Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1886-04-16

empire WnS Ill inns century an dpSNlhlNS'
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 settle
ment of the question was to be found by
establishing
A PARLIAMENT IN DUBLIN
for the conduct of business of both a legis-
lative and an administrative nature. The
political economy of the three countries
must be reconciled, there should be an
equitable distribution of imperial bur
dens next, there must be reasonable safe
guards fer the minority. He had no doubt
of the ability of the minority to take care
of itself, but for the present there were
three classes of people whom they were
bound to consider: Firstly, the class
connected with the land secondly, the
civil servants and officers of the govern
ment in Ireland thirdly, the Prostestant
minority. The speaker could not admit
the claim of the Protestant minority in
Ulster or elsewhere to rule on questions
which were for the whole OF Ireland. Sew
eral schemes for the separate government
of Ulster had been submitted to him,
one being that Ulster province should he
excluded from the operation of the pres
ent bill, but none had appeared to the gov
erment to be so completely justified by its
merits, or by the weight of public opinion
in including it in their bill However
should any feasible and satisfactory plans
be discovered, the government would do
its best to adopt the plan that seemed
likely to give general satisfaction.
Referring to the great settlement of 1872
Gladstone said; 1t was not u real settle
ment and why? Was it Ireland that pre-
vented the real settlement being made
[ Irish cheers. No it was the mistaken
policy of England, listening to the PERM
cious voice and claims of ascendancy (hear)
the Irish Parliament labored under great
yet 1t had in it spark of
the spirit of freedom and it emancipated
the Roman Catholics in Ireland when the
Roman Catholics in England were still
There was spirit in
that Parliament which if it had had free
scope, would have done noble work and
would have solved all Irish prob
lens and have saved this government in
finite trouble.
The speaker said he would now pass to a
plan how to give Ireland legislature
to deal with Irish, as distinguished from
imperial, affairs. IHear.l He was con
fronted at the outset with what he felt to
be a formidable dilemma. Ireland was to
have domestic legislation for Irish affairs.
Were Irish members and Irish representa-
tive peers in either house to continue to
form part of representative assemblies
The speaker thought it would be perfect
" clear that if Ireland was to have domes-
tic legislature Irish peers and Irish repre-
could not come to Parliament
to control English and Scotch affairs
Cheers Then with regard to the ques-
ton whether Irish representatives should
come to the House of Commons for
4 settlement of imperial affairs, he had ar
rived at the conclusion that Irish mem
Ders and Irish peers ought not to sit in the
palace OF Westminster Oh, oh, and
cheers If the Irish members were not
10 sit in the House of Commons, the Irish
peers ought not to sit in the other house
Of Parliament. Hear, hear and oh.
hey had Legislators in both countries He
believed that
GREAT BRITAIN WOULD NEVER IMPOSE
upon Ireland taxation without representa-
ion, and added, ''if were to have taxa
ion without representation then there
would come another question which
would raise a practical difficulty, and
hat is, are we to give up
fiscal unity of empire ? He believed that
to give up the fiscal unity of the empire
would be Il great misfortune tor Great
Britain and greater misfortune for Ire
land. He conceived that one escape from
that dilemma would be such an arrange
ment rs would give the imperial govern
ment authority to levy customs duties
and such excise duties as were immedi-
ately connected with customs. The con
litions of such arrangement were: First,
that the general power of taxation over
and above those particular duties should
pass unequvocally into the hands of the
domestic legislature in Ireland. Second
ly, that the proceeds Of customs and eX-
else should be held for the benefit Of Ire.
land and for the discharge of the obliga-
tons of Ireland and that the payment OF the
balance after these obligations were dis
charged should be entered into the Irish
eXchequer and be for the free disposal of
the Irish legislative body. The govern
ment bill provided for this and the bill
then provided that representatives of Ire
land should no longer sit in the House of
Commons or Irish peers in the House of
Lords but at the same time they would
have the right of addressing the crown
to possess all constitutional rights they
held now. ION, and cheers, 1t would,
therefore, relieve the Irish members from
attendance at Westminster. To maintain
the fiscal unity of the nation there is an
other point with regard to the powers OF
the legislature. Two courses might be
taken. One was to endow this legis-
lative body with particular legislative
powers the other was to except from
government thought ought to be excepted
and to leave to 1t every other power. The
latter plan had been adopted, Admins
trative power would pass with legislative
power. The duration of the proposed leg
islative body should not exceed five years
The functions which it was proposed to
withdraw from the cognizance of the leg
islative body were three: Everything
which related to the crown, all that which
belonged to defence, army, navy, etc, and
our foreign and colonial relations. 1t
would not be competent to pass laws for
the establishment or endowment OF
any particular religion. Cheers
The Irish Parliament would have nothing
to do with coinage or the creation of legal
order. The subject of post offices would
be left to the judgment of Parliament
though it might be more convenient tC
leave pOstot1ice matters to postmaster
general Quarantine and one or two
other subjects, We're left in the same cat
egory.
The next subject he had to approach
was that Of the composition of the
PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE BODY.
The Bill proposed to introduce two or
ders who Wonld sit and deliberate to
gether with the rights of voting sep
arately on any occasion and the de
mand of either body, which should b'