The Redwood gazette. [volume] (Redwood Falls, Minn.) 1873-1940, 1893-07-13
THE HOME RULE DEBATE.

AUSTRALIA, ana at the cape the ten
dency to the consolidation of the
Empire makes itself felt, the same
tendency is asserting itself at West
minister in tho debates on the Home
Rule bill, two clauses of which were
got through committee between Easter
and Whltsuntide. The debate has
made it abundantly clear that what
ever Little Englanders may think, or
the advocates of Irish independence
may dream. the British people will
meyer establish any system of govern
ment in Ireland that will even in
semblance impair the strength, the
unity or the cohesion of the Empire.
Home Rule will be granted on the
day when the English and Scotch
people are convinced that it will
strengthen the Empire, but not till
then. Any kind of Home Rule that
might weaken the Empire, or defer
its federation, will be voted down.
That sentiment has doomed Clause
Nine, and the same, sentiment will in
eviably wreck any and every Home
Rule bill that goes step further than
the formula clone Rule in Ireland
as in London-nutotis mutondis."
When that has been tried al. has
been found to work we'll, further con-
cessions may be made. But John
Bull is slow moving, somewhat
puzzla-headed creature, and he has a
most invincible objection to taking
more than one step at time.
The prolonged discussion il COM
mittee were terminated by divisions in
which the proposals of the Opposition
were uniformly \ supported by a
majority of the British representatives,
and as uniformly rejected by the
Irish members, without whose aid Mr..
Gladstone would in a hopeless
minority. The normal majority of
fortyfve rose to fifty or sixty, owing
to the absence of some ten or dozen
Unionists. whose remissness has
excited the indignant animadversions
of the Times. The Irish contingent
voted like dumb machine, and on
the only occasion when Mr.. Redmond
ventured to move an amendment, that
proposition to call the Irish Legis-
lature a Parliament, he only carried
80 members into the Lobby with him.
Yet Mr.. Parnell used to say, "C,.ll it a
Parliament, and you may make it
what you like. Call it anything else,
and you will have to make it what
we like" Mr.. Gladstone, however,
while almost humbly subservient to
Nationalist sensitiveness on every
other point, peremptorily refused to
humor them in this matter. So the
Assembly on College Green is to be
Legislature, and not Parliament.
Carried by the House of Commons by
466 to 40.
There is something ludicrous about
the absorption of the House of Com
mons IN the details of a bill which
every one knows is certain to be re-
jected without ceremony by the House
of Lords. "Tt reminds me-" said a
statesman the other day, "of the old
receipt for cooking pike. You hadt to
catch your fish, cook him, stuff him
with all manner Of costly herbs and
sauces, and then-you throw him out
of the window. The whole of the
session is to be devoted to dressing
the Legislative pike, which the House
of Lords will throw out of the window
without ceremony" What adds to
the piquancy of the paradox is. that
the question whether or not the Lords
will be- supported by the country in
their action against Home Rule
depends almost entirely upon the
extent to which the other measures,
now hopelessly blocked by Home
Rule, are passed into law.-Review.