The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1911.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXIX, Issue 3164, 9 March 1911, Page 4

The Gisborne Times PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. THURSDAY, MARCH 9, 1911.

The announcement upon the authority of Mr. Birrell, Chief Secretary for Ireland, that the Home Rule Bill will probably resemble, the Bill of 1893, is of considerable interest. The proposals, we are told, will be similar, “subject to such alterations and modifications as the interval has suggested to be wise. It was in 1886 that, Mr. Gladstone introduced his first Bill on the question, and that it was defeated on the second reading by 341 votes to 311. Among its provisions was one for the establishment of ah Irish Legislature, to which was to be given a general power to make laws • but certain matters were excepted, notably succession to the Crown; peace and war;, army, navy, and militia; foreign and colonial policy; treason; trade; post and telegraph ; lighthouses; coinage. The Irish Legislature was also forbidden to make any laws establishing a State religion,

The Home Rule Bill. .

or impose Custom's and Excise. To the Sovereign were given the same preroga- ■ tives as in Great Britain. The Execu- , tive Government was vested in the So- i Vereign, represented by the Viceroy. As regards the proposed Parliament, it was to he quinquennial, and to consist of two Orders, to deliberate and vote together, unless a majority of either Order should demand a separate vote. The First Order was to consist of 103 members, 75 elective and 28 peeiage members, the elective members to possess a property qualification of not less than £2OO a year, to be elected on a £25 franchise, and to hold office for ten years. The Peerage .to be elected by Irish Peers and to hold office for life or thirty years, whichever period was shorter. The Second Order to o nsist of 206 members,, two to be returned by each of the 103 Irish constituencies. The finance clauses empowered the Irish Parliament to levy taxes and established an Irish Consolidated bund. Ihey also provided for a yearly payment by Ireland to the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom of £1,466,000 towards the National Debt; £1,666,000 towards the Army and Navy; £IIO,OOO for Imperial civil expenditure ; £1,000,0000 for constabulary and police; total, £4,242,000. The collection and application by the Imperial Treasury of Customs- and Excise duties paid in Ireland was provided. A Bill vetoed by the First Older could not be again introduced until after three years or aftei a dissolution, whichever period was the longer. All Irish Peers and INI.I . s were excluded from the Imperial Parliament. The Judicial Committee of the English Privy Council were to decide on all constitutional questions arising on the Act. The Viceroyalty was to be continued and the \ iceroy paid out of the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom. Present Judges and Civil servants were to have their rights and salaries protected. As regards the Bill which was brought down in 1893, it will be recalled that it differed chiefly from that of ISBG in that it provided for the retention of the Irish members that were in the Imperial Parliament, but not to speak or vote on purely British questions. The new Irish Legislature was to consist of an Assembly of 103 members and a Council of 48, the latter elected on a £2O franchise. The Customs receipts collected in Ireland were to be taken as Ireland’s contribution to Imperial expenditure. En route through the House of Commons, however, the retention of the Irish members was abandoned, and the financial scheme was considerably altered. The House of Lords, however, rejected the measure by 419 votes to 41. To deal further with this subject on the present occasion is not the purpose of this article, but it may be pointed'out that Mr. Asquith has time and again made it quite clear that the proposals of his Government will provide for the delegation to an Irish Legislature only of the domestic affairs of Ireland. “The notion,” he has said, “of setting up an independent Parliament for.. Ireland is one of the greatest chimeras that ever entered into the imagination of man.