The Providence news. (Providence [R.I.]) 1891-1906, 1893-02-15
relations between the government and the
commission. The House then adjourned.
MR.. BALFOUR'S REPLY.
He Severely Criticises Portions of Mr.
Gladstone's Home Rule Measure.

lie Severely Cri'icises Portions of Mr.
Gladstone's Home Rule Measure.
LONDON, Feb. 15.-Yester day, in the
House of Commons, Mr.. Balfour replied
to Mr.. Gladstone's speech OF Monday. He
said:
The House, first Of all, has the right to in
quire; Why is any bill, good or bad required?
This question the prime minister has tried to
answer on two famous occasions-once in 1886
aid the whole strength OF his argume Mt upon
the absence OF social order in Ireland. He
told the House then that the juries in Ireland
could not be trusted TO do their duty and that
eyicttons, just or unjust, were looked on with
suspicion blythe agrarian population.
The whole tendency OF his argument was to
show that the alternative before the House
was home rule or drastic coercion. Seven
years have now elapsed. Is there drastic CO.
ercion still in Ireland' Tit is not in opera
tlon, do You see the consequences which the
prime minister then foreshadowed? Has IL
Deen impossible to preserve social order2
Does the prime minister still find that Irish
iuries cannot do their duty that the agrarian
question is beyond solution, that landlords
are not getting their rights? Why, you all
know that the present chief secretary for Ire
land has told you recently that their never
has been time when rents were better paid
SO great is the confidence in the manner i'm
which Irish juries do their duty that the chief
secretary would not even retain in the bill a
provision for a change OF venue which his col
leagues declared was no limitation OF the lib
tINN o1 lnc subject. lhear, near. therefore
the dilemma which the prime minister placed
before the House in 1885 has proved to be no
dilemma, and we are reduced to the conclu-
sion that IL il deemed necessary to shake the
foundations OF the ancient constitution of the
country, not because coercion Is in active on
Grafton in Ireland, but because we have on
the statute books
Permanent Act for Coercion.
which may. or may not, be required. (Hear,
hear.
The prime minister must see that bill Of
this magnitude is hardly justified by any con-
dttion OF affairs like that from which the ne
cessity OF the Crimes Act arose. Byuniversal
admission there are two causes OF trouble In
Ireland; One, the agrarisn condition of the
country; the other, the fact that IL is posi-
BILE, owing TO the unhappy history of the land
question, forspersons with n political object
10 serve to arouse criminal agitation through
out Ireland. Whichever Of these alternatives
Is chosen, IL does not point to the necessity OF
its adoption.
~ the prime minister takes the view that
the condition OF agrarian question is really
block in the way OF social order how can he
possibly expect the difficulty TO be put out OF
the way by the action Of an Irish parliament
unless we are prepared to see the agrarisn
question settled by the destruction OF the un-
popular minority who possessed the land. n
the agrarian trouble were the only real trou-
bic, how could it be settled otherwise than by
che imperial parlisment2 IL is Grim nal 20
attempt to set up i'm Ireland legislature
practically independent OF the imperial gov
Under these conditions the prime minister
tried TO found his recommendation of the
home rule bill upon the Irish majority in ia
vor Of the measure. Why were they TO look
70 Nationalist majority in ireland without
looking TO Loyal majority in Ulsterp BY
what right were they to proceed TO cut off
Ireland from the rest OF the United Kingdom,
because a majority from an arbitrarily select
cd area wanted home rulef Conservative
cheers and Irish laughter) Protestant us
ter, which with an absolutely unanimous
voice, declared against the measure with
aversion and adherence, deserved exception
al treatment, for which no provision appeared
In the bill now placed before the House.
Nr. Balfour contended that the plan out
lined in the home rule bill for dealing with
the constabulary and with the civil servants
OF the government, would lead 10
Innlction of Great Hsrdship..
He had been able 10 gather only some points
regarding the treatment of these officials
from the speech delivered by Mr. Gladstone
Monday. though the speech had been sup
plemented by statement from Mr. sexton
who appeared not less minutely familiar with
the bill than its author. Conservative
cheers)
Astoths position of the Judges. he asked.