The Hawaiian star. [volume] (Honolulu [Oahu]) 1893-1912, 1912-05-22

carried the home rule bill on its sec
ond reading in the House of Commons
tonight by majority of lOl, as against
ninety-four for the first reading The
vote was 372 to 271.
1t was the most largely attended
House of the present Parliament Both
sides had done their utmost to secure
every available vote. Balfour former
opposition leader, and Churchill, First
Lord of the Admiralty, returned from
Weymouth in order to be present.
The announcement of the figures
showing an increased majority occa-
stoned enthusiastic demonstrations on
the government side, and the Prime
Minister was given a great ovation on
leaving the House with his wife and
daughter by the crowd that assembled
outside.
The bill was referred to committee
of the whole House, but as home rule
and Welsh disestablshment are being
taken concurrentive it will now be
the turn of the Welsh bill. The com
mittee stage of the home rule bill is
not expected to be reached until after
Whitsuntide, and probably will occupy
a couple of months, even with Liberal
application of the cloture rules as the
opposition, is preparing an endless list
of amendments and will adopt every
possible means to obstruct the meas
ure.
Curiously, the second reading of the
home rule bill comedies with the dis
appearance of the word conservative
as the official designation of the Tory
party. A conference of the Conserva-
tive and Liberal Unionist parties TO-
day finally resolved on a fusion of the
two parties under the title of "Na-
tional Unionist Association" Thus the
Liberal Unionists, who seeded from
Gladstone on his espousal of home
rule, now become part and parcel of
the Tory party.
Threatens British Union"
Andrew Bonar Law, leader of the
opposition, assailed the bill fiercely
The government, he said, was setting
up custom houses not to create a
union, but to destroy the union which
already existed. He denounced the
safeguards in the bill as utterly futile,
condemned the financial provisions and
= drew a gloomy picture of Ireland's flu
ture under home rule.
Every new Parliament of inexperi-
enced men," said the speaker, had
tried to get the Millennium in a hurry.
The new Irish parliament would launch
all sorts of schemes for improving the
condition of the country, borrowing
money for the purpose. AS result,
the imperial parliament would become
liable for a huge capital sum it would
not have sanctioned and for expendi-
lures over which it had absolutely no
control"
Referring to the example of South !
Africa, which had been cited to Justify |
Africa the two races wanted union, but
that one of two races in Ireland, num- /
bering a million, was bitterly opposed !
to home rule. He asked in such cir !
cumstances under what principle did
the Prime Minister justify forcing the
acceptance of the bin on Ulster.
Asuuith in Brilliant Sbeeob
Premier Asquith wound up the de-
bate for the government in a forceful /
speech which aroused great enthusiasm
or the part of his supporters. No Sc,
rious attempt, he said, had been made ,
by the opposition to meet the argu- !
ment with which he opened the dis |
cussion-the character and persistence
OF the Irish demand Had this demand
been made under similar conditions by
any community of their own race ,
throughout the empire there was not
a man on either side who would not
say that it was entitled to considera.
ton.
demand so persistent, continued !
the Prime Minister was one to which
a democratic parliament in these days
was bound to yield If the Irish vote
were eliminated in the House of Com
mons there still would be a majority
of fifty or sixty for home rule.
Referring to the Ulster threats, AS.
quith said he believed the British peo-
pie to be just and generous. They de.
tested intolerance and persecution in
any form, but they were not the people
to be frightened out of what they be-
lieyed to be just by language Of in.
timidation. The government had ask
ed repeatedly what further safeguards
We're desired, but the only answer OF
the opposition was that they would re-
ceive from Ulster nothing but unyield-
ing and incorporating resistance.
Dealing with the safeguards tha '