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Mr. McDonald (Ross) would give Ireland the same laws as the rest of the country, but would on no account agree to separation under any guise.

Mr. E. Noel would give equality, but was strongly opposed to the proposal of such legislative separation as would infallibly lead to civil

war.

Mr. H. Pease (Cleveland): The extension of the system of local self-government, both in Great Britain and Ireland, by popularly elected bodies will have my hearty support.'

Mr. Potter: 'I am not prepared to concede Home Rule as Mr. Parnell describes it, although I would support every proposal which would place Irishmen on an equality with Englishmen and Scotchmen. I will never give a vote for the disintegration of the Empire.'

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Mr. Pulley: With regard to Ireland, whilst anxious to give her the same rights as those enjoyed in England and Scotland in the matter of local government, I will never support any measure of separation so far as the Imperial Parliament and Imperial interests are concerned.'

Mr. Warmington, in reply to a question, said he was in favour of granting the same privilege to Ireland as they possessed in England. He was in favour of local government, but he was not in favour of a separation of Ireland from England.19

Mr. Yeo alone of the foregoing had a soul above county boards, and wished to enable the people of Wales, Scotland, and Ireland to manage more directly and effectually their own affairs by means of national councils.

The following gentlemen declared themselves in their addresses to be prepared to vote for giving the Irish as much self-government as was in their opinion consistent with the unity and integrity of the Empire. A wide formula; and one which could be accepted alike by Lord Salisbury and, for English consumption, by Mr. Parnell.

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It now only remains to account for those gentlemen who six months ago had the courage of opinions which have since become fashionable, and who declared themselves before their constituents to be in favour of Home Rule.

They are not very numerous; nor are they generally recognised as leaders of public opinion: the views on Ireland of Messrs. Cowen, Bradlaugh, and Labouchere, are well known, and they may be shared by some of those whose speeches I have not got, and whose addresses give no information; but I have only found the following members who used language which seemed to commit them in that direction. Two of them are in the Government (Mr. H. Gladstone and Sir C. Russell); the others are:

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Mr. W. Crawford would vote for any measure of independent selfgovernment for Ireland which did not carry with it the disintegration of the Empire.

Mr. Gourley said that, without endangering the Imperial Union, Ireland should be governed in accordance with national Irish ideas rather than with Castle rule.

Mr. Peacock would support any scheme for granting to Ireland such a management of its own affairs . . . as would be consistent with the maintenance of the Union and the sovereignty of the Queen. Mr. Robson said that this (the present) system should be abolished and Ireland entrusted with the management of all affairs relating to itself, and not imperilling the unity of the Empire.'

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Mr. Sheridan desired to give the people of Ireland direct control over Irish home affairs . . . and such further local government as could with prudence be conceded; having due regard to the integrity of the Empire.

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Mr Storey Ireland should be governed in all its internal affairs by Irishmen possessing the confidence of the Irish people, and according to Irish ideas.'

Mr. John Wilson would support any measure which would give the Irish people the management of their own affairs.

To summarise, then, the result of this inquiry: There are 330 Liberal members, and the addresses or speeches of nearly 300 have been examined. Some 100 of the addresses contain no reference whatever to the Irish question. Many speeches have been searched which were delivered by gentlemen whose addresses were silent on this point, but among all these, and among all the addresses, there are but fourteen whose authors seemed prepared last November to concede legislative independence to Ireland.

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No Liberal wants to prejudge Mr. Gladstone's proposals, but surely Lord Hartington was justified in saying at the Eighty Club dinner, These [Home Rule ideas] are the opinions and impressions of Mr. Gladstone alone. They have never been submitted to the Liberal party, still less have they been adopted by the Liberal party at the last election. Up to a recent time the English people were practically united in the opinion that a concession to the Irish people, by whatever strength it might be demanded, for the establishment of an independent Legislature, was one that could not be granted.'

And though Mr. Parnell may speak now with studied moderation, yet we are surely bound to remember that when he wanted the American money and the Irish votes to which, especially the former,23 he owes his present position, he issued the following among other similar manifestoes to his supporters on either side of the Atlantic:

'Speaking for myself, and, I believe, for the Irish people and for all my colleagues, I have to declare that we will never accept, either expressly or implied, anything but the full and complete right to arrange our own affairs and make our land a nation-to secure for her, free from outside control, the right to direct her own course among the peoples of the world.' 24

EBRINGTON.

POSTSCRIPT.

The annexed list of the Liberal members of the present Parliament who made no reference whatever in their addresses to coming Irish difficulties may be of interest. It is, however, right to mention that in a few cases the addresses were very short indeed, and express little more than the author's intention to seek election as a Liberal.

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24 Speech at Castlebar, November 4, 1885, Freeman Report.

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In addition to the foregoing I believe that the following also said nothing in their addresses about Ireland; and I know there were others who were very chary of mentioning the question either in addresses or speeches. One gentleman, indeed, carried his abstinence so far that he does not remember now whether he referred to Ireland or not.

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THREE ATTEMPTS TO RULE IRELAND JUSTLY.

SINCE the subjugation of Ireland by William the Third, three honest and earnest attempts have been made to govern the country on principles of justice, to repair the wrongs of conquest, to obliterate the memory of defeat. The first attempt was made by William himself on the surrender of Limerick; the second by Lord Melbourne in 1835; the third by Mr. Gladstone in 1868. The history of these attempts deserves to be recorded.

I. WILLIAM THE THIRD.

Lord Bacon said that three things were necessary for the reduction and pacification of Ireland (1) 'the extinguishing of the relics of war;' (2) 'the recovery of the hearts of the people;' (3) the removing of the root and occasions of new troubles.' The views of Lord Bacon were the views of William the Third. The humane and sagacious Dutch warrior and statesman believed that, the work of conquest done, the work of reparation should commence; that the loss of national independence should be counterbalanced by the full enjoyment of all the rights and privileges of a common citizenship. Political incorporation, not national extirpation, was the basis of the Irish policy of William the Third. The principles of this policy were embodied in the Treaty of Limerick, by which the Irish people were granted freedom of worship, allowed the use of arms, the possession of their estates, the right to sit in Parliament, to vote at elections, to practise law and medicine, to engage in trade and commerce. The upshot of the whole struggle,' as Professor Ranke has well expressed it, was this: the Irish and Catholics must renounce all thought of acquiring independence, for which they had taken up arms; on the other hand, Protestantism could not have that exclusive mastery which many desired.' In other words, it was the wish of William that the popular liberty should survive national overthrow.

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Mr. Gladstone received the seals of office in December 1868. He introduced and carried the Irish Church Bill in 1869.

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