The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1897-06-22
Irish Parties and tho British Gov.


The Unionists, having obtained in 1905
an overwhelming majority of the House Of
Commons. arc almost certain to retain
power until 1901, at all events; and there
are, rs yet, no indications of such y popular
rcvulsion as will be needed to assure Il Lib
eral victory four years hence. There is,
then, no hope of gaining home rule for Ire
land for some time to come. Such being
the outlook as regards their principal aim,
what is to be the attitude of the Irish Ma.
tionalists in the immediate futuref
Touching this point, the evidence fur
nished by some recent incidents looks at
first sight conflicting. The Nationalist
members of Parliament have refused to
take any part in the celebration OF the
Queens Jubilee on the ground that their
country has had nothing to be thankful for
during the reign of VICTORIA. Then. again,
toward the end Of May the Parnellite mem.
bers endeavored to prevent a small ap-
preparation for harbors, for the reason, they
said, that Ireland would have to pay too
large a proportion of the sum. The House
was at the time in Committee on Supply,
and the Chairman held that the attempt to
open up the whole question Of the financial
relations of Great Britain and Ireland was
out of order. Mr.. JOHN +. REDMOND, the
leader of the Parnellites, and three of his
colleagues successfully refused to defer to
this ruling, and were suspended, thus re-
calling the scenes repeatedly witnessed
when Mr.. PARNELL was alive.
On the other hand, when Mr.. BALFoUR,
a week earlier. announced his intention to
bring forward by and by a scheme for Civ
inr IN Iro1and n local noyorpn,apf IN full
and free as that which has already been
given to England and Scotland, Mr..
REDMOND, Mr.. DILLON, and Mr.. HEALY
all testified the most lively satisfac-
tion. Subsequently, speaking in Glas-
gov Mr.. I. HEALY dwelt with a good
deal of emphasis on what he described
as the Frightening prospects of Ireland. He
declared that in spite of the divisions in
the Nationalist party, of MIR. GLADsToNE's
retirement. and of his replacement by a
gentleman who did not know his own
mind upon questions, Irish, English, or
S~cotch-the a~llusion was, of course, to Lord
R~osEBERY-the outlook had never been so
promising for Ireland since Mr.. GLAD
STONES adoption of the home rule
cause in 1856. The proof furnished
by the Royal Commission that Ire
land had long been bearing more than
her share of the imperial expenditure had
caused the Irish landlords to unite with
the Irish people in the demand for fiscal
redress. Mr.. HEALY attributed to the
pressure exerted by the Irish and Con.
servative parties the fact that Mr.. BAL
FOUR had outlined a new policy lately,
namely, a Local Government bill which,
if passed in the form foreshadowed, would
go far to settle many of those unhappy
differences which had disrupted the Irish
race.
Mr.. HEALY did not hesitate to give the
Unionist Government credit for straight
and honest meaning in the matter, and he
went on to enumerate some reasons for
thinking that the proposed measure would
prove IA great emollient of Irish disaffec.
tion. 1t would create, he pointed ont, in
every Irish county ar independent local
authority. elected by the people to do
what the people wanted done with
their own money. and 80 put an end
to the Grand Jury system. 1t would
also do away with the wastcful and un
charitable Poor law system now existing
in Ireland, and replace it with the English
and Scotch system of allowing every man a
vote in local affairs. Thus would Irishmcr
be taught sclf-government. The new
County Councils. he added, would bavc tc
do their work under tho vigilant eye Of the
electors, and, should M expression of tho
national will be desired later ON, he thought
that, even In The absence of an Irish Parlia
mcnt, there would not be much difficulty
In arriving ut an approXimat!vc decision
through u consultation of the County Coun
ellis all over Ireland. AT the same time, re
calling the fate of previous measures, Mr.
f. said he must reserve his Judgment
until he saw what form the bill would take
. after the Lords had handled 1t. lie thought
, that, If the Government really wished t
. conciliate tho Irish party, they should do
what was done with the A%shbourne net O
. 1888, namely, introduce their bill first il
, the House of Lords; then, when they got 4
$ down to the House Of Commons, IrishmeI
t could see whether 1t was worth discussing
, After all. there is nothing essentially in
conSruous in these incidents. They are al
"consonant with the fundamental feeling o
the Irish people, which is one of resentment
for the past, and of distrust of the motive!
OF the present Unionist party, coupled Will
, n natural eagerness to secure every possibl,
: installment of what they consider theil
just due. They will gladly accept tn,
offered local government, provided it d.
. not turn out a sham, but that will
l not hinder them from clamoring for a thor
ough readjustment OF the financial rela
/ tions Of Great Britain and Ireland. Be
cause to them may be conceded the sam,
l rights which are enjoyed by Englishmer
and Scotchmcn IL certainly no reason VIII