Kentucky Irish American. (Louisville, Ky.) 1898-1968, 1912-04-27
Believed Necessary Majority of
Three Figures Will Be
Gained.
Nominated Senate Only Pro-
vision That Meets with
Criticism.
TORIES OFFENSIVE and BITTER

Cabling the Chicago Sunday
Tribune on Saturday, T. p. O'Con-
nor M. p, thus states the position OF
the home rule bill in the House OF
| Commons:
AS momentous and exciting as is
the great issue of home rule, at this
moment it is temporarily submerged
by the Titanic tragedy. Everybody
has been going about depressed and
absent minded. You could see they
could not keep their minds on things
/, Immediately under their eyes, but
were all in sombre reverie over the
awful scenes of this gigantic dis
aster. never saw a deeper or more
solemn stiffness come over the
House of Commons than when
Premier Asquith rose to make an
swer on the subject, and no man
could have expressed the feelings of
the members of the house than did
the Prime Minister through language
measured as well as touching.
turn from this tragedy of the
Titanic to the fight being waged in
the House of Commons over the
third home rule bill. This bill be-
more favorable than any of it's
predecessors. Even the raucous
voice of the amateur constitution
monger is silent. 1t is the first time
We have been mercifully spared his
performance. Only one provision in
the bill excited some Liberal crit
icism-that is the nominated senate.
Nobody could doubt that provision
would excite serious opposition and
a good deal of ridicule, coming espe-
cially as It did from a democratic
Government. Theiobject is to secure
a further safeguard for the minority,
and a nominated Senate seems the
best. form. That would safeguard a
second chamber elected on the same
franchise, as the first would simply
be a reproduction and therefore no
additional security to the minority.
On the other hand, a second chamber
elected on high franchise would
probably become one of those mar
row, obstinate and selfish assemblies
which democracy everywhere has
found a serious obstacle to demo-
cratic progress. AS even in a body
Of hereditary Peers there are sec
tions of Irish life which might find
It difficult to enter public life
through the ballot boxes, and yet
every class of Irish life might be
represented in an Irish Parliament.
One of the provisions of the bill is
that Peer may sit in either one or
the other chamber. In an Irish
Parliament the Irish Nationalists
would be glad to see a number of
Irish Peers in the Senate, but any
how this is not the clause on which
the fate of the bill will hang.
The debate up to the present has
gone all one way. Asquith's opening
statement still remains the most
powerful presentation of the home
rule measure ever made in the
House of Commons, not excepting
even Gladstone's. Postmaster Gen
eral Samuel's exposition of the fl
nancial part of the scheme is
lucidity itself, and his defense of
II never for a moment was seriously
assailed on division. To be very
satisfactory. under the circum-
stances. it would have been better to
have had a majority of three
figures, and we probably will have
a majority % three figures on the
second reading. Only one Liberal
voted against the bill and only three
abstained. The Liberal party was
rather unfortunate. owing to series
of accidents inevitable in almost all
divisions. Sid Edward Grey re-
Quired a vacation badly, and when
he left he had pair, but the ar
rangements broke down. Another
staunch home ruler was COM
pulsorily absent owing to duties as
a Judge. Another was unlucky
enough 70 miss his train. The strain
OF the miners strike accounts for
the illness and absence of five mem
bers OF the Labor party, all home
rulers. Two of the best Irish men,
bers were compelled by illness to be
absent. Two are In Australia, draw
ing large resources for the Irish war
chest. The Tories, on the other hand,
were fortunate in having so few
absentees.
One word as to the character OF
the debate by Bonar Law. There is
no improving with the time. The
speeches are becoming more
rancorous, more offensive and
vitriolic. The attack on AsQuith ex-
ceeded almost anything heard In the
House OF Commons for years. II was
hotly resented by Asquith and his
friends. Asquith stands higher now
than at any moment In his career.
Bonar Law is not the canny, cautious
Scotchman he was supposed to be,
but a very marrow and politically, |
though not personally, very
malignant partisan. His speeches
show the music han element OF his
party. but show little sense OF re-
sponsibility. decency or farsighted-
ness. On the whole, the Unionist |
party came badly out OF the ordeal |
this week.