The Irish standard., 1905-06-03
Al Dinner Given Him by the Manchester
Reform Club He Delivers Some
what Remarkable Address.
Sound Administration in Ireland an Impos-
sibility Until the Irish People Are
Given Some Control


had very much criticism, but a great
deal OF violent and virulent abuse.
They had merely laid down general
lines and principles upon which, as
they thought, while retaining the sup
remacy of the Parliament at Westmin.
strr and working within the Union.
Ireland could be given a very large
amount OF the legislative control over
her own affairs, and given, what was
| still more important, control over her
own affairs, and given, what was still
more important, control over the ad-
| minStration of her finances. He be.
| llcvcd moderate reform was perfectly
| possible, and that the principles set
forward were capable of doing three
! things: Giving Ireland control and
| sufficient government to manage
| her own local affairs in IL way in
| which they could not possibly be man
! aged ut Westminster; giving ireland
such a voice in controlling her finan-
| cial administration us would convert
| the administration from being the
| most wastefu in the world to be fairly
economically conducted; and he be-
llcved they were capable of educating
the people and giving them that self
respect and that respect for others
which naturally arose by the exercise
by free men of the rights of citizen
ship, until they changed and convert
ed the spirit of the people of Ireland
! and enabled them to work out the
salvation of their own country
1t seemed to him the proposals were
really the logical outcome and conclu-
, sions of the whole policy his Majestys
Government had adopted towards Ire
! land for the past few years. 1t was
, idle nonsense to say the present Gov
crnmcnt did not adopt new Irish
policy, because they did Had not
the present Viceroy said he thought
| that the Government thought that Ire
land should be governed according to
! Irish ideas? Mr.. Balfour made very
>
,, other night. But what other means
were there OF securing that Ireland
, should be governed by Irish ideas un-
F, less they gave the Irish people some
means of expressing those ideas and
| of carrying them out? The Govern
ment did start ii new policy, but af-
tcrwards they got frightened and ran
! away. Sir Antony MacDonnell was
appointed for the purpose of carrying
out this new policy, but the old AS
cendancy party, wishing to get rid of
him by fair means or foul, made use
of the Dcvolution scheme as their
weapon.
AS Il matter of fact, Sir Antony had
nothing to do with the origination of
the Devolulion scheme. 1t orig
mated with Il few members OF the
Landlords Conference Committee,
and was started without the knowl-
edge or sanction Of anybody in Dub
lin Castle. Sir Antony, as he was en-
titled to do, gave them great assist
ance in obtaining facts. The recent
debate in Parliament made matters
more obscure than before. 1t would
appear that Mr.. Wyndham resigned be-
cause, being on a holiday, he did not
read the Irish Times for some weeks,
and that Sir A. MacDonnell was cen
sured because he sincerely but err
roneously credited Mr. Wyndham with
opinions the right hon. gentleman did
not hold. These reasons seemed
rather weak, and it would appear that
the Government seemed to delight in
human sacrifice, Mr.. Wyndham being
the sixth victim. 1t was a regret to
him to be even in a slight way cause
of difficulty to his old friend, Mr..
Wyndham, or to be cause of any em-
barrassment to his party; but he sup
posed he ought to have sort of dis
NAL satisfaction in feeling that he had
been the means of furnishing them
with the only flag under which they
seemed to think that they had a
chance of rallying their somewhat