Los Angeles herald., 1910-02-13
IRISH HOLD THE
UPPER HAND
HOME RULE BILL MUST BE
CONSIDERED
REDMOND IN POSITION TO CON-
TROL ASQUlTH
Prime Minister In Danger of Being
Deposed If He Fails to Heed
Orders of Irish
Leader

LONDON, Feb. 1.-THE Daily Express
says: The real business of the house
of commons next session will be
transacted in quiet committee rooms,
where the lights will be turned low,
and politicians will not dare to raise
their voices above loud whispers. Mr..
Redmond is on the pedestal and the
Radical ministers are on the knee.
Only by continual secret bargaining
with the Irish can the prime, minister
hold office.
1t would be difficult to find a more
humiliating position for man of Mr..
Asquith's domineering temperament
than that in which he will find him
self if he decides-as he probably will
to eat the shamrock and take Office
dependent for his majority on the
favors of Mr.. Redmond.
Only by trucking to the Irish de-
mands, by first submitting his pro-
posals to Mr.. Redmond before he pro-
duces them in the house of commons,
can Mr.. Asquith hope to achieve any
thing or carry through the many meas
ures that his colleagues have promised
throughout the country in their futile
endeaVor to win votes
The position is so absolute and so
simple that the humblest member of
the Nationalist party could be trusted
to get something out of the govern
ment The various groups" in the
last parliament who used to extract
promises from the prime minister dur
ing the last few sessions, and had bills
at which the majority of the cabinet
looked askance introduced for their
special benefit, will find themselves re-
duced to complete impotence.
What, for instance, will be the effect
of the Nonconformists screaming in the
focsle for another education bill, with
Mr.. Redmond, pledged to maintain
the solidarity of the Roman Catholic
schools, on the quarterback?
Welsh Church in Danger
The Nonconformists must abandon
for a generation any hope of seeing
what they consider their grievous
wrongs readjusted, The passive re-
sisting, until senility brings a merciful
relief, for though Mr.. Redmond may
condescend to bargain with MI.
Asquith on a number of issues, he and
his followers will never for a moment
consider the betrayal of the Roman
Catholic schools. Thus the famous
mandate" of 1906 for the repeal of
Mr.. Balfour's education act of 1902
goes into the limbo of forgotten things.
Another interesting possibility is the
disestablishment of the church in
Wales by the votes of Irish Roman
u
about the question. and would be per-
fectly ready to sell themselves for the
purpose if offered an adequate return.
The only point for consideration is
how long this sort of thing can con-
tinue. There must come a time when
the country, if not the prime minister
and his cabinet, will grow tired or
seeing every capricious demand OF
Ireland realized.
The first pledge Mr.. Asquith must
give before he can secure so much as
one Irish vote is that he will put aside
every other question except the house
of lords and set the parliamentary
craftsmen to work on a home rule bill.
There can be no question of glori-
fed Irish councils bill on the lines of
Mr.. Birrells preposterous measure
which the Nationalists flung back in
his face. This time it must be home
rule OF nothing, otherwise Mr.. Red
mond will promptly pull Mr.. Asquith
out of his seat and send him once more
into the country and the wilderness.