University of Santa Clara - Redwood Yearbook (Santa Clara, CA)

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THE REDWOOD. ing forty members, nominated by the Irish Executive, (2) a House com- posed of one hundred and sixty-four elected representatives. The Lord Lieutenant w ill preside over the execu- tive body. Pending the time when the present Irish deficit, estimated by Mr. Asquith at $7,500,000 annually, can be converted into a surplus, the taxes will be imposed and collected by England, and the British Ex- chequer will transfer to Ireland the amount necessary for present expen- diture. The Irish government will have complete control of the postal revenue and of the constabulary. A notable distinction between this bill and the one proposed by Gladstone is that Asquith ' s measure calls for an Irish representation at Westminster of forty-two members. This resume includes practically all of the import- ant clauses of the present bill. The principal advocates of The Government of Ireland Bill, are Mr. Churchill and the Prime Minister, and if the bill carries it will be largely due to their efforts. The Premier has thrown himself into the work untir- ingly, but, I may add, not unselfishly, for he realizes that if he is successful in putting this measure through it will, even as it aided in immortalizing Gladst( ne, be the means of handing his name down to posterity as a bril- liant statesman. But it will necessi- tate his making enemies, just as Glad- stone had to make them when he proposed his first bill for Irish Auton- omy twenty-six years ago. Though the Conservative party in England is against it on principle, this obstacle, the Irish statesmen feel, they will have no difficulty in overcoming. The real opposition to the measure comes from Ulster. This province is, prac- tically speaking, the only stumbling block to the advancement of the bill, and with them are the Orangemen, headed by Lord Londonderry. Carson and Craig are fighting heart and soul against what they consider an outrage. They are decidedly anti-Catholic, and their slogan is Home Rule means Rome Rule, intimating that Irish Autonomy would be the same as plac- ing the government of Ireland in the hands of the papal authorities. For any fair minded person this statement needs no refutation. Mr. Churchill virtually braved the lion in his den, when he spoke for Home Rule a short time ago in the cities of its foes. A riot was predicted and troops accord- ingly summoned, but fortunately no disturbance occurred. Mr. Churchill ' s most salient argu- ment for Irish Autonomy is his dec- laration of the deplorable condition existing there today, and which has existed since the Act of Union went into effect. No fewer than eighty- seven coercion bills in about as many years have been presented to Par- liament for the betterment and ad- vancement of the Emerald Isle. But in spite of England ' s heroic efforts to improve Ireland (sarcastically re- marks Churchill) her population, in- stead of increasing is steadily and ma-

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THE REDWOOD. name was always before the public, advocating this measure and denounc- ing that, but whatever his principals were, his eloque nt voice was never heard supporting any movement which the most skeptical eye could consider unpatriotic. But to resume. During his third administration Gladstone pressed the Home Rule bill again, but with no bet- ter result than in 1890. In the grand old man ' s fourth term, he was now in his 84th year, he made a final endeavor to bring order into Ireland ' s political chaos, by enabling her to regulate her own affairs. The Home Rule bill of 1893 differed from its predecessor in respect to the Irish representation at Westminster. The old man ' s elo- quence, backed by an overwhelming majority, now carried the bill tri- umphantly through the lower house, only to meet defeat by a majority of ten to one in the House of Lords, the stronghold of conservatism, where every progressive measure has to en- counter resistance at the outset. After this humiliating defeat Glad- stone did not bring in the bill again. In March, 1894, he withdrew from po- litical life, and in his last interview with the leaders of the Irish party, he assured them of his belief in the ulti- mate triumph of their cause, a cause which he promised them would be al- ways mentioned in his prayers. Parnell preceded Gladstone to the tomb in 1891, and with the demise of these two eminent statesmen the Home Rule bill was left destitute of an able defender. In this deplorable condition it remained until 1902, when John E. Redmond assumed the respon- sibility of being its advocate. He de- livered several stirring orations in its support, both in and out of the House of Commons, but the time was not ripe for a re-introduction of the bill, the movement not meeting with the approval of many of the parliament- arians upon whom it would have to rely for support. Thus Redmond, too, in utter disgust, dropped the matter because of the failure of his colleagues to co-operate with him in the further- ance of his project. Mr. Redmond ' s futile effort was fol- lowed by another short era of decad- ence, though it can hardly be called decadence as rfome Rule has been a favorite theme of Irish orators, and in one form or other has always been before the eyes of the public. As far, however, as its agitation in Parlia- ment goes. Home Rule has been a dead letter there imtil very recently. On April the eleventh, 1912, As- quith, the present Prime Minister, presented to the House of Commons a new bill providing for Irish Autono- my. Though it differs from the Glad- stonian bill in detail, it is essentially the same. It calls for the establish- ment, or rather re-establishment, of an Irish Parliament in Dublin, to cor- respond with the Imperial Parliament in London. It might be well to men- tion here the main clauses of the fourth Home Rule bill. The Irish Parliament is to consist (1) of a Senate compris-

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THE REDWOOD. terially decreasing. Mr. Churchill claims that the people of Ireland are paying taxes for the maintenance of a navy to protect her commerce, which, since Ireland has practically no commerce to protect, is to force them into paying unjust taxes. All the world is eagerly watching the outcome of the present demand for the repeal of the Act of Union of 1800. If the bill passes, and all indi- cations point to this favorable conclu- sion, England ' s act will be recognized and applauded by all just men anl all political leaders the world over. If she rejects the measure another era of political unrest will ensue in Ireland, to terminate either in a revolution or a conciliatory measure similar to the one we now have. As for the Irish, with the better- ment of their condition in view, they cherish the hope of Home Rule as a parent cherishes the successful career of a son, and in the same measure that one would desire to see a father ' s hope realized, let us hope for the happy issue of the Irish Home Rule Movement.