-.%. ^ ^^^%. ^. O ..\^o.%^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-S) V C<'x **^ 4^ \# ' :a i.O I.I Ii6 1.8 1.25 1.4 1.6 -< 6" — ► ^' ^^^ cy^ PhotDgrapJiic Sciences Corporation SJ \ ^ A \ ^ tratlon of Irish aflkirs under the existinK t^ tern The population of Ireland in 1726 WM 2 300,000; in 1805 it was 6.400,000, and ijUVAVaai**'! M-v**. A>V>M« ^AMVk13«K« l^'i 4 "- 2 HON. EDWARD BLAKE's SPKECH ON THE IRISH QUESTION. doting a time of ditfioulty, of religioos pro. Msriptloa and of emigration. In 1841, the p-polation had abnormally increased under ^ronnutances wl Jch it is not necessary to dis- «aa% bat it had increased to the number of 8.200.000. Bat since 1841 the history of Ire. Uod has been a history of periodical distress, of funine and of emigration, and the result is that the papulation, which at the time I have •tated stood at 8,200,000, stands to.day at 5,180,000 only, or 236,000 less than eighty years ago at the time of the Union, and 3,000,. 000 less than it was forty yean ago. In the hat thirty years, from 185x to 1881, there has iMen an emi^pntion from that country of no !«■ than 2,750,000^ Now, it may be said that IBBLANI) IS OVKR.CROWDBa). 1 deny that Ireland, as a whole, is overcrowd. •d. There are parts of Ireland in which the distribution of the popalation is probably too dense; but I maintain that, judging by all the teats which we can reasonably apply to it, Ireland, as a country, is not an over- crowded / ooantry. The number of inhabitants to the J square mile in France is 180; Italy, 225; Bel. !mm, 421; Fhinders, 718; England and Wales, 42; in the whole of Great Britain, 333; in ; Inland, 161. The acreage of Ireland is 20,. [ 825,000 acres, ot which there is at present arable 18,465,0C0 acres, and an additional •ereage easily made available for tillage of 4,000,000 acres more, making a toWd of land actually arable snd available for tillage of 17,- 466,000 acres. How many acres are cultivated at this timet— only 6,200,000; and this is the case with respect to a odtintry of which the ■oil Is indubitably very fertile, which has rais. ad in times past enormoiu crops, comparing JEavorably with crops -t the same time laiaed in England, of wheat, rye, brrley, peas, beans, potatoes and turnips, and no one doubts the capacity of Ireland for raising cat- tie. It has very great advantages. It has great qnantities of bog land from whidli is pro- daced a very cheap fuel, and which bindfl when xeolaimed are inferior to none in the world, whether as rheat or as pasture land. It has splendid coal fields, although these are hardly used at all. It has magnificent, perhaps un- equalled fisheries in regard to the qOantities of &jh caught and harbor and other facilities in connection with the industry. It is possessed of valuable mines of gypsum, gold, silver, lead, oopper and zinc. It has, besides, great facili* ties for manufacturing both as regards facilities for the transport of mannfactuMd goods, for the supply of raw material, and for the cheap- ness of the labor to be employed. It has, moreover, great wator power, encouraging the manufacture of the raw material into the per- fected article. It has a people confessedly people which, whatever their prospects and ehances and capacities may have been demon, strated to be in their own country, have shown in every other country than Ireland, that they possest) the capacity to rise, and, by the'r in- dustry, their ability and their for:e of charac- tar to take their own place in the.world, wher- ever their lot may be cast. They are also a people confessedly afiectionate, and grateful; and possessing, in a large degree, the organ of veneration, are easily impressed by any act of kindness shown towards them. With such a people, with such a soil, with such natural ad. vantages, how docs it come that we have such a result, with respect to population, as I have mentioned ? How does it come to pass that the population of Ireland should have dimin- ished instoad of increased, that the emigration should have been so great, and that the con. dition of th3 country should be such as we know it to be ? TAB V'HOLK IS DUE to the chronically wretched state of Ireland- its miseries, social, material and political. That is the reason why. Although there may be, although there has been, as we all rejoice to know, some improvement in the physical condition of some portion of the population during the last few years, this is to-day a pressing question, and co man holds that the condition of Ireland is satisfactory when view, ed in those aspects . which I have referred. The condition of tho people materially, in this as well as in other respects, is one which ought to create in all of us who call ourselves British subjects a feeling of shame. I say that the condition of Ireland to-day is due largely to the want of security and contentment, to the want of identification with the soil and at- tachment to the Constitution, to the want of Lope of improvement and of bettering their condition, which is really the most essential thing to induce men to labor. I say -that it is due to a feeling that their grievances are not redressed, to the lack of a feeling that their Government is conducted according to their needs and wishes, and to the lack of any raa- chinery for the management of their local af. fairs. There can be no doubt that Ireland, at and before the time of Unioo, was subject to some great political grievances. There can be no doubt that those grievances were not of a sentimental character, but were such as to a lariie extent are to-day, acknowledged to be grievances which demand the attention of legislators, and should be redressed by legis. Ution. IBIfiE LBGISLATION. If you go back over the history of the parlia- mentary government of Ireland for the last eighty years, and if you begin your enquiry by a reference to thosp great and important land marks or grievances, and should enquire as to the time when, and the circumstances under W2uCu, wiuBo ^iitsvttuces