The Irish standard. [volume] (Minneapolis, Minn. ;) 1886-1920, 1909-07-03
Proof of the Perfidy of the Predominant Partner il,
Violating the Act Which Deprived Ireland
of Self-Government.
THE IRISH LEADER GIVES FACTS AND FIGURES
The Strongest and Most Unanswerabe Argument in Favos
of Home Rule i. the Financial History of
the Odious Compact

During the debate in parliament OIL
the Budget. MIR. John f. Redmond de-
lvered mastery address from which
the following is selected:
Because we have the privilege OF
being tied up in this financial union
every extravaganza, every crime 4
which this country may be guilty
(cheers). We have to pay our share
for your bloated naval armaments.
We have to pay our share for the co,.-
duct Of wars which are absolutely
hateful to us. We even have 10 pay
our share for the Identification Of the
Imperial capital (cheers). There is not
one Of your public buildings crecta.'
in London at cost OF milliuns for
which poor Ireland has not had to pay
her share. and more than her share
For the .lseasti aation .of your public
buildings, FOR svsfy sxtravagance, ev-
cry luxury. every crime this country
has embarked upon. Ireland during tho
last century has paid her share. and
more than her Share. Therefore, 1
say Alis whole incident about this
Budget. the whole Of your finaNcial
history in connection with Ireland, ls
the strongest and most unansWerable
argument in favor of Home Rule
country and she is forced because she
is tied 10 a rich country to share IN
the luxuries, the caprices, and the ex-
travagances of this country. Mr..
Childers. in his draft report on the
Financial Relations Commission. nut
this in few short sentences in the
cleanest cut way. He. said: "If one
man b., who has for some time been
at the rate of 100 pounds per unn,lln,
man b.; who has for some time been
living at the rate Of 700 pounds per
annum and to spend one pound FOR
every seven pounds which y spends,
then so long as B continues to live
at the same rate as before, the en-
penses Of A will not be increased, but
| IL B begins to live at the rate Of g.
| 100 pounds a year, A will have 20
spend 500 pounds a year, and is his
must become bankrupt" This is ex-
actly, the position in which Ireland Is
situated in being tied to this country,
and there is no answer to it unless you
deny the accuracy Of the figures which
your greatest experts hava regarded as
accurate. Now denounce this Budget
In principle as gross violation of the
spirit and letter Of the act Of union
(cheers). will not trouble the House
with many figures. Let me just give
two or three illustrations Of the fin
ancial history Of ireland. In 1891, be-
fore the Act Of Union, the Irish debt
was IL millions. In 1911, after the
Union. that debt had risen to 10 mi,-
lions. and in 1917 1t had risen from
2 IA millions to 113 millions. The
Irish taxation 1T the time Of the Union
was 100000 pounds. In 1917 it was
100000 and therefore, for the first
seventeen years Of the working Of. the
Act of Union all Irish revenue rapidly
declined and Irish taxation rapidly in
creased. In the year 1917 the exche-
quers were amalsamated, and a. ays-
tenn of what As called indiscrim:na:s
taxation was applied to the two coun:
tries. and 50 between 1917 and the year
1894, when thu Financial Relations
Commission held its sittings. the taxa.
tion Of the population in Ireland hat
Increased by II per cent (cheers). Un.
der the system Of indiscriminate tax
alton that was the result in Ireland
while at the same time there was .
decrease Of over II per cent taxation
per head on the population in England
(cheers), and all the time we had suf'