 in Consols.
Mr. Gladstone interposing, reminded the riQht hon.
gentleman that the permission to offer explanations
which had been obtained from her Majesty on his behalf
had no relation to particulars of any scheme upon which
the final decision of the Cabinet had not been taken
or which had not been publicly explained to Par-
liament.

Mr. Chamberlain regretted the misunderstanding, but
poiuted out that be had asked for per mission to explain
the causes which had led to his resignation, and that
the resignation had been largely due to the land pur-
chase scheme. How, he asked, amid loud cheers from
the Conservative benches, could be explain the reasous
for his resignation with his hands tied behind him? He
thought the Prime Minister's view was mistaken, for in
their correspondence he bad expressly asked permission
to read his own letter of March 15, and that permission
was given.
Mr. Gladstone said he was unable to recollect what
that letter was; and some further altercation between
the two right hon. gentlemen was terminated by an
emphatic reiteration on the part of the Prime Minister
that her Majesty's permission did not extend to state-
ments referring to a measure of great importance which
had not yet been introduced.
Mr. Chamberlain remarked that under these circum-
stances his explanation must necessarily be incomplete.
In his letter of March 15 he objected to any consider-
able employment of English credit for the purpose of
buying cut Irish landlords, and he also gave reasons
why he thought the new authority which the Prime
Minister proposed to establish in Dublin was one
which it would be unwise and inexps.dient to trust with
the possession of the land so bought, with the collec-
tion of rent, and with the payment to this country of
he necessary interest and sinking fund. He objected
to the scheme because it proposed to terminate the pre-
sence of the Irish members at Westminster, and to set
up a co-ordinate authority with that of the Imperial
Parliament. He objected to renounce the exercise of
the right of imperial taxation in Ireland; and on this
paint he noticed that the Premier's scheme had since
been modified. He objected also to making the new
authority supreme in all matters not specially excluded
from its competence. He could not assent to any
scheme which laid upon the British taxpayers a
tremendous liability for land purchase, and an excessive
risk; and he objected to the Home Rule scheme
because it was really one for complete separation, and
would make Ireland a foreign country. Rather than
face the agitation which he foresaw would be the certain
result of the Prime Minister's concession he would
vote for separation pure and simple. He denied
that coercion was the only alternative. Coercion, in-
deed, was at the bottom of the Government proposal,
for without coercion it could not be-imposed upon
the Protestant minority, nor could the decrees of
the statntory Parliament be carried into effect. His
alternative was to suspend by enactment the power
of eviction for six months pending a continuance of
the inquiry into the best means of settlement by a
thoroughly representative Commission, and to empower
the Government in the meantime to advance to the
landlords on the security of the land a certain propor-
tion of their rents. He looked for the solution of the
difficulty in the direction of a scheme of federation
under which Ireland would remain an integral portion
of the Empire, and which, while maintaining the im-
perial unity, would conciliate the desire for local
government which was felt by the Irish people. Hold-
ing these views, he would have been guilty of incredible
baseness if issitad clung to office by supporting a policy
which, in his heart, he believed-to be injurious to the
best interests of Ireland and of Great Britain.