iiave been, so tut as they have been, redressed, you will find a very gtKxi reason there, if you seek no further, for a deep-seated and justifiable dissatisfactum in the parlian hj the Parliai ifhere was the a question of ; any lat«^r time' tlon. There as mnch a quei any later tiu nominal ohnr tha question— of what was ct tioD, but still none the less i measure for tt cause of the distribution, of by the creatim those who occ (][uestion of oi age local afi because of th Parliament oi minster of t afiTairs which, control of tl capital city a tions, t > whi( part— all btt never been si 0^ and it ma why do I ref cause I see tb and the tin were dealt than anythii character of 1 Parliament was the quel tion dv'alt wi nearly thirtj Thirty years * t^uired abovi ik the Unite taidc of deali was it then i the boon of was granted ^ was granted, try because THBTI not because proclaiming was not jof cause they 1 wrong. It selves Btate( between gri The oonditi that there v civil war, u was grante<] Of course, sucb cironi HON. BDWABD BLAKE's SPEECH ON THE IRISH QUESTION. in the pMliamenlary government of Ire^nd, by the ParlUment of the United Kingdom. There was the queBtion— at that time as mn i a nuestion of justice and of right as it wa» at any lat^r time— of Roman Catholic emanclpa- tion. There was the (question— at that time aa mnch a question of justice and of right as at any later time— the diseatoblishment of the nominal church of the minority. There was tha question— at that time as much a question of what was called here the lamenUhle quea- tion, but still in the condition of the country none the less a pressing question— of a pro|^r measure for the relief of the poor, required be- cause of the unnatural conditions that ruled distribution. There was a question of reform of THB LAND LAWS, by the creation of a proper interest in the soil by thoee who occupied the soil. There was the (luestion of creating local institutions to man- Le local affairs, rendered very important tScnuse of the abrogation of the rights of the Parliament of Ireland and the transfer to West- minster of the management of those minute affairs which, up to that time, was under the control of the Legislature which sat in the capital city of Ireland. ThesB leading ques- tions, t ) which I have referred, have been in part— all but tha last one, and that one has never been substantially d-jalt with— disposed of. and it may be asked, since such le the lact, why do I refer to them? I refer to them, be- cause I see that the circumstances under which, and the time at which, those questions were dealt with, demonstrate more clearly than anything else can do, the unsatisfactory chwacter of the Government of Ireland ^ the Parliament of the United Kingdom. When was the question of Roman CataoUc en»ncipaj tion d<«alt with 1 It was not dealt with until nearly thirty years after the time of the Union. Thirty years is about a generation, and it re- ^ onired about a generation for the Parliament (Jf the United Kingdom to nerve itself to the task of deaUng with that question. And how was it then grimted ? Was it ff^tf then as the boon of a cheerful giver ? No, Sir. It ■ was granted grudgingly and of necessity. It ^ was iranted, avowedly granted by the Minis, try because THBY ■WERE FORCED TO DO IT, not because it was just, because they had been proclaiming to the ends of the ««th that it was not just; not because it was right, be. cause they had been proclaiming that it was WTons. It was granted, because, as they them- selves stated in Parliament, the queetion was/ between granting that concesaion and cml war. . The oondit n of things had come to hat ^ ' that there was to be an immediate^uioreak, a civil war, nniedS Somau Oajiioiic 3^-ji=:i— :v-^ was granted. Well, Sir, did that do g>^? Of «)u»e, you could not remove, even onder sucb circumstances, a monstrous injustice of that description without some good l)elng done; but I say the good was minimized by the delay which took place, and the attitude whickwas assumed by those who received and by those who gave that Act. The Irish people w«re taught that dreadful lesson, so far as the Ad- ministration of the Pariiament of the Unite* Kingdom could teach them it, that EDgljmd dilbculty was Ireland's opportunity. They were taught this by the delay, anii by the viii- position with which those Min'stere acceded to the grant. They were tanght not to rely upon that constitutional agitation which is the proud basis of our system, and which every one is free to engage in, but upon "thsr and worea methods of accomiilishiug wnatthey desired by unconstitutional revolt. 1 say that no doubt something was done by the removal, even un* der those circumstances. tea , id's( hey] OF THAT GREAT BLEMISH, yet nothing was done towards relieving, or con- ciliating the feeling of the Irish people, to- wards leading then, to believe that they had a right to expect from the unconstrained sense of justice of the British Parliament thp relief which they had a right to have; or towards obtaining those golden fruits which might have been reaped Iroui a great act of joaticd cheertuUy performed, in sufficient season. The next great measures of relief for Ireland— and I am dealing now only with remedial legislation —I am de *ling with those measures to which the English Pariiament may point with the greatest pride as marks of its pariiamentary government with reference to Ireland— the next creat measurea of remedial legislation occurred, how long afl-rt Nearly twenty years after. It was not until nearly twenty years had elapsed that we had the measure for the reli-^jf of the poor to which I have referred, followed shortly by, and intended at the time to be followed as soon a« possible by an Act for the sale of en- cumbered estates. The yecrs, 1846 and 1849, are, i think, the years in which those two measure were passed; one fully twenty years after, the Emancipation bill, and the other a few years earlier. These Acts, as I have said, were not of a late date, they were not the off- spring of fresh institutions lately developed. They were the approach by the English Parlia- ment, the ParUament of the United Kiugdom, to dealing with old difficulties, and how again was it that tLfcy were brought about? How was it, that the public opinion of the Bntish people and the opinion of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, was aroused to action, such action as was then taken in these two particulars? Sir, it was not the hend of the insurgent upon that occasion, it was not the hand of the agitator, so much aa THE HAND OF FAMINE and of pestilence. It was not until the dircst calamity which has beset the modem Christian world came upon us, and until a famine took mm HON. EDWARD BLARES 8PBECH ON THE IRISH QUESTION. rr:rmr.