The San Francisco call., 1898-06-12
YET DEMAND
 FULL MEASURE
 OF FREEDOM Patriotic Feeling of
 lrishmen. SHOWN IN DEMONSTRATIONS PROGRESS ON THE LOCAL GOV ERNMENT BILL. J. J. Clancy, The Calls Special Core spondent in Ireland, Tells of
 Many Recent Events of
 Interest.
SHOWN IN DEMONSTRATIONS
PROGRESS ON THE LocAI, COW ERNMENT BILL.
BY J. J. CLANCY.

DUBLIN, May 2S.-The discussion of me Irish local government bill in com mlttee. was finished on Tuesday nieh+ by a tremendous effort. Nearly thirty clauses, with several schedules and some new clauses, remained to be con- sidered when the House of Conmons IeasseIholed Tor business on Monday, ana II seemed to good many members VI IL lhe work Of dealing with so many 3toNlSions of importance could never be accoilphshed before the Whitsuntide recess But by suspending the rules Alnltlng the length of each sitting, by continuing the Monday sitting till nearly 4 o'clock on the morning of tuesday, and by postponing till the re- port stage of the bill a large proportion or the unsettled points, the committee proceedings were brought to a close not only in time for the Whitsuntide recess. put Tn time even for Derby day ednesday the 18th. Not much need be said of the closing days of the dis cuSSion In committee. The bill has got through that stage without any ma terlal alteration for the worse and al- most without any material alteration for the better. The Government simply made up their minds that the bill should pass substantially as it was when in troduced, and they carried out their re- solve to the end. Within the last hour or two Of the long debate however. a. subject was opened up in which many observation-disclosures would no doubt be in- crested By one of the earlier proyi- sions of the bill all municipalities which were not made county boroughs by the act would be merged in the counties to fhAxr though they would still retain their ex- Sting municipal governments. The chiet effect of the measure would|be that they would cease to have sheriffs, that they would no longer have assizes of their own, and that they would, in some matters in which they alone have now control be under the jurisdiction of their respective county councils. By a subsequent provision six boroughs- namely, Dublin, Belfast, Cork, Liner ick, Derry and Waterford-were erect d into county boroughs, all the rest peing thus left out in the cold. It was, of course more matter of sentiment than anything else, but Irshmen are generally sentimental, and accordingly several Irish members fought for the
 retention by such towns as Kilkenny. Galway and Drogheda of all their old
 historical privileges the existence of
 which dates back, 1t may be added,
 some hundredS or years. Gerald Bal four however, was obdurate.
 4 controversy has sprung up in Ire land over the action of the Parnellite party in the matter of the Gladstone funeral. John Redmond and his col leagues in the House of Commons as mentioned in my last letter, decided to abstain from all participation in the proceedings carried on there for hon. oring the great Englishman. They did so. as was explained at the time lest anything might be said in their pres ence with which they could not agree and lest they might thus be forced to introduce a jarring note into the gen eral harmony They had no objection to the memory of MT. Gladstone being