The Abilene reflector. [volume] (Abilene, Kan.) 1883-1888, 1886-04-15

pendent in point OF authority as it could
De. They (the gOvened) were not about
/ to propose the repeal of the union. 1t was
/ impossible to propose the repeal of the union
until they had settled what was the essence
] of the union. He defined the essence of
the union to be the fact that, whereas be-
fore the union there were two separate
and independent Parliaments; after the
union there was but one. To speak of
the ACKNOWLEDGMENT of the empire was in
| this century a missioner and an a6Surdity.
( The fault of the administrative system of
Ireland was that its spring and source OF
action was English. Cheers.
THE Government therefore felt that the
! settlement of the question was TO be found
I by establishing a parliament in Dublin
! Irish cheers for the conduct of business
of both legislative and an administrative
/ nature. The political economy of the three
countries must be reconciled. There should
/ be an equitable distribution of imperial
| burdens. Next there must be reasonable
/ safeguard for the minority: and why could
not this minority in ireland take care of
! itseIfr' He had no doubt about its ability
/ to do that when it lad passed through
/ the present critical period and been dis
armed of the jealOusies with which any
change was approached. but for the present
! there were three classes OF people whom
/ they were bound TO consider:
| First-The class connected with the land.
SeCond-The civil servants and officers
/ in Ireland.
Thrd-The Protestant minority.
| The speaker could not admit the claim of
the Protestant minority in Ulster or else
where to rule on questions which were for
I the evil of Ireland and several schemes for
the separate government of Ulster had been
submitted to him. One was that Ulster
province should be excluded from the oper
atOns of the present bill another was that
a separate autonomy should be provided
for Ulster and third suggested that GER
tain rights should be reserved and placed
under provincial councils.
No one of these proposals had appeared
to the Government to be so completely
justified by the merits or by the weight of
public opinion in its favor as to warrant the
Government in including it in their bill.
However. they deserve fair consideration,
and the free discussion that would follow
the introduction of the present bill might
lead to the discovery of 4 plan which had
a predomnating amount of support. The
Government would do the best TO adopt
the plan that seemed likely to give general
satisfaction.
Referring to the great settlement OF 1882
Mr.. Gladstone said:
at was not a real settlement, and why?
Was it Ireland that prevented a real settle
ment being made? Irish cheers. No, it
was mistaken policy of England, listening
to the perniciOus voice and claims of as
tendency. The Irish Parliament labOred
under great disadvantages; yet it had in it
IF Of md
emancipated the Roman CathGics in Ire
land when the Roman Catholics in England
were still unemancipated. IL received
Lord Fitz William with open arms and
when after a brief career he was recalled TO
England, the Irish Parliament registered
their confidence in him by passing a resO
luton desiring that he should still admin
lister the Government. Lord FitZ William
had promoted the admission of Roman
Catholics into the Irish Parliament, and
there was a spirit in that Parliament which,
if it had had free scope, would have done
noble work. and probably would have
solved all the Irish problems and have
saved this Government infinite trouble.
THE SCHEME.
The speaker said he would now pass to
the plan how TO give Ireland Legislature
to deal with the Irish as distinguished from
imperial affairs. He was confronted at the
outset with what he felt to be formidable
dilemma.
Ireland was to have a domestic Legisla-
ture for Irish affairs. That was his postu-
late from which he set out. Were the
Irish members and the Irish representative
peers in the other House to continue to
form part of the representative assemblies?
The speaker thought it would be perfectly
clear that if Ireland was to have domeS-
tic Legislature, tile Irish peers and the
Irish representatives could not come to
Parliament to control English and Scotch
affairs. Cheers.
Then, with regard to the question whether
Irish representatives should come to the
House of Commons for the settlement OF
imperial affairs, he thought that could not
be done. lie had, therefore, arrived at the
conclusion that Irish members and Irish
peers ought not 10 sit in the palace of West
minister. Oh, oh, and cheers. If irish
members were not to sit in the House of
Commons Irish peers ought not to sit in the
other House of Parliament. Hear, hear
and oh. How were the Irish people to be
taxed if they had Legislators in both coun-
tries? He believed that Great Britain
would never impose upon Ireland taxation
without representation, and added: If
we were TO have taxation without repre-
SentatiOn then there would come
another question which would raise
a practical difficulty, and that is,
are we TO give up the fiscal unity of
the Empire?' He did not think that by
giving up the fiscal unity of the Empire
they were giving up the unity of the En-
pire. He, however, stood upon the sub
Sfa al IN triv hn
unity of the Empire would be great mis-
fortune for Great Britain and greater mis-
fortune for Ireland. He conceived that one
escape from that dilemma would be such an
arrangement as would give the Imperial
Government authority to levy customs
duties and such excise duties as were imme-
diately connected with the customs. The
conditions OF such an arrangement were:
First-That the general power of taxa
ton over and above these particular duties
shOald pass into the hands of domestic
Legislature in Ireland.
Second-That the proceeds of the customs
and excise should be held for the benefit
of Ireland and for the discharge of the OBJ
legations of Ireland, and the payment of
the balance, after these obligations were
discharged, should be entered into the Irish
eXcheQuer, and be at the free disposal OF
the Irish legislative body
The Government bill provided for this, |
and the bill then provided that representa- |
tiveS of Ireland should no longer sit in the |
House of Commons, "a Irish peers in the |
House of Lords; but at the same time they |
would have the right of addressing the /
Crown, and so possess all the consti- |
tutional rights they held now. IOh, and |
cheers. 1t would, therefore, relieve Irish |
members from attendance at Westminster. |
Mr.. Gladstone said there were several |
reasons why this should be the case. Even
if it was possible for them to attend, as
they had a parliament of their own. it |