The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-01-04
The Lords and the Home Rule Bill
BY f. l. MONKS

christians to the lions" Home rule
bill to the house of lords. The lions are
dead, the Colosseum is a ruins, but Chris
tianity lives. Home rule to the lords!
Shall the folly of 1898 be repeated? Shall
the crime of 1898 be again committed
This month of January shall tell, This
month of January, 1913 is pregnant OF
great consequences to that institution
in British government known as the
house of lords.
What was the crime of 1898? or what
folly was the house of lords guilty III
that memorable year? Ask any Irishnan
and he will tell you that on September
l. 1898, Mr. Gladstone passed the home
rule bill through the house of commons
and that on September it was thrown
out by the house of lords by vote
of 419 to Al; 10 to / vote. Thrown out;
flung out; kicked out; 4l9 to Al. Banzai.
Banzai, mo home rule" 1--WE won't
have home rule" OH But there was
rejoicing. Saved by the lords; saved,
and for all time Never again shall that
hideous monster threaten us Home rule
is dead. Curse it, Kick it. Dead and
damned
Some one has said it is folly to prophe-
sy unless you know and that was The
folly of 1S93 But what was the crime
of 1899? The crime was-robbery. A
gang of 419 bandits fell up little group
of Al good citizens who were conducting
a child in whose hands a kind old gem
tleman had placed a valuable present
for its people. Tennyson has sung in
words that will be immortal the praise
of the "Six Hundred" but who coul1 find
words fittingly to relate the infamy OF
the act of the 1927 To make the blow
as heavy and as deadly as possible was
the purpose of the lords, and In order
to do so they had to have not only
majority but such a majority as would
crush. under its weight. the home rule
movement forever Idiots and imbeciles
were mustered out from their padded
cells and led by their keepers into the
division lobby. Every vote counted, and
they were counted until they. reckoned
IN 49. but there was to be another day
Of reckoning and that day come in 1859.
The injured have long memories, and
the Irish remembered.
Time at last makes all things even.
And if we do but wait the hour
There never yet was human power
That can evade, If unforgiven,
The patient watch and vigil long
OF him who treasures up wrong.
And the time came in 1909 when the
votes of S6 Irishmen in the house of
commons broke the back of the house
of lords. Well did those lords know what
those votes meant. No wonder they
raved and ranted and talked of dying in
the ditch but the time had come to
terness was all the more for being pre-
sented by Irish hands The murderers
of Irish liberties were made to commit
suicide, TO swallow and digest the
venom of their spleen until 1t
split them Never was the progress of
madness better illustrated than in the
glee drivelling idiots whose little
triumph of 1898 eliminated in their act
of felo de sc in 1863.
today with respect to this home rule
bill? A week or 10 days hence these
lords will find themselves face to face
again with the monster they believed
was killed on September 8, 1893 Well
may they say with Macbeth
"The times have been that when the
brains were out the man would die. and
there an end; but now, they rise sgain
and push us from our stools" Yes, the
times have been when the lords could
throw bills out and that was the end
of them, but now they know that what
they throw out today comes back to-
morrow, and with 20 times more force.
They know that this home rule bill once
passed by the house of commons. can
only be delayed not defeated. They
know that they have still big voice
in the government of the country and
that their power, although curtaiIed. is
still great. They know. that is If there
is any sense at all left among them, that
the spirit of democracy is menacing. not
only aristocracy in England, but the
throne itself If they don't know this it
is because they have allowed their prejli-
dces and and passions, their selfish class
interests to close their eyes to the sights
of poverty and wretchedness among the
toiling millions, because they have closed
their ears to the muttered curses or
Idle men and the wailing OF hungry