The Portland daily press. [volume] (Portland, Me.) 1862-1921, 1886-04-09

and satisfactory plans Oe discovered the |
government would do its best to adopt the
plan that seemed likely to give general
satisfaction.
Referring to the Great Settlement of
1882,
Mr.. Gladstone said: st was not real
settlement, and why? Was it Ireland that |
prevented a real settlement being made? |
Irish chesrs.) No, it was the mistaken
policy of England, listening to the per-
nicious voice and claims of the ascendancy. |
(HearD The Irish Parliament labored under |
great disadvantages, yet it had in it spark |
of the spirit of freedom,. and it emancipated |
Roman Catholics in Ireland when Roman |
Catholics in ENGLAND owne were St anepanei a
ment which, if it had had free scope, would |
have done a noble work and probably would |
have solved all the Irish problems and have |
saved this government lnhnlte trouble
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. (HearD He was confront
ed at the outset with what he felt to be |
formidable dilemma. If Ireland was to have
domestic legislation for domestic affairs,
were the Irish members and Irish repre-
sentative peers in either House to continue
to form part of the representative assem-
blies? The speaker thought it would be per-
fectly clear that if Ireland was to have a
domestic legislature, Irish peers and Irish
representatives could not come to Parliament
to control English and Scotch affairs.
(Cheers) Then with regard to the question
whether the Irish representatives should
come to the House. of Commons for the
settlement of imperial affairs, he thought
that could not be done. He had therefore
arrived at the conclusion that the Irish men,
bers and Irish peers ought not to sit in the
palace of Westminster. cOh Oh!' and
cheers.( II the Irish members were not to
eif ir,t tao of To fba TricI
ought not to sit in the other House of Par
lament. cHear! hear and 'Oh!D
How were the Irish People to be
Taxed
if they had legislators in both countries? He
believed Great Britain would never impose
upon Ireland taxation without representa-
ton, and added, five were. to have taxa
tion without representation 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
believed that to give up the fiscal unity OF
the empire would be great misfortune Tor
Great Britain, and greater misfortune for
Ireland. He conceived that escape from that
dilemma would be such an arrangement as
would give the imperial government author
ity to levy customs duties and such excise
duties as were Immediately connected with
the customs. The conditions of such an ar
rangement were, first, that the general power
of taxation over and above those particular
duties should pass unequivocally into the |
hands of the domestic legislature in Ireland;
secondly, that the proceeds of the customs
and excise should be held for the benefit of
Ireland and for the discharge of the obliga-
tionS of Ireland land payment of the balance, |
after these obligations were discharged,
should be entered into the Irish exchequer |
and be for the free disposal of the Irish legis-
lative body. The government bill provided |
for this, and the bill then provided that the |
representatives Of Ireland should no longer
oil IN fhou ofH nr. T-ic
in the House of Lords, but at the same time
they would have the right of addressing the |
crown and so possess all the constitutional |
rights they held now. C'Oh," and eheersl 1t |
would, therefore, relieve the Irish members |
from attendance at Westminster
To Maintain the Fiscal Unity of the
Nation,
there is another point with regard to the |
powers of the legislature. Two courses
this legislative body with particular legisla-
tive powers; the other was to except from
the sphere of its action those subjects which |
the government thought ought to be except
ed, and to leave to it every other power. The
latter plan had been adopted. Administra-
tive power would pass with legislative pow
er. The duration of the proposed legisla-
tive body should not exceed five years. The
functions which 1t was proposed to with
draw from the cogniZance of the legislative |
body were three grand and principal func-
tions, viz: Everything which related to the
crown; all that which belonged to defence,
Of armed force, and our foreign and colo
nial relations 1t would not be competent to
pass laws for the establishment or endow-
ment of any particular religion Cheers, and
as to trade and navigation it would be
misfortune to Ireland to be separated from
England. The Irish Parliament would also
have nothing to do with the coinage or creas
ton of a legal tender The subject of the
xvnnld 1nf fO 10 0f |
parliament, though the government inclined
to the view that it would be more convenient
to leave the post Office matters in the hands |
of the Postmaster General Quarantine and
one or two other subjects were left in the
same category
The next subject he had to approach was
that of
The Composition of the Proposed
Legislative Body.
The bill proposed to introduce two orders
who would sit and deliberate together, with
the right of voting separately on any occa-
sion and on demand of either body, which
should be able to lnterpoSe veto upon any
measure for limited time, either until dis
solution or for three years. These orders
would be constituted as follows: First,
there were % representative peers, who
could not continue to sit in the House of
Lords, and after the representatives of the
Irish people left the House of Commons.
They would have the option of sitting as a
portion Of the first order in the Irish parlia-
ment, with the power of sitting for life He
proposed that with the 2S peers now in the
House of Lords there should sit 70 represen-
tatiyes elected by the Irish people. With
regards to the powers of election, their con-
stituency would be composed of occupiers of
the value of e25 and upwards, and they
would be elected for ten years. The prop
erty qualifications of these representatives
would be e200 annual value or capital value
of $4,000.
Mr. Gladstone then said he proposed that
the hundred and one Irish members in the
House of Commons should be members of
the Irish parliament, and whilst the first or
der of the legislative body would consist of
one hundred and three members, the second
order would consist of two hundred and six.
1t was proposed
To Retain the viceroy,
but he would not be a representative of any
party or quit office with the outgoing govern
ment. The Queen would be empowered to
delegate to him any prerogative she now en-
Joyed or would enjoy. Religious disability
now existing, which makes Roman Catholics
ineligible to office, would be removed.
Law and Order in Ireland.
With regard to the judges who had been
concerned in the administration of the
criminal law in Ireland, Her Majesty might
if she saw cause, by an order in council
antedate the pensions of those particular
judges, but in future judges would be APP
pOluIeu NY lllc 1IISu BOtGIum6uts Ue pau |
out of the consolidated fund and be remov-
able only ON the joint address of the two
orders. The constabulary would remain un-
der their present terms of service and under
their present authority. The charge for the
constabulary was over 81, 100000 per annum
and the speaker felt confident the charge
would be reduced, but for the present he
proposed to relieve the Irish legislative body
of all expenditure for the constaDulary in ex-
cess Of 81 100000 per annum.
Civil Service.
With respect to the civil service the gov
ernment did not think their case was the
same as that of the constabulary, and the
transfer of the civil service to the legislative
body would effect great economy. He
therefore thought it would be wise to author
ize 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 in
convenience from the rapid transition of the
service, and at the close of that time both
parties should be free to negotiate afresh.
That was ALL Mr.. Gladstone stated, that he
had to say on the subject of the new Irish
constitution
Bearing the Imperial Burdens.