St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1893-02-14
COUNCIL AND ASSEMBLY.
Provisions for the Election of
Their Membership.

Provisions for the Election of
Their Membership.
Next, as to the legislative council,
Mr. Gladstone said he did not think they
would have been warranted without
some strong necessity in establishing
the system of a single chamber; "but
in Ireland" he added, ''far from find
ing any such necessity, we look to the
legislative council as enabling us to
meet the expectation that we shall give
to the minority some means Of freer
and fuller consideration of its views.
The next thing is, shall the legislative
council be nominated or elected? We
came to the conclusion that nomi-
mated council would be a weak council.
If it should be made weak the
council would probably enjoy very
short term of existence. We,
therefore, propose elective council, be-
leving it to be the only form wherein
we can give any great force to the vital
lty of the Institution. Wen, then, how
do we differentiate this council from
that popular assembly. We propose to
fix the number at fOrtV-elght with an
eight years term of office. the term of
the popular assembly being lesser. We
The council constituency must in the
first place be associated with ratable
value of $50 whereby to secure an ag
gregate constituency approaching 170,-
600 persons, including owners as we'll as
occupiers, but subiectto a provision that
no owner Or occupier has vote in more
than one constituency. Then there is
no provision in the bill making the leg
islative council alterable by Irish acts.
Regarding the legislative assembly
the 103 members must be elected tor Irish
legislative business by constituencies in
Ireland. We make these provisions in
regard to the assembly alterable in re-
spect to electors and constituencies after
six years, but in altering constituencies
the power of the assembly will be lin
tied by the declaratory act to the effect
that due regard must be had to the dis
tribution of population, The bill must
include a provision for meeting what is
bill has been adopted Ivy the assembly
more than once, and where there is an
interval of two years between the two
adoptionS, or dissolution of parlia-
ment, then upon its second adoption the
two assemblies may be required to meet
and the fate of the bill is TO be decided
in joint assembly. Next, all appeals
shall lie to the prlvy council
alone, not to the council and
lords. The privy council may try the
question of the invalidity OF any Irish
act-that is, try it judicially and with
reasonable Judgment, under the in
itiative of the viceroy or secretary of
state, OF this judicial committee (now
recognized by US as the only approach.
we can make to the supreme court of
the United States). In composing this
judicial committee due regard must be
had TO the different elements of nation
ality. We have not apprehended any
difficulty there. Other clauses provide
for the security of the emolumentS of
existing judges and of officers generally.
Then there is clause intended to cor
respond with the colonial validity law,
the effect of which is, if the
Irish legislature should pass any
act in any way contrary to
acts Of the imperial parlia-
ment, such law shall be good except ia
SO far as it is contrary to the imperial
enactment. Two eXchequers judges
shall be appointed under authority of
the crown. mainly for financial bust
ness. Besides the eXchequer judges it
is provided that for six years all judges
shall be appointed as now. We do not
reserve Tor the Imperial parliament the