Mr. Healy. taunted Mr. Chamberlain with having
endeavoured to strike a deadly blow at his late leader,
and ridiculed as impracticable under existing circum-
stances his scheme for federation, which he declared to
be an ex post facto invention since his retirement from
the Government. Faulty and imperfect as the
Premier's proposal might be in some of its details, the
defection of Mr. Chamberlain and the circumstances
under which the measure was brought forward would
secure for its author the affection and the support of
the Irish people.
Mr. IV. S. Allen, as a stanch Liberal, feared that the
Government scheme, if adopted, would lead in a short
time to a proposal for complete separation.
Mr. W. Johnston, on behalf of the loyal minority in
Ireland, protested against their being subjected to the
domination of the Roman Catholil majority.
Sir J. Lubbock declared that if the bill were passed
it would be by Irish votes and in opposition to the
wishes of the great majority of the people of England
and Scotland. Great Britain would suffer, while
Ireland would not gain by it; and it would never be
accepted by Ireland as a final settlement.
The Marquis of Hartington explained the reasons
which bad prevented him and his friends from jcining
the present Government. They felt convinced that
the task which Mr. Gladstone had undertaken was one
which was absolutely impossible to reconcile with the
opinions which he and they had previously expressed.
The project which the right hon. gentleman bad
explained to the House was one to which, consistently
with the opinions which they had always held and
still entertained, it would be absolutely impossible that
they should become parties. Except in the face of
an emergency ,which could not have been foreseen,
the House of Commons had no right to initiate im-
portant legislation of which the constituencies were
not informed at the general election, of which they
might have been informed, and as to which, if they had
been informed, there was, at all events, the greatest
doubt what their decision would have been. He denied
the moral competence of Parliament, except in case of
emergency, to initiate such legislation as had been un-
folded to it. It contained within it so much that would
give the Irish members vantaee ground for demanding
fresh concessions that it would be strange indeed if by
any action of theirs it was endangered. Whatever
might be the fate of the measure, it would henceforth
be the starting point for Irish demands. It, as he
believed, it did not command. the support of the
majority of the people of this country, its introduc-
tion . without adequate preparation would have
vastly added to the great difficulties of the govern-
ment of Ireland. Criticising the main proposals of
the bill, he •contended that it would create a new
and real Irish grievance, which would lead to fresh
demands, and that instead of promoting peace it was
likely to occasion more risks of serious difficulty and
conflict than now existed. Now that the people of
this country had been brought f2ce to face with the
alternative of a•disruption of the Empire on the one
hand, or of all the calamities which would follow on the
rejection of this unfortunate scheme on the other, he
believed they would require that their representatives
should, in relation to Irish affairs, agree to sink all
minor differences and unite as one man for the main•
teziance of, and to hand down to their successors, that
great Empire compact and complete as they had in-
herited it, and at the same time to maintain through-
out its length and breadth the undisputed supremacy of
• law.

Mr. John Morley ridiculed Mr. Chamberlain's alterna-
tive suggestions, and asiced if the proposals of the
Government were rejected how the government of
Ireland was to be carried on. Those proposals laid
down the only lines upon which that Government
could be carried on under a system of free and popular
representation, and he was convinced that there never
was a time when it was more urgent that a pacific solu-
tion of the Irish problem should be arrived at.
On the motion of Lord R. Churchill tt.e debate was
adjourned.
The House adjourned at five minutes past one.

BILLS ADVANCED.*
In the HOUSE or Loans, April 12, the Army (Annual)
Bill was read a third time, and the Marriages (Hours of
Solemnisation) Bill a second time; and several other
measures were advanced a stage.

ENGLISH GROWN TOBACCO.

Lord Sudeley stated, in answer to Lord Harris, that
the Government were prepared to grant facilities for
experiments in the growth and ureparation of tobacco
in this country by some responsible person or body. It
was, however, impossible to grant any general license
for the purpose.

