The Intermountain Catholic. (Salt Lake City [Utah] ;) 1899-1920, 1905-04-08

OF the Balfour ministry was the all
Important fact, the form of it being a
: mere detail to be settled later. It was
in this way your correspondent gained
: the information upon which he based
his confident predictions that brighter
7 era was dawning for the Irish people
: that land reform was to be followed
by political reform as soon as it could
be brought about, and that the evils of
castle government and the whole obi
Gus system, which even decent English
; officials We're disgusted with, were to
/: be swept away one by one till in all
their home affairs the Irish people were
their own masters.
These forecasts of the policies of the
BalfOur government were cabled back
to England and reused keen interest
among public men. Members of the
government were questioned as to their
accuracy, and the usual diplomatic de-
mails followed But the land law was
passed. 1t is now in operation, and is
gradually, though too slowly, turning
the land of Ireland back to its right
full owners. the men and women who
live upon it and till it.
Having put the land law Oh its feet,
after herculean labors, Messrs. Wynd-
ham and MacDonnell turned their at
tention to the next number of their
programme. At the instance, doubt
less, of Under Secretary Mac DOnnell
the Irish Reform association. composed
of lanl lords and former landlords, but
! nevertheless with a patriotic desire to
| better the condition of the country,
| suggested a scheme of "devolution of
| legislative and administrative 'authori-
| ty'' to officials and bodies more direct
! ly representing the Irish people. In
| brief the proposal was to create an
Irish council of twelve members elect
| ed by the county and borough council
constituencies, and twelve nominated
! by the government to pass upon all
matters of expenditure for ireland,
| their decision to be final unless re-
Versed by the house of commons by a |
majority OF not less than one-fourth |
of the votes. This body was to pre-
pare the Irish estimates annually and |
submit them to parliament.
In addition a larger body was sug-
gested, composed of this council, the |
Irish representative peers and thse |
Irish members of the house of COM
mons, to promote Legislation purely |
Irish and to act upon private bills.
Sir Antony Mae Donnell supported this !
plan, which was an entering wedge for
a greater measure of home rule even
if it was not all that could be desired
by the Irish people. 1t was at least
DLoAA' IODdulS MAC DOilllell never Idu
a thought he was doing anything else
than carrying out the wishes of the
government because he had every rea-
son in the world to believe there was
thorough understanding between his
Supericrs and himself. Buth when the
affair became public howl arose from
the Ulsterites, and to appease them
Wyndham was thrown overheard after
Slr Antony had been repudiated. In
the explanations offred in parliament
Wyndham did not appear to the best
advantage, but in the last analysis it
was apparent that he was deliberately
sacrificing himself to give some meas
ure of protection to his subordinate 1t
is significant that at last accounts
MacDonnell was still in office and also |
the Earl of Dudley, lord lieutenant,
who publicly announced that every
thing mcdonnell had done was after
with him and had his ap- '
prevail /
Everyone that knows the brilliant J
George Wyndhana will be sorry that {
his most promising career had thus Y
been cut short I have, every reason u
TO believe that he was working con-
'cientiously. and with a large view for :
he regeneration of Ireland. He told Il
ne much of his plans and they We're i"
and practical They u
aimed at restoring the land to the peo- y y
Die; then to give the Irish people y
Toice in the management of their own !
lfairs-in the end, not all at once, by II
gradual enlargement of their powers q
complete self-government in purely =
rish legislation and administration. =
But for Wyndham and MacDonneII u
mere would never have been a land "
aW such as is now slowly but surely u
onferring its blessings upon the coun- o
ry- But for them the home rule move le
1ent would not have attained the "
eadway it now has. Wyndham has ~
allen by the wayside, and Balfour may =
ct sacrifice MacDonnell, but the work q
ill go on. OF
For every Irishman, and for every pl
lan who sympathizes with the Irish !tW
eople in their demand TO be rid of OF
he odious bureaucracy which has so m
)nS oppressed them-a Bureaucracy n'
'hlch should close the mouth of II
very Briton who would seoff at Rus de
is a good sign in the sky. ne
is found in the fact that the Irish III
-etorm association movement for a co
evolution of home rule promoted by WI
LacDonneH and supported by Dun m
lYen and Dudley. has not aroused TO
fth part of the. opposition that
light have been expected. Reports We
ON England through trustworthy tn
lannels are to the effect that both tn
0liticai parties in the United King AL
om are now looking with favor to
pom the plan to give ireland ra- wi
onal and modern governments Ike
,yernment by the people themselves. by
majority of Englishmen no longer ha
ltfer with sort of raj bies when home siz
lie for Ireland is mentioned in their sir
essence. They are discovering at last fal
at 1t is useless to try to make Eng ms
ihmen out of Irishmen that it is bar ba
lric to so on trying to treat the Irish mo
d conquered race, that they are not COZ
conquered race and never can be, that VIII
the higher civilization which Eng ha
lh podsls Oh representing country ma
never conquered till you have won ael
e hearts and affections of its people. dee
The sad part of the current epicode gra
Irish and English politics is that no
e men who were trying their best to der
something for ireland must be sac wa
iced because a few Irishmen throw ba,
mes at them. de, le.
But it is believed the day is soon com tio,
: when the good sense of the English ha,l
ople vii rise above 5chisms and re- 60
ious factions and look to the good 80 80
ireland as a whole. Home rule may ~
ne IN year, or it may come in five 80
@rs. Our friends across the sea move 4,s
tn slowness which is proverbiaI la eila
it is coming. ar
trai
turt
OUT OF THE EAST. mul