--.--= place la wblob tnor« btimaa live* ware lost than in all the wan with whioh England hai reddened thu soil of Eorone or the world, It was not nntil that had happened, that the public opinion to which the House referred was Bofficinntly aroused to deal with this ques- tion. Such wna the unhappy condition of Ireland, and the measure paseed for the relief of the poor was a ((reat boon tb them. The Encumbered Estates Act, too, was grfatly needed. It was hoped, however, that that Act would havii had aa indirect eifect very bene, ficial to the touauta, but that hope failed. The condition of the tenants as a whole from the practical operatic a of the Act was not miti* gated, because it happened that the sales of many of tbn lands that were Hold under the Encumbered Estates Act were made ro perMons entirely new to the country, and who, in a great many instances, were wholly neglectful of and defiant of those customary — I cannot call them rights— bat those customary favors which were granted by the former proprietoitf to the tenPEt^, and the syetem of rack-renting and the other difSculties which might natur- ally be expected to grow from such an unna- tarnl system as existed, were aegrsvatad and intens^ed by the new proprietory; and so It happened that the SKMAKD FpB TBNAMT RIGHT bacftme more — pressing aa it was before— be- came still more pressing by reason of the practical operation ol the Encumbered Estates Act. Well, Sir, about twenty years more elapaed before the next great remedial meaaure for Ireland was carried through the British Parliament. It was, I think, in 1868 the law for the dictestablishment and disendowment of the Irish Church was passed, nearly forty years after the Emancipation Act. Now, who can pretend that that act of juatic was not aa much an act of justice at the timo oi the Union as it was at the date it became lav7. The prin- ciple on which the disestablishment was car- ried is immutable, eternal, and the question had been raised, as we all know, generations before. Pablic men- in advance of public opinion of the United Kingdom and of Parlia- ment — intelligent men, statesmen, had raised it, had pointed out that it was impossible that that establishment could be defended and BMintained—hftd proposed that an act of jastice should bo performed, but it was utterly ia>. possible to make progress in that direction. An old, old grievance, a grievance so old as to be almost out of date, a grievance of the most pressing char»<«ter— how, 1 ask, was redress to that grievance obtained I Now, Sir, I shall give yon an an ^hentic account of how it came that Parliament and the people of the United Kingdom decided to remove that ancient griev- ancA. I ahtdl sive vou the accctmt which tbs author of that great measure for Ireluid him* self gave in 1878 in the Midlothian campidgn. Thebe are th« wm-da Mr. Gladstone used in explaining how it came about that the Irish Church was in 1868 disestablished and disen* do wed: — "Down to the year 1865. i.nd the diiaolatinn of that year, the whole question of the Iriih Chureh was deiid. Nobodv oarod for it. No Mxly paid any attention to it in England. "That \n t.hn iinhoiiv in Kncland and BAotland, not the nobody in Ireland, nobody paid any atten- tion to it in Enfland. Then oirautnitanoes oe- enrred whioh drew thn attention of tbe people to the Irish Churoh. 1 said myself in 1865. and I be- liovo (hat it was oat of the rangb of praot'oal poli- tics, that is the politics ot the oominrt elections." Now, what was it that brought it within the range of practical politics; w^t was it made it possible to carry that measure of reform ? 3ome new events, some new chain of reason, ing that led to conviction on the part of the people that it was a just measure ? I will read you what it was: "When it came to this, that a great jail in the heart of the mcropolis was broken open under oir- cumstances whiob drew the attention of the Bog- liiih people to toe state of Ireland; and when in Manchester polioenen were murdered in tbe ez- eoutionof their duty, at once the whole ooantry beoamo alivo to Irish qneHtiona, and the .jestion of tho Irish Church ri>vived. It came within the range of practical politics." That is tbe reason in this great measure of legislation by which the people and politicians of the United Kingdom were led to the belief that the question was within the raag* of practical politics, and led to see what wai; their duty to the people of Ireland. Onco again there was the same moving cause to the remedy. Once again there was the same long heart-breaking delay, and once again English and Sc^ ;;ch opinion would not act until cem- pelled to do so. Once again, therefore, there was no meed of grace in the mitasure so obtain- ed. It was forced from the British Parliament, and was so acknowledged, and therefore if it did remove the grievance it did not — as timely and cheerful legislation would have done, as any consideration of justice would have done — contain the ele-oent of grace and did not ex- cite a feeling of grati> ade in the hearts of those to whom the benetit was granted. Sir, that measure was a great measure in two dis'inct aspects. First of all it destroyed the pre- eminence of the churoh of