Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1899-03-25
Importance of Unity and Activ-
ity by NatiOnalists to Elect
Their Candidates.
Victory in These Local Contests
Means Much for the Ma
tiOnal Cause.
FOUNDATION FOR HOME GOVERNMENT

4 In the nominations for County and
Rural District Councillors and Guardians
in urban districts the practical COM
mencement of the new system of local
self-government in Ireland began on the
9Th. The municipal elections which took
place in January were not elections of
new bodies. 1t was simply the old
authorities in the cities and towns of Ire
land which were then elected on new
franchise and on a different date from
that on which the elections for them had
previously been held The first step
taken, not only in the election of Urban
Guardians OH the new franchise, but in
the creation of absolutely new authori-
ties for the management OF county and
rural district affairs. Those new authOri-
ties will have very considerable powers.
The County Councils, except for one or
two matters, will take the place and dis
charge the business of the grand juries,
as well as a considerable amount of new
business besides, while the Rural District
Councils will have not only the powers
and duties of the old Presentinent Ses-
sions in the rural districts, but also the
sanitary business of the Boards OF Guar
dams. 1t is true that both sets of Coun-
ellis will be governed in their procedure
by stringent rules, and will be subject in
mnny things to the control of the Local
Government Board. But, despite those
rules and that control, they will have a
large discretion; the exercise of their
Npowers will necessitate the possession by
those who may compose them of consid-
cradle capacity for public affairs; and,
consequently, the immediate conse-
quences directly flowing from their action
.to. the various localities concerned will be
extremely important one way or the
other. But this is not all. Their method
of managing the business entrusted to
them may we'll be attended also by large
political results affecting the country as
whole. "If" says Mr.. Lecky, "the new
Councils prove a real success, they will
form habits that will make future extern
sions of self-government much less dan
gerous than at present" In other words,
they will pave the way for national self
government.
Under these circumstances it is obvious
that the electors of the country must, i'll
the interest not merely of the localities
in which they are respectively concerned,
but of the entire nation, make the best
use they can of the opportunity now for
the first time open to them of choosing
their administrators. In the first place,
the Nationalist majority must make sure
in as many places as possible OF Nation
alist maiorities on the various Councils.
There should be no sympathy at all with
the cry raised in some districts by Union
lists that "no politics" should enter into
those local contests. 1t is row very
convenient cry for those who raise it,
and who never acted on it themselves in
their day of power, but it is a maxim
which is nowhere that we know of OBJ
served in practice In England all local
elections are habtually fought out on
strictly political lines, and according as
Liberals or Conservatives win they pro-
claim and rejoice over their success. In
Ireland there is absolute need for follow
ing the English practice, if it is intended,
as it is, to make the new Councils step
ping-stones, as it were, to home rule.
Think what would be said if the majority
of the County Councils of Ireland passed
resolutions against home rule and voted
slavish addresses to the Queen or her
Viceroyl On the other hand, despite Mr..
Lecky's dogmatic assertion that the po-
litical resolutions of the new bodies "are
not likely to have great weight" the
mere fact of the large majority of them
Selling every suitable occasion to pro-
claim their allegiance to the national
demand will leave such an impress on
public opinion throughout the three
kingdoms, and even outside their bounds
as will render it possible for any one to
say henceforth that the nations desire
for and determination to win national
self-povernment can ever be extinguished
except by the full concession of the his
toric right of Ireland to rule itself in all
Irish affairs. 1t is earnestly to be hoped
that division in the Nationalist ranks
such as exists, unfortunately, in some
places, will not prevent the achievement
of that result. In the next place, IT is
absolutely essential that honest and capa-
Bile persons should be elected, that the
people at large may reap the full benefit
of the measure Of self-government now
conceded to them, and that it shall not
be in the power of any one to hurl at us
the reproach of Incompetence or corrup-
ton: and now it would be a wise and
polite course, in selecting such persons,
not to exclude representatives of the ma
jority, if that can be done consistently
with the safeguarding of the national
cause, which ought to be the supreme
consideration. The next few weeks will
be more than usually important occa-