The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1903-06-13
RESTING ON THEIR ARMS.
CGantly Meagher in the Philadelphia
North American.)


cal situation is one of absolute nuint
The Irish tenant farmers are. anxious1v
awaiting developments incidental to
the land bill, and though they attend
the weekly meetings of the branches
OF the United Irish League as usual
the proceedings are, for the most part,
perfunctory and unexciting.
Englishmen are very curious people
IN many ways. Another of them. one
Mr.. Kimber, NJ. P, also wrote to Mr.
baItour last week urging the redue-
tion OF the Irish representation in par
lament. Now, what in the world has
Amber, M. P, to do with Ireland?
Not so much as Ireland has to do with
hImoer, M. P.-and this is nothing
whatever
Yet his vote on affairs of the most
pressing Importance to Ireland is as
potent in the English house of COM
mons as the vote of any Irishman rep
resentlng scores of thousands of our
people,
And, not content with possessing a
voice and vote in directing the af-
falrs OF people foreign to him and of
country with which he has no earth.
ly connection, this eggregrious Eng
llshman secures a little transient noto-
rlety for himself by trying to revive
the absurd cry about the "over-repre-
sentation'' of Ireland in a parliament
in which Ireland would gladly waive
all claim to representation if the right
OF regulating her own business was
restored to her.
Mr.. Balfour did not give much salts
faction Mr.. Kimber, NJ. P. The
prime minister is not in as big hurry
to reduce the Irish representation now
the text OF his speech at Blenheim
as he was when he made this policy
many months ago Things have altered
since then; and the Irishmen in par
lament may soon be regarded with no
unfriendly feeling by the conseva-
| tives-at least for Q time But if Mr..
Balfour is anxious to shelve the plan
of cutting down" the parliamentary
representation of Ireland, he is delight
fully insistent upon denying the "ru-
mors" regarding tory home rule. He
says: "The story is fantastic fabri-
cation"
Mr.. BaIfour's FaVorite Adjective.
Most people who are in the habit of
writing or speaking much have favor
lite phrase and adjectives. Mr. Bal
four loves the word fantastic" Last
November statements were current to
the effect that England was mixed up
with Germany in promoting railway
from the Mediterranean to Bagdad.
Mr.. Balfour referred to the topic in his
speech at the London mansion house,
and enounced the statement as one of
the widest and most fantastic inven-
tons which, l think, even an inven-
tive press has ever discovered"
Now, if Mr.. Balfour did not know
last November that the English gov
eminent, of which he is the head, was
in direct negotiation with Germany
over the proposed Bagdad railway, his
colleagues in the cabinet must have
been treating him as child" and re-
posing less confidence in him than in
The Man in the Street"
The following extract from speech
by Lord Beaconsfeld in the house of
commons, so far back as February 16,
1874, can be read with very special
interest at the present time by Irish
politicians. He was reminded of it in
1863, when tory prime minister, and
said:
In my conscience the sentiment of
that speech was right" That senti-
ment is as follows He wished to
see a public man come forward and
say what the Irish question was. Let
them consider Ireland as they would
any other country similarly circum-
stanced. They had a starving popula-
ton. an absentee aristocracy, the
weakest executive in the world.
This was the Irish question. Gen
tlemen would say at once, on reading
of a country in such a position, the
remedy is revolution the suspen-
sion of the habeas corpus act. But
the connection with England prevent
ed a revolution. Therefore, England
was logically in the position of being
the cause of all the misery of Ireland.
What, then, was the duty of an English
minister? To effect by his policy all
the changes which revolution would
do by force"
Last weeks Speaker had brief and
cogent article on the Irish land ques-
ton from the pen of Harry O'Brien-
He wrote:
But all men recognize that Irish |
landlordism is doomed, that its foun-
dation was Slapped by the act of 1881,
and that it has been crumbling to
pieces since. The only question which
now troubles English statesmen-lib-
erals or tories-is how to give the coup I
de grace to the system without dip
ping too deeply itno the pockets of
the British taxpayers. The land for
the people" is the policy of English
at the present day. The &C.
of the garrison is gone"
But they will be welcome to remain
ard occupy themselves otherwise, and
more usefully and honorably than as q
hated and despised garrison.
CAPTAIN Shawe-Taylor, who was for
many years stationed with his regiment
in Limerick, has been staying in that
county on visits to Lord Dunraven and
other friends. The captain is one of
the best humored of men, and all at
-empts to chair him are gaily re-
ouffed. q suppose, captain" said a