the minority. It removed a crying injoatice; it changed a con- dition which had combined Ihe religion of the majority with their patriotism, a patriotism which, so long as it was the pohcj of the Par- liament and people of tbie United Kingdom to maintaiit the church of the minority, was ^ee• esaarily an anti-national patriotism. Besides that, there was the material gain ^at Iiiah I fands to the amount of mcuy millions were set I free tor legitimate and proper Irish purposes, I not denominational, not sectarian, not for the ' minority, not for the majority, but for the whole people. Bt-sides all this, the practical resnlts of the disMtablishment of the IRISH churoh; it had the indirect effect hardly leas important. Itwai the first t the oooTiplers of ' gibte interest in the number of provision which knds the pre-en laada on mod^n being payable d< spread over ins compounding I rate, which mac tetially more tb the tenants of c whioh they glai coihing the cwi And thus it ad( number of Iris! cot notions, ' have qiveu as 1 that 5,000 Iris is the use of sa proprietont ] bdoket, but ' more than ^f munberof at that tlmfc gore in ito of. or very nearly ]^prietoTS, ai eftjct cannot ant measure ( country of si considering t' that circumst l^s than 5S3 which no lesi itnd no less tl tiui 100 acre under fifty * of the total I though then cipuily in on aUb in the throogh oth hoik of thefi they •«• yea torn has bee improvemei compatible anoy. Noi let us see farmlands 257 peraon one in ever in central i land is wii3 seen a verj feet develo of Europe, sponsible they are ft we have « •iA>i< HON. ^WAIi«- BLAK.'8 SF««)1I OBT «« iMaH QUMt lQN^ then It «• the fint tffecMTe meMur* for R'Tlnfr to X. intere.t in th. r.11, and for incmring &e number of Irijili proprleton. The JMt MOTUion which gtVe to the tenanta on ohurch ESJ; the pre-emption right to purchrae thwe l«d. on mod»r.te term^ ft^fery .^ ^ wm belnff payable down, and the reaiduo belug JJKver l..su.m'.nf for tWrty-two ywtj oSmpoonding principal and i^t*"-' •» • ^J rate, which made the annual pavmont not m*. terially more than the aconstomed rent, gave the tenant* of church landa an opportunity ol which they gladly aTaUed themselve. of be- TorinK thi cwnefa of the lands they occupied. SdtL it added no lee. than B.OOO to th. number of Iriah proprietor, of Jbe eoil. WU^ our notions, having regard to the Ag^f" » have ^ven as to the population, you may "y that 5.000 Iri«*^Pwpri«to»'»*i;:^J«oOO Irish is the use of saying so much about 5,000 irtsn proprietor! 1 admit that it is a drop ia the IrtckV bet' * ^ "t had very little Lotthl' t the time. The total number of ISTOBS atthattlm* '? ^''fv. *"k X ^n*. in ibi ,A *> less than 6,000, SnpiStors, ind a n. -*hioh has such sii Et cannot but be regarded « a very import- ant measure of relief. Now, Sir, Ireland is a country of small agricultural holdio^. and in considaring this question, we must not forget thatcircumstaoc;. There are in IreUad no iais than 583.000 distinct f»rm tenancieu, pf which no less than 450,000 are under 60 acre*, and no less than 60,000 more are between 60 and 100 acres, showing that the g'e'it b^ik are 3er fifty acres, and no less than 500,000 out of the total 683,000 are under 100 acres . Al- thon^h there are exceptions, as w. know, pnn. dD^ ly in one of the piwince* of Ireland, but SSo 2 ^e case of many estates ^Jattered through other parts of the ooT.ptry, yet th* Imlk of these 538,000 holding, are yeany, Md they «e yewly in a country m whieh the cus- toS^has been that the tenant shaU make the improvement, a custom which w ''^^fy. in- compatible with tha conditions of yeariy ten- SST Now,Sir,vbilethatistheauB'W of lEISH »ABM TESANCIEH, let US NO to What extent the ownership of torn lands prevails. In Ireland, one in every 267>«ons owns farm lands, while tn France one in every eight persons own. farm lands, m central and northern Europe, the tenu« of land is widely diffused; and while wt have NMn a verv eradual growth and a very imper. Sue^SSpSnt, in the continental oountrie. of Barop^ of the principles of popular andw- Te^'^^^^SnTthruStiiS^iV tL^^.l»ceth. day. of the French Mvolwtlon atd the Napoleonic •«'. J^^ vauoes made— much largor advanw.. thau have birverdmrnedof In K«>8l«d '""'Silf^ fusion of the tenure of land and the aboUtion of that mb.t objectionable portion of the tea- dal systtm. In the Rhine Provlno«, indttd. fdg WMtphali^ there are 11,000,000 jiomot !.4fi-aK>« 'aod-and how manv proprietowl T.W O'OO proprietory or one lo every ten aom land; and if you read the history of tto Contentment and comfort, the work •"f labj. the energy and Industry-the Indo ''i«»WjJJj- dustry-that is dUplayed In many of thwj Sliitrie. by the proprbtor. of thejs »m^ »M« vou mu.t be convinced WM [lTou\l thing that enable the Goj. emmeit of these countries to b» cSried on at all, burdened as they are wM* ^mous expends with an i°»P«rf«'i.^«'JS ment of conslitu lonal government, withgrja military armaments, and 7"»\,,'J"J»JP'ji!! system of conscription and military eerijo^ the only thing that gives the people h.«rt «d hope, and enables them to "tr^KS'* °» •^•"vT thltwide diffusion of the o«"*»»iP P* ,^ thtn which there is nothing better caloula^ to promote the stability of the P«°P;«' *« "^ the land belongs. Take the Stat^of New Yori^ in which therS are 22.200,000 acre, of Item landc and in which the holdings are large, as i. natural in a new country, 'J'*" «';^«"»j; .0 much land undisposed of os there » on tWi continent. The owners of the l"d, in 1870. were 216,000. ag.last 21.000 in Ireland, in. eluding the owuers of church lands. Lookrt SwoZtione of Ireland, which may be »l«^t. ed a.