The Birmingham age-herald., 1913-06-14

bill or defeating il on a vote, either OF
which meant the death of the bill. ii takes
few words to say that the veto bill,' az
II Is called, vent through the commons
with flying eoiors. How the lords frothaa
and fumed when by their own hands they
were compelled to amputate that part Of
their perogative which they knew would
ultimately result in the political death of
their body, Is one of the stories of events
too recent to need relation. Naturally
the Irish nationalist members in parlia-
ment bore no small share in infiicting
the crushing defeat on their old enemies,
the lords; and the lords, in turn, re-repaid
the debt by rejecting the home rule bill
last January
Here is where the explanation of the
present status of the home rule bill differs
from that of 1896 Rejection then meant
It's death, but its rejection in January, 19i3
meant no more than delay. The veto
bill requires that all bills, except money
oills, shall be subject TO rejection by the
house of lords but If the house of COM
mons pass a bill three times and each
time in separate term of parliament aud
within Two years, and the house OF lords
reject that bill three times, or so amend
sible. then and in that event the bill
passes to the King for signature and
thereby becomes law, thus waving the
approval, or brushing aside the veto, of
| the house of lords. A bill has to make
three rounds 10 override the opposition
of the house of lords and the home rule
| bill has made one complete round, passed
the second reading on the secord round,
and in few days r1ore will complete the
second round by Passing the third read
| ing, after which it will appear in the
house of lords for the second time. All
this may seem a roundabout way of doing
business. but II must be remembered II
takes the British people a long time to
make change. An English lord is dear
TO the heart Of IN Englshman, and the
Englishman has been so long lorded over
his release must lie gradual and gentle,
just like taking prisoners from dungeons
TO daylight.
Parliamentary and constitutional opposf-
ton to the home rule bill being obviously
futile, the conservatives. or as they call
themselves, the unionists, are seeking to
arouse the prejud;ces and passions of the
people by appeals to every sense and feel
ing but reason They say home rule is
Rome rule quite a catchy phrase for the
ignoranD, aad talk of st. Bartholomew
and massacres. They tell of "oaths"
sworn by Catholics and Hibernians that
sound like the blood curdling jabberinGs
of maniacs. They predict civil war and
wholesale slaughter and try by all means
as one of them Yery tersely said, "to raise
he'll and all this because the time has
come and with it the men willing to do
an act of justice teo long. centuries 800
long delayed, put even now not too late To
make amends.
Ireland and rine-tenths of the Irish
people want to en;er into peace treaty
with England and the English people.
They hold out ths hand, the two hands OF
friendship. and ask that the past with all
its horrors be forgiven and forgotten and
to this offer the answer of Mr. Bonar
Balfour and their unionist allies and fol
lowers is. 'War, war, wal"
II there to be war in Ireland, not evjl
war, but cruel, brutal, bloody war, truly
does Redmond say that Sir Edward Car
son is assuming al awful responsibility
If his words start a confiagration that
will not be quencned but by the blood of
millions If the nationalists and unionists
in Ireland come together in conflict. it will
be the death grappe for one of them one
side must go down to absolute extinction
and extermination because Ireland can
not and will DOT be a house divided
against itself 1t will be an Ireland in
ba bited by Irishmen or an island inhab-
tied by aliens. and there is much more
likelihood of it being the former than the
latter The nationalists ask the assist
lance of every man in Ireland. there Is
work for all nonor for all. They won't
start any civil war, nor will they be the
first. if it does start, to cry, Hold!
enough