The morning call. [volume] (San Francisco [Calif.]) 1878-1895, 1893-02-14
HIS LIFE WORK
OladstOne's Great Home
Rule Speech.
FREEDOM FOR IRELAND
How England Will Let Her Go
in Peace.
EVERY OBJECTION IS MET.
With Wonderful Vigor the Aged
Premier Has Outlined the Policy
Upon Which His Cabinet Stands.
FREEDOM FOR IRELAND
speeial 70 TIE MORNING CALL

NEW YORK, Feb 13.-Smalley cables to
the Tribune from London: It. was 3:45
O'Clock when Gladstone rose TO introduce
his second and last houe-rule bill. At
o'clock he had finished. he spoke to a SYM
pathetic house and a listening world. He
had with him the expectations of a great
English party and the eager hopes of a ma
jorlty of the Irish people. He mad when he
entered the house the reception that might
have been given a king The resoundlng
cheers Of his supporters swelled through
the chamber as I never heard them before.
They rose again in the same chorus Of com
ing triumph as be began his spec h. When
he ended there were cheers, bat what con-
trast TO those which greeted him first.
There was still note Of personal loyalty to
the great chief but the enthusiasm aud con-
fdence we're audible 10 more.
He spoke from more yoluminOus notes
than ever saw him use, and his reference
was constant, yet even with this help he
seemed ogertaxed. Hs vas very far from
being the Gladstone of other days. He was
not even the Gladstone OF earlier days. At
thisveTy session his evsr-y0uthful buOyancy
had vanished. his noble head was bowed,
his figure was never quite erect his face was
ashen white. his voice came family, and
often il was impossible 10 catch what he
said.
When he sank into his seat not a few Of
this great audience felt that such a speech
could only be the prelude to a disaster. The
bill is one which statesman in the prime
of his great powers, would need all
his powers TO carry. and it is only
too plain that Gladstone's energy is no
longer so spontaneous and irTepTessible as
of old. A complete estimate of so complex
q measure, on a single hearing, and that
50 difficult to follow. is Of course impossible,
but there are features of It which came out
clearly. and some Of them are those which
are commonly reckoned the vital features
Of any measure for setting up a statutory
parliament in Dublin. In all there are
seven points which may be called cardinal
and three. if not four of them, are the es-
seuce of home rule, considered from an
English point of view. The seven are:
Imperial supremacy, imperial veto. safe
guards for Ulster and the Protestant mi
nonty, retention of the Irish members at
Westminster and their legislative powers
when there, the judges and constabulaTy.
the land question and finance.
England lays almost equal stress on each
of the first three. Il may be said that any
hOmp-rule bill must stand OF fall according
as it succeeds or fails in offering just sOlu-
ton Of these three problems. How. then,
does Gladstone deal with them2 He reia-
gates imperial supremacy to the preamble
o. the bill and c0nndes the authority of the
imperial Parliament to this parenthesis,
without imparing or restricting the su-
pTeme authority Of the Imperial Parlia-
ment" II he has provided any machinery
for ass eTting il directly, he omitted TO say
what. OF perhaps his account of 1t was in
audible. The veto may be one means Of
appeal to the Privy Council. Another turns
on the question of by whose advice the
crown is to exercise it? If by the advice Of
the imperial ministry. il may be effective;
If by the advice Of the Irish ministry. il is
ilusory. Gladstone has said that a compro-
mise VieeToy is to apply his veto with the
sanction Of an executive committee. formed,
if / heard Alright from the Irish privy
council. That seems to create difficulty
rather than to meet it,
There is, in addition to the veto, a pro-
vision by which the acts of the Dublin
Parliament may be submitted 10 a judicial
committee of the English privy council On
the initiative Of the Eiceroy nr the English
which would be summary il genuine, must
depend wholly on the composition Of the
executive committee. on whose advice the
VicerOy is or IS not 10 exercise ii.
The Irish members are, as was known
beforehand. to be retained in principle at
Westminster, but are to be reduced in num-
Der TO eighty. What they are to do there is
a question on which their English cham
~ rfr -
for and arguments against any Limitation
upon their legislative power. l thought
that in his own mind the balance clearly
tended toward the rejection Of all limita-
tiOns, aud mainly because to impose any
restriction upon them is TO break with the
great parliamentary tradition of absolute
equality between the members. But he
knows OF has been advised that public opin-
Ion would not stand this, and that the
English ana Scotch would revolt against a
scheme which gave the Irish exclusive
jurisdiction over Irish affairs and give them
unchecked authority in all English and
Scotch matters as we'll, and he imposes GER
tain restrictions.
The other three points. If less important,
are still enormously Important. What of
the Irish Judges? It was understood that
subject to certain delays and to the pr0tec-
tion Of the right now vested in individuals,
the whole judicial bench, the whole Irish
magistracy and ultimately the entire police
force were TO pass into purely Irish control.
The number Of Irishmen not Nationalists is
com 3uted at 100000 Their property to
some extent and their personal safety to a
very great extent will be in the hands OF
their opponents.
Land was not mentioned by Gladstone
II must therefore be inferred that the Dub
lin Parliament is to be at liberty TO deal
with land and landlords as 1t likes. The
hated English garrison will then be at the
mercy Of a majority whose av0wed policy
Is against the landlords.
There remains finance. Gladstone was
of opinion in 1886 that to require Ireland to
pay One-ffteenth instead OF, as now, one
twelfth OF the imperial charges would be
liberal and generous to her. Hehas changed
his mind and her quota is now reduced to
one twenty-ffth BE makes her incident
ally the handsome little present OF 100000
sterling year out Of the taxpayers pockets.
Such are some of the leading features Of
the new home-rule bill so far as they can be
collected from Gladstone's account of his
long-meditated measure There are those
who think it moderate and the Irish them
selves are shaking their heads over It, or
some Of them are. They well know they
have got far more than was offered them in
1886 aud they may well dread the effect of
English opinion Of these astounding con-
cessions. Gladstone's sincerity is beyond
dispute and if he has attempted the i'm
possible his courage is only the more mag
nifcent.
HIS MAGNIFICENT EFFORT.