- examples: take the Wi<»altural coontt.. of We.t Miath and Cavan. .rh.ch oompri- 1.860.000 acres, and in which ther. are Jl« owneJ. of less than 10 acres in that whole dUh Jrict; in the counties of « J**y ^ie^J ther^ are 2.760,000 acics, and there ar. only 226 owner, of les. than 60 acres. The KUMBBK CF SMALL 0WB«B8 i, insignificant in England, but that n^b«r S oomStod to be abou^ ten time, as Itfg. to MODortioa as the number Is In Ireland, and, tK a country of which I believe the gre^ Stp^tlcal ble'mish to-day ^- i*^. J*^J^ u«8. I believe there caa be no doubt that th» g«aU blemish in E'>«l«d and Scotland to- SSr is the condition of the ownership of ^d; SSiven there that difficulty was ^^^^ Mlatively to the condition of things in Irda»d. Now. *i^ Sere can be no docbt ^hat th. ddt Wla^s, which .mong other relic, of bay. Cty prohibited for a long time Ro»«»C«*h». Neither fro>n owning or i«»^«">J°8. ^ had much to do with the creation of thepj^ ant sute of things as to the landholdlng to I«laSt «d tha? .t^te of things bfelag once LSS* "d marked deeply upon the wuntrj^ It became of cour«e proporiionawy ««*»«- ~ obliterate It. The result wa. t - ,Mi,i!Siiiim:m»mttmm mk!ii m HOK. BDW4RD BLAKu'b BPtSCU OM THE IRISH QUBITION. '■ ( • rSACTIOAt 8XBn>0M; the t;MpI« who ooltlyat d the Unds wew only J«ft with eoongh to Habitiat on in a uiiMrable ntuoer. All oonoeda that thera were many Ikadlerde in IreUnd who granted pro)wr leaaea, «nd behaved with propriety towardi th' ir ten* antry; yet in the main, the praotical remit wm that the whole profit of the Itmdt, vith the caoeption of a poor, miserable anbsistenne to the teoant who worked thum, went to the land< lord, pnd al'to that whero improvemente were made, an early opportnuity wan tak»'n to in- orease the rental nf the lands to the ext«'nt to whioh they haa bfoome capable of prodocing, \rr Tirtoe of th? improvements which the ten« ft and his family had made. This was a atata of things which of conree did not merely diminish, but destroyed, »hat hope of bettaring himaelf, which is thd spur by which yon can aspect men fn -ise, and under the inLnence of which you can fizpeet hsppiness and content* ment to be diffased. The first or one of the «arlia«t writers op the subject of land holdin-j — Yotmg, I thicK— says : •♦Give a mai; but nlna years' leai>e f a garden, and he will turn it iato a desert; give him a freehold of the naked rook, and he will turn it into a garden/' And 1 be'udve that not' untruly represents the nlative condition of thif;g8 between the short holder under the cv atoms that pi-evail in Ire. land and the proprietor. Now that situation wonld have been bad enough it the rents so ' «xaoted from the tenantty were rents in any proper aeni- of the term ; but the whole produce of the soil goes, not to en* able the nnfoxtunate people to clothe them* •alvei^ BUT TO LIVE IK BAOfl; not to feed themselves, but to keep starvation fr«m them; and, above that, the whole of the piodDoa of the soil is taken by landlords who do not live in the country. A certain maasore of improvement and prosperity would oeceasarily have arisen from the expenditure on the soil of thoee enormous rent9; but to make ^ condition miwr«ble enough, God knows witht . it, still more miserable, the bulk of those who received these rents wers absentee landlords; and so it happened that speaking once in the lartce^ not merely i fair share and incremeat of the production of the soil, but tha whole produce of the soil of Ireland, with bnt wretched livings for those who nUAd it, want away from Ireeaod— was rather a tribute paid by Ireland to foreign countries, than capi* tal legitimately applied within the land itself, wjiioh would have occasioned the development of trade and manufactures, which would have given more employment, agriculturally as well as otherwiaa, and pfoducad some mitigating dienouitanoetf at any rate to relieve the dark- ■ iwae of tha picture to which I have referred. I'juy it happened that there was lasuryfor the ABoBXIXJlls liAHOIiUKD, BBlMry for the resident tenant, as tha rule, and that in a country of which it haa been said, not, I Wlieve, rhetorically, but it sober trath, that if you wiped out the tenant's improvements you would convjrt nine-tenths of Ireland into a desert again. I have aiid enough to show that the question of the land Jj at the core of the Irish question, and to show how great was thfi importance of any measure, such aa the Irish Church Act, which should have tended 'en in a moderate depjee to unite the diverse in* ttireats of the occuiiant and of the land he oo* cupied, and to create a land proprietary in Ire* land. That iieuure was foUowed within a year < r t*o by "^he Land Act of 1870, an Act which was, no « ^abt, a useful Act, and which waa, probably, in effect, I nave no doubt,quite as strong and swac ping a measure as the public opinion to which I have referred, and the Gople of the Unit«d Kingdom would suffer to passed at that day, but which in conse* qnence cf that public opinior not being sufB. ciently appreciative of the situation, waa far behind what the necessities of the sittution called for, and both tbe OHtTBOU A.iD LAND ACT were brought about, not from a sense of the need of either or both measures— were brought within the domain of practical politicaj not be* caufij interested or selfish landlords or wealthy tenants had oome to tha oonclnaion, from some new turn of reasoning, that the condition of Ireland wu one of injustice that required ameliora* ation, but because a great jail in the heart of London was broken open, and some policemen in Manchest r were killed. That it waa this that afoosed England's a'^tention to Irish af- fairs and rendered poaaible those measures of reform is beyond doubt, and again tha a%me nVd error, and ag^n justice and measures of propriety and prudence too long delayed, and again those lessons taught the Irish people, has borne for so many years such fatal fruits which as those to which Mr. Gladstone refeired. That Land Act waa useful in its way but it waa not wide enough; the liscd clauses most hopeful in theory, which str.jok largely at the root of the quesMon, turued out in practice not an nsafhl aa tha land clauses with reference to tha Irish Church owing to difference of condition. The truth was that in other tespeota tha LA»I» LAWS OF IRILANP, M of