New-York tribune., 1907-09-28

Right Honorable the Earl OF Dunraven. X ?.
Svo, PIP. 295. L. p Dutton & Co
Lord Dunraven's description of conditions in
Ireland to-day make sombre reading. He tells
of the never ending emigration from Ireland; OF
a country of old men and old women. due to the
oversee movement of all the young people Of en-
ergy and ambition: of squalid overcrowding in
the great cities: of starvation wages for agri-
cultural Iaborers in rural Ireland: of social con-
ditions under which one out of every forty-four
of the population is in receipt OF poor law relief
and under which nearly twelve thousand people
die every year from tuberculosis. largely due to
unsanitary conditions or insufficient or improper
food Lord Dunraven's clear and eminently sane
presentation of these present day conditions is
in support of a plea for intrusting Ireland with
the direct management OF more OF her Internal
economy: for relieving the House OF Commons
at Westminster of work that it is perpetually un-
able TO keep pace with; that in soma respects 1t
is i'll adapted to do He cites the general election
of 1906 as proof that the people Of England and
Scotland while they may not be prepared to go
the length of Home Rule as II has been under
stood since 1885, are favorably disposed toward
ireland. With England and Ireland so disposed,
Lord Dunraven makes ii plain that the burden
of responsibility for the future OF Ireland rests
less rpon the government and the people Of
Great Britain than upon the people of Ireland
themselves. From the Irish he asks selr-control;
that they should bear in mind the legislative
, limitations Of any government in dealing with
Irish reform and also all the phases OF the IN
tricate problem which confronts any govern
ment that would attempt It's solution
Once more, however, Irish popular leaders have
lacked capacity for seeing conditions in prac-
tical light and doing something practical Since
Lord Dunraven's volume was issued Mr.. Bir-
relrs bill has been submitted to Parliament.
been rejected with contempt by the Irish lead
ers and has disappeared from the order paper
of the House of Commons. Nor Is this all.
Since the bill was withdrawn the Irish Ma
tionalist leaders, with full announcement OF
their intention and its purpose, have thrown
themselves into sharpest antagonism 10 the
Liberal party They had greatly tried the rank
and file of the Liberal party, even before Mr.
Birrelrs bill was introduced. by their hostility
to the education bill of 1906-the bill that had
to be withdrawn because the government could
not accent the numerous and drastic amend
ments Of the Lords. To-day the Nationalist
are putting up Nationalist candidates in Eng
lish constituencies to no other end than TO de-
feat the Liberals. and the position is becoming
such that were a new edition OF Lord Dun
ravens book called for tomorrow lie would
have no option but to rewrite or amplify his
staternent-true enough when 1t was written
that the people of Great Britain are faVorapiy
disposed toward Ireland" Toward the people or
ireland this may still be true But the people
Of England and ScotIand-Liberals as well as
Conseryatives-are coming to distrust the Juog-
,nent of the people OF Ireland as regards the
mon whom they send 10 Westminster as their
.,,ol.aenan and their leaders The immediate
occasion of Lord Dunraven's book is past. An
other opportunity that has been presented 10
the Irish people has been deliberately thrown
away; but the Outlook in ireland" ls stili OF
service as a statement OF Irish social, agrar1an'
educational and political conditions in the f1rst
decade of the new century.