The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1892-02-29
BALFOUR'S LOCAL GOVERNMENT
BILL.

No wonder the Home Rule party in the
British parliament treated Balfour's local
government bill with jeering contempt,
for the promise of its title is but mere
pretense. The bill does not propose for
Ireland local government by county coun-
ellis, like those established in England and
Scotland, but is drawn so as to keep the
local government of Ireland in the hands
of the landlords while pretending to in
crease the power of the tenants.
If the tenants under this bill elect
majority of these county councils the
landlords and crown officials have an
effective veto upon the councils doings.
Only certain proportion of the seats are
elective, the remainder are appointed by
the lord lieutenant. To nullify the
chance of Gladstonian lord
lieutenant making Nationalist APP
pointments the bill provides that
upon the demand of twenty rate payers q
member of district council may be tried
on charge of using his powers unfairly
or oppressively, and that this trial shall
take place before a judge, without jury.
If a member, arraigned on charge of IN
fair or oppressive conduct, is pronounced
guilty by partisan judge. the seat there
upon made vacant is not filled by election,
but by appointment of the lord lieutenant.
This provision for tho removal of the
council at the discretion of the courts and
the substitution of government appoint
ments utilities the bill.
The police system is not affected by this
bill, nor the power of local magistrates, so
that the whole machinery of coercion is
untouched by it. The local councils cannot
originate or levy taxes nor control ex-
penditures except for current require
ments. Any expenditure other than these
is subject to a veto by the landlords and
county. Four members of the councils
are to be ex-officio, and all of them are
practically government appointments, as
they can be made so by an appeal to
partisan government judge.
The bill is an insult to the Irish people,
since its provisions are a refusal to give
Irishmen local self-government that would
put them on an equality with Englishmen
and Scotehmen. The passage of the bill
will be used with great effect to the adj
vantage of the Gladstonians in the impend-
ing general parliamentary election that is
sure to be ordered by October, and very
possibly as early as May.
The only danger that the Irish home
rulers are confronted with is lack of money
to defray the legal election expenses. No
man can be recognized as candidate for
the house of commons, and voted for at
the ballot box, until he has deposited with
the proper officer the statutory costs in the
form of cash or instantly negotiable securi-
ties.
These statutory costs, payable in adj
vance, amount to 81, 500 for borough and
$1,000 for county seat, so that for eighty
five home rule Irish seats the statutory ex-
penses, which must be paid in advance,
will amount to 100000. This money in
1856 came for the most part from the
United States. The friends of Irish home
rule in the United States will again be
obliged to furnish the money necessary to
keep these eighty-five Irish seats in the
hands of the Nationalists, for in every
borough and county where a Nationalist
candidate is unable to deposit in advance
the sum required by law, his Tory op-
ponent will be returned without OPPOSE
ton.