England and Scotlasd, were grievously iefeotive,and the expense of a voluntary trans* fer of land in small parcels was almost prohibit- ory. The search for titles, and copies and con- veyances and conveyancing itself were snoh that whatever price yoc might fix for those modercte portions of land, which were the at* most aspiration of the occupant wonld in many cases fail to meet the expenses of oonveyanc* islation wm unable to grappfe. There was an- othar, in the want of sympathy on tha part of thaT*'Maary Govevment l a little t JO mi of the ooun with the sacr ed a little toe oivm which looked recognition perty haa rights, and there were b age, < a toti have been al of the land c therefore, yo wholly defec complained proved to bi 1880, the la tinnal prei creased lau measure, bn great questi plicat^ det that a^^MUi and found that meas no provisio: arrears of r( or satisfact defect. If which prec cumstancei yfo v:ill be lurge exte beyond pn most of tl posed to e: arrears. 1 of parties ever, no oi was an ■ that it wa expected 1 obtained i Kingdom, obtflned tinned di ha4^ beei still. ' and woi lastreme length in that sum - Jiose evi attended theprevi It came i benefit- far as th nArul nn United] ■at an eni fiSs^'^^ UOH. BPWAKl) BliAKSJ SPCBCM ON THB IH18H Q JBSTIOW^ V th«T*')uai7 Mid other deparluient* of the OoTei-^ment with thoM clawe* wUoh wvoured a little t» niocb, «n the thon pnkllo or'n}o° of the ooantry, of » feeling cf intflrfering with tiw iacred pro»ierty in land-whioh look- ed • little too mnoh towarde • deni»l of tne filVINB BIOHT OF HiANDLOBDIflM, which looked » Uttle too much like a praotical recognition of the motto that pro- p«rty has iU duties aa weU at its fjffhts, and it so happened in practice that | there were but 100 8ftle«i a year on the aver- age. < a total of 800, bv the Iwt return J hare been able to obtain under the provisions of the land clauses cf the Act of 1870. So, therefore, you will observe that the Act w«8 wholly defective aa a remedy for the evil» complained of, and, by expert ar**, was proved to be r holly inadequat i«m. in 1880, the last Land Act was pass ^ ,undfc con- tinual pressure, under simiUr pressure in- creased and aggravated ^7 ,-^««t»; » 8»^** mea8ur^ but in itself not Ukely to settle .he great question. I will not discuss the com- plioate*^ details of that measure; but I wiU say that ► ^4asurc which in based upon the i«»un«ls and founded upon the reason upon wMcli that measure depends, and which makes no provision at all for deaUng with cases of arrears of rents— cannot be regarded .is a final or satisfactory measure, if there were no other defect. If yon look at the history of the ills which preceded that measure, and at the oir- cumstances of the country, as stated by others, y6u will see that sush a measure must be to a Wge extent wholly inadequite and entirely beyond praotical application towarls inauy, or most of the grievous cases that can be sup- posed to exist under it, unless it deals with Arrears. The most grievous cases will be those of parties unable to pay their rents. Ho-?, ever, no one can doubt but that that measure WM an IMMEKSS AOTIVB KBUSr, that it was % measure that gave more than was expected by many, or thought possible to bo obtained from the Parliament of the Unitea Kingdom, and nobody can doubt that it waa obtflned also ttom Parliament only by con- tinned difficulties. The state of Ireland, as it had^been, was beaming more aggravated itill. Things were growing worse and worse before the adoption of the last remedial meaaure, and tb« convJotion at length impressed itself on the United Kingdom that BuniBthing more must be done to remedy Jiose evils. But the same fatal errors which ■ attended the agitation for the introduction of the previous remedial measurM, attended tbTJP. It came so late that a large portion of the benefit—so far as feeling was concensed, a id so far as the conviction that Ireland could de* «snd nn the instioe of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, that tbere was anyproBy»cvif of an ending to their sufferings— of this last remedial n sasure h*d wh^ly lort It. S^^J^ say it is M pl»i" «» *>»• d:.y that true sta^ manship pointed t< -arlle.- action, to action und»r other and dilTerent circnmatancet wh« a measure, even less thorough going than thtt one, would hav» produced an ameli«-xtio» in thrcoAditlon and temper of the peopW ct thft the time, »n4 under the oircumata^sces and under the pressure which attended Ita being carried. Thot is the record of eighty yeait^ MMBDIAI. liBGISLATION FOB laBLAMD. These are the important land marks of th« acts for the remedy of wrongs, and the de mj of instioe that have distinguished British legis- lation in the past eighty years. Thew. ar» others, uo doubt, subsidiary wts. It did n^ Uke quite so bug-I forget whether more thaa r coiplw of Parliamento - to induce the Parliament of the United Kingdom to p-a • Sunday closing Act, which was demanded by the unauimou voice of tLe Irish populabr^, and was appU.'»bl6 to them t)nly, bn-. wmoh did not 1^ with the sentimoit. oftlM British publican, and which, therefore, it w-t thought wrong to give to the Irish people. But, it came at last, and minor measures of this dftioription have come to Ireland ftom time to time, but tiie laff -"d lmpoit«J m- umres of iUtesmanship which had agitatea the public mind are those to which I have re. ferrred, and which have been accojopllshed only eft^r the delays and under the circum^ stances I have briefiy stated. Can anybody wonder then that there should have grown up early, and that there should continue with aa ver increasing volume and urgency, a cry for A MBA8UBK OF HOMK BULB. Put the question to ourselves. If ''e 1»^ been tor eiahtv years in the position that thee* We have been in for that time: if we had to aritota for one generation for one measure of Vistioe, for three quarters of a generation tos the next meaaure, and two-thirde of a genera, tior *-r the third; if as each of the*e measures had been obtained, it was due not to-hei». jgnitaon of tho j latness of our cause, but to the recognition of the danger of further delay^ whet vould b- -e boen our feelings aiid ho* earnestly would we have demanded some per- tiouof wntrolover our affair.? Bw tii^ u a darker side to the picture tiian that. W^o remedies were refused, foioe was at the same time constantly applied. ^^Me you have th. r:*erable record of remedial Acts w which I ha.