The Pacific commercial advertiser. [volume] (Honolulu, Hawaiian Islands) 1885-1921, 1886-04-24
HOME RULE.

An angry discussion took place in the
Commons between Chamberlain and Glad
stone. The latter declared he could not go
beyond the limits of the permission given,
whereupon Chamberlain complained that
his explanation would be lame and incom-
plete. He would never be able to Justify his
conduct to the House and the country. He
had four principal objections to the scheme
for the government of Ireland. The first
was the proposal to exclude Irish members
from Westminster The second was to re-
nouncing, as proposed, the exercise OF the
right of imperial taxation. In the third
place he objected to the surrender of
the appointments of Judges and ma
gistrates and finally he objected to the SUI
preme authority given to the Irish Parlia-
ment in matters not especially excluded
from its authority. Since he had left the
Cabinet, he said, an important change had
been made by retaining power over the Gus
toms and excise duties, but the proposal
now appeared utterly inconsistent with the
principle that taxation and representation
should go together. He further objected to
any scheme that laid upon the British tax
payer tremendous liability, with excessive
risk, as such a project could only be looked
upon as bride to modify the hostility of
the Irish land owners to home rule. He
did not believe that the Irish people would
agree to be deprived of all voice In the con-
troll of matters and policies in which they
were deeply interested, and he asserted that
Ireland was being asked to occupy degrad-
ing position, which her people would never
accept The further contribution which
Ireland was to be called ON to pay into the
imperial treasury was fixed by scheme
and could not be increased, even in case the
United Kingdom should be placed in po-
s1tion of direct peril, and where then, he
asked, was the integrity of the empire
The financial question, he continued,
divided itself into two parts. The English
taxpayer would object to any additional
burden being thrown on him to make good
Irish deficiencies, and the Irish taxpayers,
if there were a deficiency in the budget,
owing to a failure of the excise and customs
duties, would be called on to pay new taxes,
failing which the Government would be
obliged to repudiate their obligations. The
scheme would be accepted grudgingly and
in the course of two years there would be
an attempt to revise or alter it, and as for
himself, rather than face the future agita-
ton which would be certain to prevail be-
tween the two countries, rather than face
the distractions and foreign complications
which would arise by having quasi-in-
dependent Government, he would vote for
separation, pure and simple. Loud cheers.
The opponents of the Governments scheme
were told that the alternative was coertion,
that was the only alternative. Agrarian
! discomfort has arisen chiefly through evic-
! tons by landlords. He would propose to
| deprive landlords of the power to evict for
six months, guaranteeing them six months
rent, the land being security for the sum
advanced. During this period peace COM
! mission, composed of members Of every
section represented in Parliament, could
conduct an exhaustive inquiry into the land
question. Besides this, he looked for so
luton of the home-rule matter in the direc-
ton of federation. He was not, he declared,
pledged to his former proposals for ma
tional council Under federation Ireland
would remain an integral portion of the
empire The principle of federation had
been successful in Germany and America.
1t would, he asserted, maintain imperial
unity and at the same time satisfy the de-
sires of the Irish people for local self-gov-
eminent. -f