The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1893-05-21
TORIES TO BE THROTTLED
Gladstone Determined to Force the
Home-Rule Bill through the Commons.
An Unusual Plan of Parliamentary Coercion
to Be Adopted If Ireland's Enemies Con-
tinue Their Obstructive Tactics.
Special % ths Indianapo.i. Joarn,l.

special 70 The Indianapolis Jo1rnal
LONDON. May 20.-The question still con-
fronting the government is How can the
persistent obstruction of Balfour. Cham
berlain and Churchill be reduced to MINI
mum"
Another week has been passed in factions,
fruitless. plstitudinous discussion. and the
home-rule bill has been moved hardly q
hairs breadth nearer the Liberal goal.
Neither the application of the
cloture nor the self-enforced reti-
cence of the Irish and Liberal men,
bers has sufficed TO expedite the work
in committee to even the partial satisfao-
tion of Mr.. Gladstone. The ministers have
been forced to their wits ends to devise
some heroic means TO stop the interminable
flow of talk in which the opposition
trying to drown the pur-
poses Of the government. Their plan
now is to accelerate the COMMITTEES
progress from clause TO clause by suspend
ing the 12-o'clock rule immediately after
the Whitsuntide recess. The home-rule
bill would then be debated day after day
and night after night 10 the exclusion of
to else H Of ss plans
Having been driven to q corner
by his antagonists. he has developed there
all the pugnacity of his younger days. and
has now rallied himself To find his way ont
distractions have not discouraged him it
has some of his followers. but has
served merely 10 streng CITIZEN his energy and
determination to force victory quickly
from the minority. He has made il known
privately In ministerial circles that the
bill must be brought through the House of
Commons by the middle OF July. Without
fixing the exact date for reaching the bill
he has formed q plan for the pur-
pose OF determining approximately
the fnal day of the commit.
week he will arrange with the Cabinet
for the amount of work TO be done in the
succeeding days. and Will specify the
clauses which must be passed before the
next weeks work shall be begun. No pro-
test nor plea for fair play from the obstrue-
tionists will be permitted to thwsrs the
programme thus laid ont. If necessary for
the fultllment of his plan some clauses
Will be forced to q vote without any pre-
Nminary debate whatever.
The work of the committee will be fur
Their accelerated by the simpliticetiou of
the complicated financial questions, upon
which the opposition have built hopes of
obstructing To the point of sheer exheus-
tiOn OF Mr.. Gladstone and his lieutenaDtS.
The governments purpose is to substitute
for the in ed proposal lis of the bill a clause
providing for two years provisional
raDgement between the Irish and imper-
bic TO the Liberal as to the Irish members
Both think that the postponement of final
action on the financial details Will not af-
feet even remotely the main principles of
the bill. while likely TO avert the necessity
OF two or three weeks of futile discussion
Reports concerning these Items of the
ministerial programme have alrendy
brought on signs of the Tory storm. which
will swell TO hurricane, of wrath when
the Unionists see their whole fabric of OBJ
at a M at IA
of the Premier. The Liberals and Rad
icals agree that the government Is
justified in adopting the proposed extranr-
binary plan of parliamentary coercion, al
though week ago many favored less ex-
treme measures. The Unionists alone are
response BILE for the bonds which will bind
them. as they have rejOiced openly in their
determination to kill the bill By means of
exhaustlng delays in the committee stage.
Already the House in committee has di.
vided twenty-four times on two clauses. to
say nothing of divisions for the closure.
With four pages of amendments behind
them the members still soe fifty pages
awaiting debate and division. Nine pages
of amendments have been added since the
committee began sitting. Nor
Is this ALL In the last
week alone several hundred
amendments which were not printed have
been noticed In committee. No govern
ment making the least pretensions TO
regulating and facilitating public busi-
conid long tolerate such out
rageous ilibcstering without losing all
prestige. The opposition are chuoklinR
over the fact that they have compelled
the committee TO sit thirteen times to pass
the tirst seven lines of a bill which covers
twenty pages. Their record is. in fact. be-
You'd all precedent in the parliamentary
history of Europe. The reform bill, in 1882.
against which all the possibilities of OBJ
structiOn were believed to have been ex-
hausted. was kept in committee altogether
just twenty two days.
Prospects of all-night sittings is exasper-
ating to tho Unionists. Their whips are
experiencing difficulty In holding To their
places the young Tory bloods. who feel
that constant attendance In the House is
an intolerable bore. The whips protest
however that they find 1t impossible TO
catch their men. many of them being
chronic absentees. The Unionist leaders
propose To remedy the trouble soon as
Parliament reassembes. by publishing o
daily blacklist of those unfalthful to the
cause OF obstruction. The blacklist. how
ever. is likely TO prove q twO-edged weapon
as. while Tightening lew back into line.
it will drive out absentees to disregard alb
soIntely party summons. no matter how
important the divisions may be.