-e referred, you have the record of Amj Acts, Coercion Acta, Eest.iint of the Frwa Acts. Suspension of Habeas Corpus Aote, and all those legislative means of coerciag the peo- nle pt-aed from time to time with the utmost freedom by the same ParUament which Wflrt Sve'bMroniyJM^oe to the people. I dc 1 8 HON. EDWARD BLAKE's SPEECH ON THE IRIBH QUESTION. Kot mean t« say that the conduct of the Iriah pteple— a large portion of it—under these cir- cnuutances was justifiable. Far from it. I do iiot mean to say that it might not have been necessary sometimes to pass these Acts. TBUB FKIBNDS OF IRELAND hvre, from time to time, ooncurred in their }>a88age, but I do mean to say that the condi. tion of things lasting for eighty years, vith such a record on its brighter side of remedial legislation and such a record on its darker side of coercive legislation, is a record that proves that the experiment of Local Government for Ireland by the Parlia- ment of the United Kingdom, has been a disastrous failure. Besides legislative co- ercion, there were other methods of coeroion employed. There is an army undpr the guise .lacc in their passage md the circumstances nnnor <»h!!U! thsfsa ~---.ar;--- -.« __-, , ■ i_ ;• and importance have been at length granted, which are responsible for the distressed con- dition of that country. There were, for these delays, two reasons: Refonaers, and I do not ose the word in a party sense, or as defining wholesale the Beform party of England, as compared with the Consetvative party, though I might so use it— but still there have been HONORABLE EXCEPTIONS In the Conservative party— Reformers, in the larger sense of the term, have from time to time pressed upon the public and upon Parlia ment, long before these reforms were granted, their justice and necessity: but the great body of public opinion was unquestionably hostile to Ireland. By a Parliament of the United King- dom, in which the opinion of the majority muit rule— it was impossible, under the consti. tutional system, that thit justice or ezpedien- cy, to which the majority were not alive, could . be pushed forward. I believe that long ago many of these measures would have been car- ried by far-sighted statesmen, but that they felt it was irupossible to carry them, but that they were, ps Mr. Gladstone has put it, beyond the realm of practical poli- tics, because the aristocratic, the large land holding interest, the Conservative interest, and many other interests were entire- ly too strong to enable the relatively small band of advanced Reformers to carry them at all. In a word the public opinion of the United Kingdom did not recognize the ini- portance of it, and was not sufficiently ad- vanced to discharge the duties of efficiently managing Irish affairs. The second difficulty was the want of time. Parliament was over- weighted with its concerns, it had to deal with LASOB IMPERIAL CONCERNS, it hau to deal with local concerns which were supposed to be more pressing, and it was un- equal to its task. We know that for a great many years Parliament has been unequal to its task in that regard. We know that measures have been brought in by strong Governments session after session and having been just crush- ed ut by the pressure of other affairs, have not been reached. It takes years as a rule before that which is deemed sufficiently ripe (or legia- lation to be actually brought into Parliament by a Government on its responsibility, can reach that stags of discussion, unless there be some extraoj-dinary reason of urgency such aa lately attended the discussion of the Irish question. It has so happened that men have been too apt to say with reference to the lai»a questions to which I have referred, and which have been settled: "Oh, that question is not yet within the range of practical politics," just as Mr. Gladstone said on the Irish question in 1866, and so they say of these quC8ti(^»8 ontU gunpowder, murder, assassination e.:pIo8ion% a condition of chronic disaffection breaking out iu iMuiD parsiwiiar manner, brings them to the condnsion tat in the range to be dealt Fitrliamdnt c long ago to hi wotdd M ded] 80 lato as to c ment being better feelinj countries, ani the conclusio who entortaii whoentortaii and of sham do what he ( forward this tl^reyetbe the statesma Mr. Gladstoi the General time: "in the ma be a solution dtfficalties. think of Hon pnly answer 3 !y to Local Q local privileg most lay I in lieved of sod •fflcienoy of Jby obstructiG gipMlv by th upon the tin seiitto repp wriRhted Pa portion of tl range its afft part of its tr it can libera aerial eonce laotaniassei to any such "One limi to the exten nothing can statesman authpritjr oi the Imperis three King«l thatsupren: weld patriot! if We can m Sootland. ' d^l with q thdmselvoB can I that. I national go< show in Pai as,an avera bManse tht always shoi remarkable eanse to oc gravely, th properly tr "The Pai ment is all its shoulde stltntion 0I I an not g sure of th soendlngt< wUl oondei fNsnt to giv u not apoi the differv X amy ZuSii^ ohinery n HON. EDWARD BLAKE'S BPEECH ON THE IRISH QUESTION. » coadosion forthwith Ihat the queation is With- in the range of practical politics and has got to be dealt with. Now, I say that even if Parliamiint could n'o^ take np what it ought long ago to have taksn np, we might hope it wouldbe deilt with, but it also was dealt with 80 late as to obviate all chance of its settle- ment being concurrent with a reaolution of hetter feeling between the people of the two countries, and thus it is tliat I am brought