The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1893-02-15
BALFOUR ON HOME RULE.
THE OPPOSITION LEADER REPLIES
TO GLADSTONE.
Danger of Ultlmate separatlon seen 10

| Danger OF Ultimate Separation Seen In
the Present Movement-The Rights
of the Ulster Loyal.sts Set Forth.
Dillon and Davitt on the Contents Of
the Bill.
LONDON. Feb. 1.-The following state
mene Of the contents Of the home rule bill
has been officially handed TO the Associated
| Press correspondent:
The bill offers Ireland a legislature, free to deal
| In all Irish affairs. and an executive govern
ment responsible to that legislature. In ali the
main principles, and ia political machinery 1t is
| provided for much better than in the bill of
| lSSo.tThe Irish parliamentary party at meeting
| specially summoned after the delivery of Mr.
| Gladstone's great speech, cordially accepted tho
/ new nome rule constitution as a satisfactory
| scheme of Irish national self-governnent, sub
| 1ect to endeavors In committee to improve the
proposed financial arrangements aud TO have
/ the time shortened wherein the land question is
to be withheld from the purview OF the Irish
| national legislature. We are authorized by the
| party to transmit this resolution to the friends
and supporters of Irish liberty in the United
| States and Canada. JOHN DILLON.
| MICHAEL DAvITr.
The comments in the evening newspapers
on the subject Of home rule are on the same
lines as those which appeared in the morn
| ing newspapers. The conservRt journals
| reject the measure in toto, while the liberal
papers approve and praise it, although at
she same time picking small flaws in certain
| provisions of the bill Some publish the
! present bill and that of 1886 in parallel
columns and tabulate their several pro-
| visions.
The Prince of Wales was the fret TO CON
| gratulate Mr.. Gladstone yesterday in the
private room at the House of Commons,
after his address introducing the home rule
bill. Then the Duchess of Teck aud the
Princesses Louise and May OF Teck cons
graduated the premier.
THE FINANCIAL FEATURES.
In the House of Commons to-day Mr..
Balfour, the conservative leader. asked Mr..
| Gladstone whether, undsr the provisions OF
| the home rule bill, contributions from the
| imperial exohequer TO local purposes in
Ireland would be continued, and, IL they
were not, then he desired to ask what Sc
ourity the British taxpayers would have
| for advances under the land purchase act.
Mr.. Gladstone replied that contributions
from the imperial exchequer for Irish local
| purposes would cease, and the bill
| creates first charge On
the Irish consolidated fund in favor of the
British eXchequer for repayments under
| the land purchase act 1t further provides
| summary method 60 recover from the irish
exohequer without direct Intervention from
the Irish authority, any sums due to the
| British excheQuer.
Lord George Hamilton asked Mr.. Glad
stone when he proposed TO introduce a bill
| dealing with the Irish land tenure Mr.
Gladstone declined to commit the govern
| menb to any pledge to introduce a land bill.
He said the government did not intend to
run land bill alongside the home rule bill.
| The administration of the land laws would
| meantime follow the usual course In the
hands of the local authorities.
BALFoUR REPLIES TO GLADSTONE.
Mr.. Balfour then rose amid loud unionist
cheers and began his reply to Mr.. Glad.
stones speech Of last evening. He said:
The house, first OF all, has the right TO inquire
| why is any bill, good or bad reQuired2 This is a
| question which the prime minister has tried to
answer on two famous occasions-once in 1886
| and again last evening. Seven years ago he
| laid the whole strength of his argument upon
the absence of social order from Ireland He
told the house then that juries ia Ireland could
not be trusted to do their duty and that evict-
iors, just or unjust, were looked on with sus-
picion by the 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 coercion still In Ireland2
If 1t is not in operation, do you see the conse-
quences which the prime minister then fore
shadowed2
Has it been impo ssible to preserve social
order2
Does the prime minister still find that Irish
juries cannot do their duty; that the agrarisn
question is beyond solution; that landlords are
not getting their rightsg
Why, you all know that the present chief SEC
retary for Ireland has told you recently that
better paid. So great is the confidence In
the manner in which Irish turies
do their duty that the chief secretary
| would not even retain +, In the bill
provision for a change of venue which his col
leagues declared was no Limitation OF the lib
erty Of the subject. Hear! Hear9 Therefore
| the dilemma which the prime minister placed
before the house In 1886 has proved to be no
dilemma at all, and we are reduced TO the con-
| clusion that IL is deemed necessary to shake the
| foundations OF the ancient constitution OF the
| country, not because coercion s in active oper-
| alton in Ireland but because we have on the
| statute book permanent act for coercion,
which may or may not be required. lHearl
Hearil The prime minister must see that a
bill OF this magnitude is hardly justified by any
| condition of affairs like that from which the
! necessity OF the crimes act arose.
TWO CAUSES OF TROUBLE.
| BY universal admission there are two causes
of trouble in Ireland. One, the agraran condition
of the country the other the fact that IL is pos
sible, owing to the unhappy history of the land
question, for persons with political object TO
| serve to arouse criminal agitation throughout
| Ireland. / do not care which of these alterna-
tives is chosen, whichever is chosen it does not
point to the necessity of home rule,
but rather to the impossbiltty OF its
adoption. If the prime minister takes
the view that the condition of the agrarlan
question is really block in the way OF social
| order In Ireland. how can he possibly expect
| the difficulty TO be put out OF the way by the
| action of an Irish parliament unless we are pre-
| pared to see the aRrarian question settled by
| the destruction of an unpopular minority who
| possess the landi II the agrarian trouble were
| the only real trouble. how could II be settled
| otherwise than by the imperial parliamentY It
Is criminal to attempt TO set up in Ireland a leg
isiature practically Independent OF the imperial
| parliament.
| Under these conditions the prime minister
| tried to found his recommendation Of the home
rule bill upon the Irish majority in favor OF the
| measure. When the reform bill of 1884 was
brought In, the present prime minister was
| fairly warned what the circumstances might
| be upon Irish representation, but with
! all this knowledge he declared that English ma
! jorities were not likely TO be moved by ire
| lands sending a largely augmented number OF
! home rulers TO parliament. Perhaps the only
/ sound constitutional way Of assuring public
opinion on this point would beTto take the votes
of the house without too curiously induirnR
! from what country they came.
| UIsTER's CLAIMS.
If they were going 70 adopt any principle, let
| them adopt il In It's entirety. Why were they
/ to look TO the nationalist majority In Ireland
/ without looking TO the loyal majority in Ulster?
| [Cries Of Hear, " Hear. W By what right we're
| they 20 proceed TO cut off Ireland from the rest
! Of the United Kingdom because a majority
| from an arbitrarily selected area wanted home
| ruler conservative cheers and Irish laughter.
| unanimous voice, declared against the measure
| with aversion aud adherence their major tiles
| ought not TO count, they became
1 nN.vFH