The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1897-10-10
QUEEN VICTORIA AND IRISH HOME
RIFLE

recent cablegram from London con-
tanned information from an unexpected
quarter relative to Queen Victoria's posi-
tion on the question of home rule for Ire
land Under the British constitution the
sovereign, though the head of the govern
ment and it's most conspicuous representa-
tive, is little more than fgurehead so far
as shaping it's policy is concerned. That is
done by the people or by public opinion
through Parliament. The sovereign, King
or Queen, as the case may be, may, of
course, make his influence potentially felt
in some ways, but if he should attempt to
go counter to the popular will there would
be clash. AS a general rule he is sup
posed not to have any policy of his own
distinct from that of the people. The dis
patch referred to contained almost posi-
tive information that during the long ag-
tation of the Irish home-rule question the
Queen was decidedly opposed to it. This
might have been inferred from her natural
conservatism, but there was no direct evil
dence of it, She yielded to the prevailing
sentiment of the times so far as to summon
Mr.. Gladstone to form a Liberal Ministry,
and, so far as known, made no attempt to
prevent the passage of his home-rule bill
in the House of Commons but all the same
she was decidedly opposed to it. The man
ner in which the fact comes out is scarcely
less interesting than the fact itself. This is
in passage in a biography of the late Lord
Tennyson, from which it appears that the
Queen referred to the matter in a private let
ter to the poet laureate. 1t would have been
obviously improper to publish the Queens
letter, but the biographer could not refrain
from giving a significant passage. The let
ter was written two days after the intro
duction of Mr.. Gladstones home-rule bill,
and the Queen wrote: II cannot in this
letter allude to politics. but / know what
your feelings must be- The Queen evident
ly knew that Tennyson was bitterly opposed
to Irish home rule and that he would I'M
derstand her allusion He showed that he
did by saying in his reply that he would
die rather than see the rebellious loyalists
of Ulster repressed." The reference was to
the riots in Belfast, which occurred in July
and August, 1886. The riots grew out of the
chronic hatred between the Orange and
Catholic factions, and were serious that
quite a number of persons were killed and
nearly 600 wounded were treated by the Bel
fast physicians, OF whom thirty-four died.
The home-rule question figured in the dis
turbance, and Ternyson's sympathies, as
the Queen evidently understood, were
strongly with the Orangemen. 1t will be
remembered that after the home-rule bill
finally passed the House of Commons it was
killed in the Lords 1t is quite possible that
the Queen gave the lords to understand that
such was her desire. At all events, the dis
closure made by the Tennyson letter leaves
no doubt that she is opposed to home rule
for Ireland in any form that it is likely to
assume, and that she would probably use
her constitutional prerogative to defeat it,
She might do this by creating new peers to
vote against it in the Lords if there were
any danger of it passing that body, or, in
the last resort she might withhold the royal
assent. In any event it is evident that Irish
home rule will stand no chance of success
during Victoria'S reign.