The San Francisco call., 1898-05-15
Prospect That the Measure Will Lead Up to Irish
 Home Rule.
Graphic Pen Picture of the Men Who Are Engineering It's Passage
 in Parlianaen
BY J. J. CLANCY.

1 Ireland itself to Westminster. Last Tuesday the discussion of the Unionist 1 local government bill in its details be- | gan in the House of Commons, and IL was rather remarkable to witness the flight that took place the evening be- fore from Dublin to Holyhead of mem bers of Parliament, public officials ana others affected in one way or another by the proposals of the Ministry l myself travelled over by the mall steamer, and 1 never saw such crowd on board. The following day the pre- cincts of the House of Commons were filled with Irish faces and resounoed with such a hum of Irish voices as GO not recolIect to have been heard in the same place since the stirring times or twelve years ago, when MT. Gladstone $ first home rule bill was on the tapls. Of course the reason for others than members of Parliament attending III such unusual numbers is plain enough. Almost every class of local officials III Ireland Is to be transferred rom the old unrepresentative authorities 10 new elected bodies, and they naturally de- sire to make their position in the ru. ture secure, especially in the matter oi J, pensions Accordingly lobbying, ] II, in America, is just now the order or lhe day and night at Westminster.
 This Irish bill is in charge or two members of the Government-GeraId Balfour, the Chief Secretary, and MT. Atkinson, the Attorney General for IralandNand it certainly furnishes a great opportunity for both- MT Bal- four is, of course, the brother of Arthur Balfour. the leader of the Tory party in the House of Commons. Natufaliy the brothers resemble eacn other III many respects physically and intellect ually. They are both tai anu sao talras' .aIrne, with refined and intelligent 1eaturSs,
 but the Irish Secretary, though the vounger man, looks the older. Ills clean shaven face is deeply lined and or unearthly paleness, and even ms Sdll and demeanor are more stald thdl those of the First Lord Of the IreaSu LII Tn fact he looks decidedly sad ana when he smiles he does so in sucn sort. to quote the words of Shakespeare as if he scorned the spirit that made him smile at anything. in speech ne s ls eoually serious. Rapier-1ke thrustS oI sarcasm and irony are character!slles ls of Arthur Balfour's oratory; that oI Gerald Ralfour is entirely free rom them. But he is admirably clear III eN- Doeition and as might be expected, very deliberate. He is also, IL Iiusl pe added. very gracious-eXcept Wheh Ae gets out of temper, as he Is rather apt fo do For the considerable task r-,icb he has now on hand it must also he said he is very well fitted indeed. To master the details of the existing system of local government Tn lIelahu immense knowledge is absolutely Ie
 nuired. The details are posltlVeiy hlul, ti+ndinous and could not be mastered " sit ona except after prolonged st,aw Rut Gerald Balfour seems to pc . e1i1tton for work, and now prooapiy LnoIvs more of his subject than any Irish member. ,s o4 bis subtect can be accounted TOT otne I9e than by his capacity TOT W1ih
 bae in the first place, practically noti- ine else to do just now but to master +tso connlexity of Irish local govern
 mant. and. in the second place, ne mas G,.et class Irish asstants Among these latter the Irish Attorney-Generai ranks first. MT. Atkinson looks a very yoI1ne man. but he is nearer o0 than so 1,asrs of age. For long period be- Sora he became Attorney General ne 1yas one of the leaders of the lrlsh har and that position he attained py bv sheer merit. Like all Irish lawyers who have attained to cff1ce, ne was obliged to take to politics TOT promo tion. and it was fully expecteu .la. ne would follow the usual course or selz- inc the first judgeship that fell vacant. pn+ strange to say he has let no fewer than four of them go 10 others. He seems to like Parila1nent, and. no doubt, as long as he can draw
 f5O00 a year-hiS present saiary r-i1I he more comfortable in the House nf Commons than on the bench. He cannot however, reckon on retaining his present post forever, and, accord inelv 1t is pretty certain that event uaiiy he will become. like his predeces- sors. a Judge. Meanwhile he Keeps ms seat in Parliament, sits by the side or MT. Balfour every oay TOT it;,ea, seSen o, eight hours helping and lnstructng him. and occasionally, when purely le- gal points turn up in debate, takes Iart in the discussion on the local gov ernnent bill himself. He is supposed, and no doubt rightly, to be, in a large degree. the real author of the Dill, ana at any rate he knows all about It.
 The three days discussion of the bill has already decided it's fate. It was thought. before the discussion began, that the Irish Unionist minority would make an effort to mutilate the meas ure by moving destructive amend noents But they have already given up the fight. They have, indeed, moved three or four amendments; but those amendments were not only more or Iess harmless in themselves, but the effort made to carry them was almost avoWadlv half-hearted. This c1rcum- stance. which, at first sight. is rather inexplicable in view of the fact that the irish Unionists In their hearts de- test the bill, is easily accounted for when two other circumstances are borne in mind. The landlords, in the first place, are getting considerable b1ibe to induce them to accept the measure. and then the Government are making it quite plain that they are de- tarmined to carry the bill as it stands. They have, in truth, treated their Irish supporters with something like con- tempt in this matter. They have shown once more that they care abso- lutely nothing for their Irish garri- son when their English party inter ests are at stake, and that they are ready to abandon them rather than innperil their own political position in Great Britain. The immediate conse- -ouence is that this Irish bill will have not only an easy, but a rapid passage through Parliament. The remoter con- seouences may be even more import ant. My own idea-and 1t is the idea of many Irish Unionists as well-is that one of the inevitable results of the passage of the measure will be the establishment of home rule later on.