The Irish standard., 1892-09-03

JOHN REDMoND,s SPEECH.

JOHN REDMoND's SPEECH.
The Member for Waterford City on the
Home Rule Measure.
During the debate on the Queens
speech John Redmond, member for
Waterford City, made an able address,
from which the following passages are
given:
We are in absolute ignorance as to
what scheme is to be proposed, and ap-
parently we are to go in ignorance until
we have the Bill brought to the table.
Then we shall be, as in 1886, in position
of terrible difficulty. Forced to accept a
cut and dried scheme in all its MAN fea-
lures as proposed, or else to take the
fearful responsibility of rejecting it, and
turning the Government OF the day from
power (hear, hear). For our part we
asked for some information as to the
main features of the scheme of the right
honorable gentleman at time when we
believed that the production of this in
formation would be of use to the cause
of Home Rule and the Liberal Party,
before the election took place. How
ever, our demand was refused as it is
now, and sometime in January or Febru-
airy we are to have bill introduced. So
for all these months we are to be left in
ignorance of what is to be proposed to
us. The right honorable gentleman is
entitled to Withhold the information until
he brings in his bill, but he places upon
US the imperative duty OF making clear
to the House, to the right honorable
gentleman, his party, and all concerned,
what is the very least that Irishmen will
accept as final settlement of their Ma
tional claims (hearl. I may quote again,
as I have quoted before, the demand put
forward by the late Mr.. Parnell on JAN
uary Is, l89l-"A Parliament supreme
on Irish questions, with no English vote,
except the constitutional vote of the
Grown, exercised as on English matters;
no military police, but a civil police un-
der the control OF the Irish Executive"
That definition holds good to this day,
and I assert no Nationalist can be salts
fed with any scheme less extreme (hear,
hear. We believe that Euglishmen will
regard the measure of Home Rule as an
experiment., and by the experiment. the
principle will he judged. But unless we
have full and unfettered control of Irish
affairs our Government of Ireland will
fail, and our National government
will be deferred perhaps for century:
Let me explain what it is we demand.
The question is how can the supremacy
of the Imperial Parliament be preserved
consistently with the control of Irish af-
fairs by an Irish Legislature? The hon.
member for Aberdeen said: "While the
ultimate right of legislation resides in
the Imperial Parliament we shall con-
cede to the Irish Legislature the right to
lexis|ate on subjects we do not intend to
legislate upon ourselves For the pur-
poses of my argument this is an admir-
able exposition of the constitutional law
on the question of the supremacy Of Par
llament. After the accession of Home
Rule the assent of the Irish Legislature
would, no doubt, in theory, remain
intact. It's rights would remain domin-
ant so far as Irish affairs are concerned.
A Parliamentary contract would have
been entered into between this Parlia-
ment and the people of Ireland to the
effect that these powers and rights should
remain dominant, in the future domin-
ant, so long as an Irish Parliament
existed. Such contract, of course, in
the strict theory of the law, would bind
successive Parliaments, but the right
honorable gentleman, the member for
Aberdeen, in the same speech, said this
THAT in practice such a party COM
pact would be permanent, must be per-
manent, because it would constitute a
moral obligation On Parliament not to
act contrary to the statute" Then it
comes to this. What we ask is this--that
in the Home Rule scheme OF the right
honorable gentlemen there should be a
specific undertaking that while the Irish
Parliament continues in existence the
powers Of the Imperial Parliament to
legislate for Ireland would never ba used.
So that in effect it comes to this-that
the imperial Parliament should retain
it's power in strict oonstitu tional theory
to take our Legislature away, but we
would require formal compact to the
effect that while that legislature lasted
it should be supreme, free, and unfet-
tered Parliament on Irish affairs.
FAMOUS CAvALRYMEN
Murat, Hodson, Lasalle, skobelof and