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voted, they go away grumbling, and declare that "a parcel of British ignoramuses" have defeated them. But suppose that upon any question passed by the Irish Parliament the Legislature of Great Britain should feel bound to take adverse action, the anger and bitterness will surely be much greater and more intense when a decision of their own Parliament has been reversed, than it now is when Irish representatives are simply outvoted in an assembly wherein they are fully represented, and after the question under discussion has been well debated, with every opportunity afforded them to urge and impress their views upon their colleagues. That this might easily happen may be supposed from the language we. read of as employed with regard to the land question in Ireland. Only the other day Mr Dillon boldly stated that the land had been "robbed from the children of Ireland" by the fathers of the present landlords, from whom they would take it." These words, taken with others, and considered together with the action of the League, and the intentions expressed to "abolish landlordism," indicate a feeling among those who are likely to exercise great influence over the people of Ireland, which bodes but little good to the ordinary principles of common justice and legality which prevail in this country. Yet if these principles are to be set at defiance in Ireland, it will be the bounden duty of Great Britain to interfere, and hence may and probably will arise compliIcations of which no man can foresee the end.

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If the present Government have erred at all, it has not been on the side of severity in enforcing the law in Ireland. The law must be enforced; such iniquities as

"the Plan of Campaign" must be faced and repressed; and the Government may confidently rely upon the support of public opinion in their efforts to do so. If we should unfortunately live to see an Irish Parliament and an Irish executive in Dublin, the duty of the British Government would still remain, but its difficulty in the performance of that duty would be enormously increased. It is, then, this idea of a Parliament which must be resolutely opposed, and which constitutes the first great difference between us and our opponents. It is idle to reiterate the old, old question, "Why not let the Irish manage their own affairs?" The plain and simple answer is, that the Irish have no more affairs of their own, requiring parliamentary management, than the inhabitants of any English or Scottish county; and those which do require such management must be managed by the United Parliament as long as we are a united country. There is no one argument in favour of a separate Irish Parliament which does not logically and legitimately lead to the demand for complete separation. Take, for instance, Sir Charles Russell's grandiloquent expression, that what the Home-Rulers demand is "government for the people by the people." No such thing. If we are a united people, what Sir Charles Russell demands is that the four or five million in Ireland should set up a Government for themselves by themselves, which may, and probably would be, a Government very much at variance with the wishes and opinions of the vast majority of the united population. Of course, if Ireland is to be considered a separate people, the demand would assume another complexion; but this is what is indignantly denied. Again,

take Lord Rosebery's somewhat supercilious question, "Is there any geographical limit to representative institutions?" Certainly there is, in the sense in which the question is applicable to the demand for an Irish Parliament. If Ireland is united with Great Britain, and part of our home empire, we do not require two Parliaments therein, and a similar demand might as well be made from Lancashire or Yorkshire. If Ireland is a separate nation, the question is of course to be answered after a different fashion.

We have thus endeavoured to point out, in a few words, what seems to us to be the great rallying-point of the Unionist party. Much more might be written, and many other arguments adduced upon the subject, but we have said enough to show how clear and how great is the difference between us and our opponents, and how fair and just a ground we have upon which Liberal and Tory Unionists may stand shoulder to shoulder in the combat before For we must not delude ourselves with the belief that the

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battle is over. We have powerful adversaries with whom to contend; and inasmuch as self-interest is a potent motive with mankind, we must not forget to take into account that there are many Liberal Unionists who will be strongly tempted to accept any compromise which may restore them to the comfortable position of members of a united Liberal party. There can be little doubt that such compromises will be attempted and offered. They can best be defeated by keeping before the eyes of the public generally, and the Liberal Unionists in particular, the special issues to which we have adverted, and the great principles which form our legitimate bond of union. During the recess, we may be well satisfied that we have held our own. Orators of different calibre have delivered addresses upon both sides of the question in many different parts of the country; but, so far as we have seen, in oratory as well as in literature, the Unionist cause has had decidedly the best of it. The historical case of the Separatists has practically disappeared;

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1 Although this is undoubtedly true, it is unfortunately the fact that many errors as regards the history of the past are still to be found in quarters in which accuracy would be expected, and such errors, if uncontradicted, become accepted as facts. For instance, in Whitaker's Almanack for the present year, p. 303, under the heading, "The Kingdom of Ireland," we find it stated that, "Although Ireland was annexed in 1170, it was not properly brought under English rule until the time of William III., and even then was permitted to retain a certain amount of apparent independence, one of the most cherished forms of which was the native Parliament which existed for more than three hundred years, and was extinguished at the time of the Union in 1801." It is partly upon the supposed existence of a “native " Parliament that the demand is now made for a separate Parliament for Ireland, and therefore it is important to bear in mind that it is absolutely untrue that such a Parliament over existed. Up to the time of James I., the only thing resembling a Parliament was the convention of British settlers within the Pale," summoned at the pleasure of the British sovereign; then came the Parliament established by James I. to consolidate his own power; and the Parliament subsequent to the accession of William III. was still so contrary to a "native Parliament," that it was confined exclusively to Protestants, and the Catholics, who numbered at least three-fourths of the population, could not sit in that Parliament, nor (until 1793) even vote at the election of its members. To speak of a "native Parliament" having existed in Ireland for upwards of three hundred years, is therefore to state that which is contrary to historical

the arguments to be drawn from enable them to carry on the conthe past are incontrovertibly test for a while; but if the Unionagainst them; and as regards their present position, it must be confessed that they depend rather upon the personal following of one eminent man, than upon any support which their cause has won from the public upon its intrinsic merits. Their popular catchwords, addressed to the democratic ear, may here and there secure approval, the eloquence of some of their advocates may gain support, and the power of party discipline and organisation may

ist party will keep in view the justice of their cause and the simple principles upon which it rests, we do not for a moment doubt that they will be able to repel all the assaults of their opponents, and to secure the confidence and the support of the great body of their countrymen. In this spirit and in this belief we bid the Government "God speed" at the commencement of that which promises to be an important session.

truth, and to convey to the public an inaccurate account, which, in the case of so valuable a publication as that to which we allude, is clearly the result of accident, but an accident much to be regretted in the interests of historical truth.

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