Grant County herald. [volume] (Lancaster, Wis.) 1850-1968, 1886-04-15
Gladstone and Ireland.


Last Thursday was, perhaps, the
most momentous a day in British his
tory which has occurred in century.
On that day Gladstone promulgated in
Parliament his scheme for home rule in
ireland. 1t was measure long looked
for and long delayed-a measure which,
II successful. might end the long, bitter
and often bloody strife of seven humid
req years between the people of two
isles, near in locality but widely apart
in race, religion, feeling and character;
but If unsuccessful, would probably be
the end of all hope Of peaceful solu-
ton OF the ever pressing and ever troub-
ling Irish question. 1t is a measure
which is for the British empire as well
as for Ireland, a crisis from which must
date wider and wiser policy, or re-
lapse into the hopeless but irrepresslble
struggle between sullen oppression and
reckless despair.
Mr.. Gladstone has of late seemed to
see (and to be the only man in the
British Cabanit to see) the fundamental
fact that the only alternative before
England is a concession of home rule to
Ireland or new Cromwellian crusade
OF hire and sword through the rebellious
isle from Ulster to the southernmost
headlands of Cork. The Irish members,
under the lead of Parnell, will accept
no half measure. They will obstruct
Parliament to such an extent as will
probably exasperate the English ma
jority to acts of coercive violence, while
in Ireland domestic violence will break
out with all the fury of rising hope
plunged back into despair.
So last Thursday the great premier
announced in Parliament that coercive
measures for Ireland had proved a fail
ure and that the government was COM
mitted to q plan of giving Ireland con-
troll of her own local domestic affairs.
He said the postulate from which he
started is that Ireland must have a
domestic legislature
He proposed for Ireland a legislature
of two orders. The upper order should
be compos ed of the % peers who now
sit in the British parliament and 70
more to be elected by certain limited
class of voters and to hold office for
ten years. The lower order should be
composed of the 101 Irish members who
now sit in the British parliament and
los more to be elected. The strangest
part of the program, to an American,
is that the present Irish members of the
British parliament shall Withdraw and
Ireland be totally unrepresented in the
imperial parliament. This does not
seem to an American plan likely to
preserve the unity of the empire. II
certain OF our states were entirely I'M
represented in Congress. while having
legislatures of their own, we should ex-
pect to see them constantly drifting off
and attempting to set up a nationality
of their own. Gladstone says: at
would be very difficult for gentlemen
voters] in Ireland to decide who should
go to Westminster 1.-THE British parlia-
ment] and who should remain in Ire
land for the Irish pariament] :" Ameri-
can voters find no difficulty in deciding
which of their neighbors to send to the
legislature and which to Congress
But is notable that Gladstone, in his
illustrations by examples composed of
combined or federated states, never once
alluded TO the United States and its
system of local legislatures and nation
al congress, a system which might seem
to throw some light on the vexed
question of how Ireland could have its
local legislature and still be represented
in the imperial parliament. But the
Irish members seem to be satisfied with
the provision which baniShes them from
the British parliament. Perhaps it
favors the ultimate separation for which
the Irish generally long.
The comments of the great London
newspapers are ominous of the failure
of the bill. The English ruling class
are 10th to let slip in the least their
hold on Ireland. The prospect is dark.
Ii Gladstone shall succeed, it will be
by far the greatest achievement an
English statesman ever accomplished