power of the purse in the hands of the English Parlia-
ment, while it would place in the hands of the new
Irish Government upwards of three millions a year
over which the Irish Parliament would have no control.
The price which the English people would have to pay
for this arrangement would be the stereotyping of the
Customs and Excise duties, while the hands of the Eng-
lish Chancellor of the Exchequer would be very much
cramped, if not altogether tied, to say nothing of
£1,500,000 of extra taxation annually, which would
devolve upon the British taxpayer. With regard to the
great principle of the bill, he held that it was repeal of
the Union. Would the unity of the United Kingdom
be maintained by excluding one portion of the kingdom,
with a population of 5,000,000, from any voice in the
discussion of foreign, colonial, commercial, and Im-
perial affairs? The lives, liberties, and property of every
man, woman and child in Ireland would pass absolutely
and for ever from the jurisdiction of the Imperial Perlis,
merit. liow, then, could it be contended that the bill did
not repeal the Union? The scheme, combined with its
manifestation of complete confidence in the Irish
people so many conditions indicative of profound dis-
trust that if he were an Irishman he should feel that
the honour and dignity of his country were deeply
wounded by it. As to Ulster, which from the point of
view of revenue resources was practieally one-half of
Ireland, positively it was not decided by the Prime
Minister whether it could be trusteu to the Irish Parlia-
ment or not, and the fate of Ulster was to be left to
the scramble of a committee. That in itself was a
proof of the almost hopelessly insoluhle character of
the problem of Home Rule. Examining the gr nods
upon which the measure was proposed by the Prime
Minister he argued that they were totally inadequate to
justify such legislation; while the Irish Chief Secre-
tary's intimation of what would result if the bill
were rejected might be held by ill, disposed
persons to suggest and justify the fulfilment of
his prophecy. It would seem that the new Magna
Charta which was proposed for Ireland, in the disguise
of an act of grace, was in reality an act of terror. The
House of Commons ought not to be influenced by argu-
ments of that sort, which were the weakest of all the
grounds on which the bill was supported. If this
measure passed into law its results would be to place
Ireland, freed from the supremacy of Parliament and
the sovereignty of the Queen, in the same position
towards Great Britain as that of Italy towards Austria
after beirlg freed from the Austrian yoke, or of Bul-
garia towards Turkey after its liberatiop from the con-
trol of the Porte. Although he should not divide
against the motion for the introduction of the bill, he
protested against the policy which had been racist un-
constitutionally sprang upon an' unwary, an unwarned,
and a startled people, and against a measure most
desperate and most misleading.
The Attorney-General thought the noble lord would
have acted wisely had he deferred his criticism of the
details of the measure until the committee stage. As
to the principles of the bill, he should like to know
what was the alternative policy which the noble lord
and his friends had to suggest to the House? The
scheme of the Prime Minister, he believed, contained a
principle in the development of which he saw the
prospect of great good both to England and Ireland. ln
recurring, as the Government were doing, to a enheme
of self-government for Ireland they were recurring to
the Liberal policy of the past. The Legislative Union
between the two countries had not produced sati,s
factory results. The united Parliament had failed in
its duty towards Ireland, and had shown itself
incapable of appreciating the wants of Ireland
or realising its duties. Under the scheme of
the Prime Minister ample guarantees were taken for
the supremacy of Parliament and the Crown. The
argument that the constituencies had not been con-
sulted upon this question was not correct, and was, in
fact, a mere dilatory plea. With regard to the exclu-
sion of the Irish members from the Imperial Parlia-
ment, if any practicable method could be suggested for
avoiding it, consistently with the object of the Govern-
ment scheme, he hoped that Ministers would be quite
open to consider it. All parties agreed that something
must be done with this queation. England had tried
to govern Ireland and had failed. Was it net time that
Ireland should be allowed to try and govern herself?
In the Government scheme, he believed, would be found.,
the means ot ending a state of :things that was intoler-
able both to Ireland and England, and injurious to the
nameethe fame, and the greatness of the Empire.
The discussion was continued by Mr. Finch-Hatton
and BIT. Jennings, who opposed the Prime Minister's
scheme; and by Mr„ Burt and Mr. Bradlaugh, who
supported it, though with some reluctance as regarded
the proposed exclusion of Irish representatives from
the Imperial Parliament.
Major Saunderson, on behalf of the Loyalists of
Ireland, protested against the scheme.

Mr. Whitbread iv-as convinced that there was no
chance of a combination between the two sides of the
House to resist the demands of the Irish people that
would enable a stable government to be formed and
the work of legislation to be proceeded with.

Mr. Gibson described the Government proposal as a
complete surrender to the Parnellite agitation.
On the motion of the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
the debate was adjourned at a quarter to one o'clock.

THE CRISIS IN •ifIE EAST.

. In the HOUSE or LORDS on April 13 the Earl ot
Rosebery stated, in answer to the Marquis of Salisbury,
that the Prince of Bulzaria, while still reserving his
objections to the condition which made his appointment
as Governc.r-General of Eastern Roumelia subject to
renewal at the end of five years, had with the consent
of the Powers announced to the Grand • Vizier that, in
view of the Unanimous decision of the Powers, he was
willing to defer to the international acts signed by their
representatives.
Sec era! bills were advanced a stage, and their lord-
ships rose at five o'clock.
NEW NVTLIT.

In the llorsE OF COMITONS, on the motion of Mr. .4..
Morley, a new writ was ordered for the election of a
member for the Clitheroe Division of North-East
Lancashire in the room of Sir U. Kay-Shuttleworth,
who has accepted the office of Chancellor of the Duchy
of Lancaster.