The Indianapolis journal., 1885-12-29
THE IRISH PROGRAMME.
What Mr.. Parnell, the "Uncrowned
King" Will Ask for His Native Land.
Canada Taken for an Example-Work Dub
lin Parliament Would Do-Some Of
the Difficult Things to Settle.
London Letter in New York Times.


friendly talks during the late session, with the
more prominent and influential Irish National
ist leaders, have ventured to formulate their
demands for home rule. It is true that no man
can assume to do this autnSrltatively, for there
has never been any formal. or even general. dis
cussion of the subject among Irish statesmen,
and hence no authority exists. But believe
below does not differ materially from the sketch
which Messrs Parnell Healy, T. P. O'Connor,
Sexton, Dillon, O'Brien, and Mccarthy might
put down on paper after final consultation. AS
the first detailed statement Of its kind, thought to
interesting
One word of preface is needed. All talk about
separation or independence is rubbish 1t needs
only half head TO comprehend that. For, bet
ter or worse-it has been grievously for the
worse so far as Ireland is concerned-these
islands were put together They must stay to-
gether, and the only question worth serious dis
eussion is how to make that stay mutually toll
cradle. Many Irishmen have. in the fury of their
indignation. talked about independence, about
foreign alliances. and all that. So many
Englishmen, in their wrathful impatience with
about hanging Mr.. Parnell and governing Ire
land by the naked sword. But all this is merely
the talk OF angry men, and the visions of the
one are worth about as much as the
threats OF the other. We have reached q time
when the English are ready to consider DO
tailed proposition for home rule. The Tories it
is true invegh against such an idea now but
that is a case OF sour grapes. II they had car
ried twenty five more seats they would have
sought terms from Mr.. Parnell. AS it is, with
out strength enough to make working MAORI
ty even with his aid, they seek to raise an anti
Irish cry and draw succor from the other side by
appealing TO the meanest of English pas
sions. But the Liberals are ready for the cues.
eion just now the two wings of the party Rad
Seal and Wing make show of preferring to
keep Lord Salisbury in power. But this is mere
ly tactical moonshne. Each faction does this
to prevent the other from forming Tory alli-
nnce specially favor BILE terms. When Mr..
Gladstone has arranged in his mind just what
he can afford to offer Ireland, his party will fol
low him. These are the lines of settlement he
will probably encounter:
The Irish statesmen think great deal about
Canada as governmental model Let there be
Viceroy, as in the Dominion, presumably of
crown appointment. He would be surrounded
with such state and pomp rs were deemed i'm
portant to his position; would be the formal me-
dium of official communication between Dublin
and London; would preside in Judicial spirit
over the development and workings of the new
institutions, summon Ministers, tsanction acts,
etc, as Lord Lansdowne does at Ottawa. Per
haps he would better be an Irishman. If Lord
Duferin. for example. could be induced to
assume the task men who are devoted to Ire
land and the Irish can see that career and
o fame would be open to him which the
fates offer to few But whoever is
selected it must be borne in mind that much.
perhaps all, of the success of the experiment de-
pends upon his tact, and intelligence, and earnest
ness. 1t is to the interest Of all that the best
man-from the Irish point of view-should be
fnf Enn1on Afc c. oh kn,,
have been in giving with one hand and taking
back with the other. If you are to give at all,
consider first carefully what you can give and
then suffer no nagging spirit to whittle down the
Let the Irish Parliament be devised and con-
stituted by the Irish themselves. 1t would prob
ably be done by convention, made as repre-
sentative OF all sections and ideas as possible.
up on the threshold of this subject The Irish
would object to reasonable plan for securing
this, especially if the Parliament at Westmin-
ster willing to admit the same principle eor
England and Scotland. There are less than
million Protestants in Ireland. and they have
twenty-four members out Of 103 There are
e 0O0 900 Catholics in Great Britain; in the last
Parliament they had just one represen tative out
Of $40; in the new Parliament they will have four
out of 567. Englishmen may be surprised to
learn that the Irish members hold that when
they leave Westminster there will be minority
Of citizens left behind far more grievousy un-
Represented than Ulster ever ever could
be- But they will not stand out about this.
There will be no Irish representative in the
British Ministry, no Irish members in the Parlia-
ment at Westminster. Ireland wants neither
privileges nor responsibilities in imperial affairs
--only to be let alone to have chance to restore
herself to health and prosperity.
There will be no House of Lords in this Par
lament on the Green. They are played out
Even in England, with all the vast social, cler.
ical, and moneyed interests behind them, they
c. Azl. I'll
similar little body of men, absolutely without
popular support or respect would be worse than
useless in legislation.
This Irish Parliament will want no mint, no
postage stamps. no ambassadors or foreign re]a-
tioEs, no army or feet not even militia which
would be an expense and might be danger. 1t
will want absolute autonomy in things local to
ireland, subject of course, to precedent stipula-
tions, as in the matter of land. It will have
control of the police, and, through municipal
channels. Of taxation.
The financial relations between Dublin and
London are, of course, among the most difficult
of debatable things to settle Irish judgment Is
against any contribution to the imperial ex
ehequer, feeling that this exemption is due to
1reland's impoverished state. England would
maintain garrisons in seaboard defenses at her
own expense and subject to conditions Of
straint previously arranged Ireland would ask
for no financial aid for education, or for any
thing else except the land settlement, in which,
as will be shown hereafter, Englishmen are
deeply concerned As for the question of
tariff think trouble need be borrowed. The
Irish leaders are not agreed upon the value of
one, and fancy none of them would make it an
essential point in the settlement. Even. at the
worst, if Ireland were allowed to establish pro-
lection. reetraders ought to have enough rea-
sons for their faith to feel confident that the
pertinent would be short lived. A rich CONT
nent like America may conceivably. up to a GER
tain point, make protection profitable. Poor
Ireland, without coal, or iron, or wood any
other great staple, would very soon realize that
she was the last country in the world TO attempt
20 feed on her own vitals
The veto which the thirtv-odd millions must
have upon the five, could be vested in the
Yieeroy, or the Privy Council, or in an address
by both Houses of the Parliament at West
minister. There are FIVE reasons why the last
named is the best First it is contrary to the
genius Of English institutions that final power
should rest in other hands than those of the
Ministers and Parliament-which disposes Of the