The Irish standard., 1910-07-23

attacked by the ultra Protestants be-
cause of the concession to the Cath
olics. 1t is attacked by the noncon-
formists because it gives undue prefer
ence to the established church.
Whiskey Presents Probler.
1t is one of the extraordinary phe-
nomena of British politics that some
apparently unimportant article of 'daily
life assumes the position Of deciding
the fate of parties and Of ministries.
For several generations in succession
this place was occupied by the simple
and harmless article, sugar. One OF
the most famous episodes in the life of
the great Earl of Chatham, when, as
William Pitt, he was the most potent
voice in the House of Commons. re-
lates to sugar.
He happened to mention the word
sugar, whereupon there arose q litter.
But, rising to his majestic height, look
ing more like an eagle with his beak
nose than ever, and speaking with the
full force of his tremendous voice, he
repeated the word again and again
NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS.. And when the
house was thrilled and cowed into ST.
lence. he exclaimed: who will laugh
at sugar now?"
Disraeli, in one of his books, ex-
presses surprise that an article which
is the delight Of youth and a solace CT
old age should SO often. have wrecked
parliaments and ministries. Today
whiskey, and especially Irish whiskey,
plays the part formerly acted by sugar
Whiskey presents an exceedingly COM
pick problem in both British and Irish
life in it's political and social aspect.
The liquor business, too, still re-
mains in Ireland as elsewhere a pow
efful political force. and although the
distillers are Tories even to man,
and have subscribed for years to the
anti-home rule funds, the small liquor
dealers are, for the most part, Ma
tionalists and have done more than
their share of work for the Irish cause.
1t, therefore, was difficult for the Irish
party to resist an increased whiskey
tax which at once injured the Irish
industry and estranged some of their
most ardent and even unselflsh sup
porters.
There was only one consideration
which could have justified the Irish
party, under these circumstances, in
supporting the whiskey tax. With
great courage. Redmond announced his
policy in clear and almost defiant Ian
guage in a speech he made at the
Gresham hotel in Dublin last February,
On the other hand he warned the gov
eminent that if they showed any signs
of hesitation or even undue delay in
making the fight against the lords, he
would resist them and defeat them.
English Resent Irish Rule.
There was another and even more
SOlu IIS UuuSGC was
the budget which the House of Lords
rejected last year. If, then, the YER
dict of the House of Lords was going
to be reversed, 1t was the same bud
get-exaetly, literally. word for word
the same budget. which had again to
be presented to the lords and be thrust
down their Threats. But IT, such an
immense modification of the budget
were made as the omission Of the
whiskey tax, nobody could honestly
contend that it was the same budget
And. finally, there was a third COM
plication. The commanding position
which the general election gave to
Redmond and the Irish vote has its
advantages, but from the English point
Of view it had the disadvantage that
it meant that England was governed
by the Irish vote. This weakness Of
the position had been worked for al
1t was worth by the Tories; and it is
only natural that Engllshmen should
be a little sensitive on the point. Eng
lishmen don't want to be governed
by Irishmen any more than Irishmer
like to be governed by Bnglishmen.
OF course. one only hears vague
whispers Of what takes place inside
the cabinet council: but, putting one
thing with another. I think l can re-
constitute. to use the French phrase
the scene which was enacted on that
Hateful and historic day when the
cabinet, after months Of hesitation
took their courage in both hands and
resolved on the resounding declara-
ton of Asquith that they would de-
mand guarantees from the king. The
Irish whiskey tax was a price that had
to be paid for his declaration. 1t was
paid; and Redmond assented to the
payment in full accord with the policy
he had announced in his Gresham hotel