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


As to trade and navigation, it would be a
misfortune to Ireland to be separated from
England. The Irish Parliament would have
nothing to do with coinage or the creation
OF legal tender. The subject of the post
Office would be left to the judgment of
Parliament, though the Government in
clined TO the view that il would be more
convenient to leave the post-Ofiice matters
in the hands of the Postmaster General.
Quarantine and one or two other subjects
were left in the same category.
The next subject to approach was that of
the compassionate the proposed legislative
body. The bill proposed to introduce two
orders who would sit and deliberate to-
gether, with the right of voting separately
Oh any occasion and on the demand of either
body, which should be able to interpose a
vote upon any measure for a limited time,
either until the dissolution or for three
years. The orders would be constituted as
follows:
First-There were the twenty-eight rep
resentative Peers, who could not continue to
sit in the House of Lords after the rep
resentatives OF the Irish people left the
House of Commons. They would have the
option of sitting as portion of the first or
der in the Irish Parliament with the power
of sitting for life. Some people thought
that option was not likely to be largely
used, but the speaker was not of that NUM-
Der. He proposed that with the twenty
eight Peers now in the House of Lords
there should sit seventy-tive Representatives
elected by the Irish people With regard
TO the powers of election, the constituency
would be composed Of occupiers of the
value of e25 and upward, and they would
be elected for ten years. The property quail
ification OF these representatives would be
goo annual value on a capital value of
"a, 600.
Mr.. Gladstone said he proposed that the
101 Irish members in the House of Com
mons should be members of the irish Par
Lament, and while the first order of the
legislative body would consist Of 103 men,
bers, the second order would consist of 206.
1t was proposed TO retain the Viceroy, but
he would not be the representative of
party or quit Office with an outgoing gov
eminent The Queen would be empowered
TO delegate to him any prerogative she now
enjoys or would enjoy. The religious dis
ability now existing, which makes Roman
Catholics ineligible to the office, would be
removed. With regard to the judges
who had been concerned in the admnistra-
ton of the criminal law in Ireland, her
Majesty might, if she saw cause, by order
in council, antedate the pensions Of
those particular judges. In the future the
judges would be appointed by the Irish
Government, be paid out of the consolidated
fund and be removable only on the joint
address of the two orders. The constabul-
airy would remain under the present term
of service and under their present author
ity. The charge of the constabulary was
now 9150,000 per annum, and tine speaker
felt confident the charge would be reduced,
but for the present he proposed to relieve
the Irish legislative body of all eXpendi-
ture for the conStabulary i'll excess of
100000 per annum. The Government
had no desire to exempt the peace of Ire
land in reference TO its final position. from
the ultimate control of the Irish legislative
body. The speaker had no jealousy upon
that subject, as the care of providing for
the ordinary security of life and property
was the first duty of local government.
With respect to the civil service, the Gov
eminent did not think their case was the
same as that of the constabulary and the
transfer of civil service to tie legislative
body would effect a great economy. He,
therefore, thought it would be wise to au
thOriZe the civil servants now serving to
claim the pensions that would be due to
them upon the abolition of their offices,
provided they served two years, in order to
prevent Inconvenience from rapid transit
ton OF the service and at the close of that
time both parties should be free to nego-
tiate afreSh.
That was all, Mr.. Gladstone stated, that
he had to say on the subject of the new
constitution. The proportion of the i'm
perial burdens which he had to propose that
Ireland should bear was as one to fourteen.
He thought that the new Irish Parliament
ought to start with balance to its credit, but
the only fund that it would have, if left
alone, would be the solitary 100000 from
the Irish Church fund. lie knew no way
of providing the necessary money, except
by carving it out of this years budget and
he proposed that in tie future Ireland
should pay One-fifteenth toward the impe-
rial expenditures. He went on to speak of
how much ireland would gain by exporting
spirits TO Great Britain and how much
Great Britain would lose to Ireland by the
flow of money from one to the other. As
the result of careful inquiry he stated
with confidence, not as an actual DEM
OnStration, but as matter of
certainty, with regard TO the far greater
portion, that the Irish receipts would gain
from Great Britain a sum that would
to 81, 400, 000 per anrum. He then
entered into an elaborate calculation of the
total income and expenditure of Ireland, in
the course of which he stated that the total
charge to Ireland on account of Imperial
Government he put at IS, 49,, 900 per an
mum. He stated, as all instance of the de-
of Irish administration, that
no in he
large surplus, in Ireland it just paid its eX-
penses. He estimated the total expenditure |
of Ireland, including payment as a nation |
al sinking fund for the Irish portion OF the |
National debt, as 97,946, 900 per annum.
Against that there was a total income of
IS, $50, 900, or surplus to the good of !
e404, 900.
ARGUMENTS FOR TIE MEA SURE.
aft has naturally been said in England !
aud Scotland" continued Mr.. Gladstone, |
that for great many years past we have |
been struggling to pass good laws for Ire |
land and that we have sacrificed our time, !
neglected our interests and paid our money |
and We have done all this in the endeavor |
to give Ireland good laws. This is quite |
true with regard to the general course of |
legislation since 1919. Many of those laws |
have been passed under an influence which |
[ can hardly describe other than as the in !
iuence of fear"
With regard to the history of the land |
question no man could know that until he /
had followed it from year to year, begin |
hing with the Devon Commission, the ap- |
Dointment of which. in the speakers opn- |
on, did the highest honor to the memory of |
Sir Robert Peel [cheersl, and then to ex-
anime the mode in which the whole work |
If the commission had been frustrated by /
he domination of selfish interests. Par
lelite cheersl.
He did not deny the good intention of the !
British Parliament to pass good laws for |
but he said in order to work out /
he purposes of the Government there is /