The Irish standard., 1910-08-20
Probability is That All Members
of the House Will Soon
Receive Pay.
Conference is Still an Enigma so
Far as its Developments
Are Concerned.
I. P. OConnor is Optimistic REGARD
ing Future Political
Prospects.

Except at meetings held throughout
Ireland to obtain subscriptions to the
parliamentary fund and preparations
for farewell gatherings for John Red
mond before his coming mission to
America the political world remains
stagnant.
From the trades unirionist meet
ings the chief fact evolved is that ow-
ing to the prevention of subscriptions
by unions by decision of the courts
of law and the consequent stoppage Of
all pay for labor members of parlia-
ment the payment of all members Of
the house Of commons is brought Wis
IDLY nearer
Chancellor Lloyd George is already
contemplating this in the next budget.
The conference still hangs like
Neutrality-suspicious. like the albatross
in the Ancient Mariner-over the whole
political situation. People do not even
vet entirely realize all the strange
things that leaders of English politics
have done at this epoch.
The two houses of parliament sit as
usual, but they are not permitted to
utter one word on the subject that is
next to their hearts. There has been
one burning topic of controversy in
the country for more than. a year,
the elimination Of a struggle that has
been going on for centuries; the one
subject on which no man can adress
a meeting and which no meeting can
get anybody to talk about
The whole political body is just like
the patient who is for moment under
an anaesthetic, unaware of the fact that
his body is being cut to pieces by the
knife Of the surgeon.
situation which I have pointed out in
a phrase that has gone the rounds in
the press here. 1t is that "you can
keep patient under an anaesthetic for
a certain length of time, but if you try
him too long he may slip out of your
hands,
Budget ls Irish Weapon.
There is only one party which is
quite independent and which has re-
tanned it's own power and that, of
course, is the Irish party.
Its hands are quite free; when the
result of the conference is announced
next November it is quite possible that
the Irish party may find itself unable
to agree to the terms which these two
sets of negotiators have accepted.
If the Irish party finds itself in this
position they still have the budget as
weapon. They made it condition
of the asserting to the postponement
of the veto fight by the conference
that the budget should be held over
until the veto fight was either finished
or recommended.
If they find that the government is
dragging the whole thing out, which
think is an absurd impossibility, they
can take their revenge by voting
against the budget. OF course, the
Liberals and the Tories might then
combine to vote down the Irish in the
interest of the compromise, but that
assumes two things equally impossible
in my opinion.
First, that the Liberal negotiators
would assent to anything that would
betray home rule, and second, that If
they did they would be able to carry
it in face of the hostility of the Irish
party.
These are the reasons which make
me incurably optimistic with regard
to the conference. / think on the one
hand that these eight men are too in
telligent to have met twelve times
without having discovered whether
they have some or no chance Of com.
ing to an agreement. They have not
come to an agreement yet-tnls is
quite certain. But they surely have
seen no hopeless barriers to their
agreeing.
Nobody knows outside the conference
with assurance how the conference js
shaping, the secret being well kept, but