The Northwestern standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn.) 1885-1886, 1886-01-16
Morley, the Famous English !" iiiberal, )
Considers the Irish Question
at Lsngth. rs.
PLAIN Facts Brought Home to the Eng
liah Mind The Present Oriais
Grave One.

Mr.. Morley said: In dealing with the
Irish question 1 venture to think it will
be- the business Of Mr.. Gladstone to
shape his policy, and to press it when
the time comes upon the country with
all the force Of his conscience and his
conviction. Buty you are told that the
notions which are imputed to Mr.. Glad
stone in respect to the settlement OF
ireland are an afterth thought, and came
into his mind only because he found he
wanted the Irish vote, and the political
pharisees who lift up their voices every
day to thank heaven they are not as
other men are, are ROW exclaiming
with calculations Of holy horror at the
immortality Of the party. Laughter
The Tory incorrigible screams out that
if Gladstone had policy with respect
to ireland he ought to have brought it
before the country before the election,
and not to have sprung it unawares
upon us now. l ask any Of you who
followed Mr.. Gladstone's utterances
before and during the election whether
he did not from first to last place the
Irish question in the most prominent
place in his speeches2 | ask if Mr. Glad
stone did not place that question in its
most impressive and nnmistakable
shape in the September nifesto? The
question was raised, the issue was
stated, the attitude of the party was de-
scribed again and aaain, and in speech
after speech, by Mr.. Gladstone in Mid
lothian. Let us be quite clear as to
this. If there is any misund derstanding
as to the attitude of the Liberal party
on the Irish question the misunder-
standing is rot the fault Of our leader.
The pith ard marrow Of his appeal to
the electors was that they should give
the Liberals such a majority that they
should be able not to stifle the voice OF
Ireland, not to resist the wishes OF the
Irish people, not to cheat Ireland out
Of her just demands, but TO test these
demands, to measure thssss syyiAhes and
to give friendly ear to their voices
from the position Of an impartial Sc.
curity, and not, as he said, on the slip
perry footing of a servile dependence on
the Irish vote. So far as I remember
them, those are almost Mr. Gladstone's
very words. They are words again and
again repeated by him. Well, then,
when people now say that he is coming
out with scheme and programme
because he wants office, and he is bar
tering the empire for power, | say that
such talk, whether it is in Liberal or
gans or in Tory organs, is as untrue as
it is poor and contemplate. The issue
Of the elections has not been to place
the Liberals in the position which Mr..
Gladstone desired. We have an i'm.
mense majority in Great Britain, but
Mr.. Gladstone will not be able to crap
pie with the Irish question with that
firm footing, as he called it, which is
given by commanding majority in The
House Of Commons. But does anybody
dream that because the Liberal ma
jority in the whole house has disap.
peared the Irish difficulty has disap-
peared? Does anybody think that be-
cause our means Of meeting that diff.
fic,llty are weakened that the difficulty
itself has ceased to exist? II there is
he is laboring under very grievOus de.
fusion. At this moment the Tory gov.
eminent themselves know much better
than to think that the Irish question il
solved by the present parliamentary
deadlock. Some Of their scribes are il
| a state Of very lofty indignation and pa
triotic fury against Mr.. Gladstone fol
Matching, as they say, a scheme Of trea
son against the empire. Gentlemen, 4
| is stage indignation. 1t is the simr
lated fury Of actors playing part. W.
have seen it all. heard it all, read it all
not SO many months ago. How many
months ago is it since they were in !
state Of the same indignation and fur
about the maintenance of law and or
der--in favor Of coercion? And ye1
how swiftly and silently the Tory part,
dropped coercion; how silently and
swiftly they dropped law and order, ant
not altogether silently either, Wher
they actually attacked Lord Spencerfol
maintaining law and order in Ireland
Therefore, il you will take my advice
you will read al those fuming ant
Il