The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-08-23
Tho Latest overtures to ireland.

We are told necessarily that home rule
is dead nevertheless, the Irish Nationalist
have about eighty seats in the House of
Commons, and seem likely to retain them
for some time to come, so that II the Brit.
ish constituencies should happen to be
pretty evenly divided at the next general
election, the Home Rulers again would be
able to turn the scale. Consequently, the
Unionists, although just now they do not
need them, are continually mooting pro.
jects of conciliation, while the Liberals
are racking their brains to hit upon some
compromise whereby they can satisfy the
Irish demand without running their chance
OF winning back q majority of the British
celebrates. When home rule is described
as d%efunct, what is meant is only the spe.
cies Of self-government for Ireland devised
by Mr.. GLADSTONE, whether VIC have in
mind the scheme which the House of Com
mons rejected in 1886, or that which it
accepted in 1893.
In the Irish county councils promised by
MIR. BALFoUR but not yet distinctly de-
fined. a kind of local autonomy plainly is
contemplated, and a section of the Liberal
party is alive to the necessity of putting
Onward a more attractive alternative. To
that end the advanced Radicals appointed
some time ago a committee of nine, con.
sisting of three members from England,
three from Wales, and three from Scot
land. The outcome of their deliberations
is now published. What they propose is
"home rule all around" That Is to say, the
House of Commons will consist of $40
members, as 1t does now, and they will be
chosen as they are at present. During a
certain portion Of the year, however, that
is to say, from the early part of January to
Whitsuntide, the Scotch members will sit
separately at Edinburgh, the Welsh men,
bers at Cardiff, the Irish members at
Dublin, while the members from England
proper will remain at Westminster In
each of the smaller assemblies will be dis
cussed and passed all bills exclusively re-
lating to the interests of its constituents.
Then, after Whitsuntide, the whole Par
Lament will meet together for the double
purpose of transacting imperial busi.
ness and of accepting or rejecting the
bills passed by the fractional bodies.
According to the scheme as outlined, the
imperial Parliament must either ratify or
veto; it will not be competent to amend;
nevertheless, negotiations may take place
between the imperial Ministers and the
members of the fractional body concerned,
with a view to the amendment of an unac-
ccptable measure by the latter.
a weak point of the proposal is the fact
that the Scotch, Irish and Welsh Secretaries,
although members of an imperial Cabinet,
and therefore, like their colleagues, respon-
sible only to the collective Parliament,
have to deal primarily and mainly with the
fractional bodies, in which may be prepon-
derant political opinions at variance with
those held by tse majority of the Parlia-
ment acting as a whole. The authors of
the plan assert that the objection lust
named Is not fatal, because, they say, the
provincial Legislature of Ontario has often
been Liberal when the Ottawa Parliament
was Conservative, yet no friction has &C.
CURED. If no friction occurred, it was be-
cause the spheres Of provincial and
federal legislation In the Dominion of
Canada are sharply distinguished. An
act passed by the Ontario Legislature
does not have to be confirmed by the
Ottawa Parliament in order to acquire
validity. AS the contrary would be the
case with the "home-rule all-around" plan.
1t is manifest that friction and collision