to the conclusion that it is the duty of every man who entertains a strong feeling fc - the Empire, who entertains a feeling of pride in its ^ '^ries and of shame in its failures and its fault, to do what he can in his sphere towards pressing forward this Irish question to a solution while tl^re yet be time. Now, so long ago as 1878 the statesman to whom I referred a while ago, Mr. Gladstone, spoke in this manner, prior to the General Election which took place at that time: "in the matter of Local Government there may be a solution of some national and even imperial dtftculties. • • • • If yoa ask me what I think of Home Rule I most tell you that I wt" only answer you when you tell me how Home.Kule is relied to Local Government. .1 am triena- !y to Local Government; I am friendly to large loeal privileges and power, and desire, 1 may al- most say I intensely desire to see Parliament re- lieved of some portion of its, dutie«. I see the •fflcienoy of Parliament interfered with, not only by obstruction from Irish members, but even more ffiuMlybythe enormous weight which is pteoea upon the Ume »nd minds of those whom you have sent to represent you. ,^e^have got an over- wrighted PMliamont, and if Ireland or any other portion of the country is desirous and able to ar- range its affairs, that by taking the local part or part of its transactions off the hands of Parliament, it ean liberate and strengthen Parliament for Im- perial concerns, I say I will not only accord a re- luctant assent, but I will give a generous support to any such s jhcmc. "One limit, gentlemen, one limit only, 1 know to the extension of colonial Government, it is this, nothing can be done in my opinion by any wise statesman or right-minded Briton to weaken toe authority of the Imperial Parliament.. Because thelmperial ParU&ment must be Imperial in the three Kingdoms, Nothing that creates a doubt upon that supremacy can be tolerated by any intolligent Mid patriotic man. But subject to that limitation if We can make arrangementsnndor which Ireland, Seotland. Wales and a portion of Enpland, pan dml with questions of local and special interest to themselves more effectually than Parliament now oan, that, I say, will be tho attainment of a great national good. Tho Scotch members who always show in Parliament— I must say, speaking of them fts an average^ and perhaps it is all the more true b^ftuse the majority of them are Liberal--who always show in the transaction of Scotch business remarkable shrewdness and efficiency ..yet 5f;?S«lj3 people have aoduired and learned b/ 'i^i«gS,?£S^ practice to exerdae those powers of l-ocal Govern- ment wnich were so beneficial » other pottions of Se Bmpire. Moreover, we beUc- that where fte Irish pHple had the opportunity within a UjnKM rangn orr "' **'"''• ""«««" and ouSlities have done under the Poor Law Acts and thro some other channels, they have adminl^gredw^^ Indeed, no one oan doubt that, or their nenew oapadtV for such a duty. .But tl^.i«3«*i«%g»l the auMtion of purely local »dmiwstration. The motion of myhonor.ableftiend «mbnwes mattots of wider scope. I wish.to point out to those hono^: able wntlemoh that neither they nor.jjo far M I know, Mr. Butt before them, nor so fM as I know*. Mr!o'ConneU before him. ever distinctly explain- ed in an intelligent and pracitical fi"» *^t ?»S^r i? which the realVot of this jWCBtion Was to be untied. Tbfe principle on Which they proiess to S?SSIed is that purely Irish mattors.we to beiejlt ^th by a purely IrUh J^athonty, Impenrt matters to be loft to the Imnerfel autherity of a Chamber in which Ireland isjo be MP»Mnted., But their have not told us by ^ha,t authority it is to be determined which matters taken one by one are Irish, and which matters are ImP«"»}-,. ^*2l they lay feefbre the House a plan in which they w to thevery bottom of the question, and g^ve uslo understand in what manner that .division is to be accomplished, the practical, consideration nf this subject cannot reaUy .be^ arrived at. . and I mow not how any effective judgment upon it can be pro- nounced, tarn well convinced that neither this Parliament nor any other House of Commons wiU at any time assent to any measure by which ttte one paramount centre of authority necessary for holding together in perfect unanimity wd com- pactness this great Empire can possibly be in the slightest degree impaired. (Mimstenal a?d Oppos- t»eers) We are entitled and bound to ask* dear and explicit explanation «« to the mode in which the vital matter is ^ be determine^ 1 Wno is to say what purposes are IrapenaiT ' Who is to determine the .circumscription frithln which the Irish authority is to have a final voice? Quotations have been made in "fewiM «» the positions of other countries-fpreMmple, Fin- land in rehition.to Russia. But this ^ords no practical illustration of the matter. It r[ould bo „ just as rational for those gentlemen to quota the case of the Channel I-lands. With rwrard to th» Isle of Man, wo have sometimes interferal in t^e matt-sr oi Customs daiiea. but not |» ™4 'ec$"?g; tionhavewe interfered in the legislation 01 tM Channel Islands. We have left it entirely to their 0^° authority, and we hare not felt any incon- venience flow from.that arrangement. Thus fbB» .Am« d-tfoioBment is «lvan to the principle of Jbo- cal Government without anypmomjiM tilWUV«IU~' 10 HOK. EDWARD BLAKK's SPEISCH ON THE IRISI QUESTION, lenoe. I think the oase of Ffnlaod and Rnssiais not different tronj the paae presented by England and the Obannel lalands. The oase of Austria and Bongary has also beou cited. I ftilly gr at that the maspitnde of that oase is suoh that if you can. by the deyelopment of that oase, show it af- tprds a preeedent for us, you certainly make out a strong cue I hare heard ot the alleged and the great and paramount difflonlty of this question to Khioh I have just referred, naiaely. the estabHsh- ment of a dividing and a divided authority- as in tne case of the Austro-Hungarian Empire— by a reference of thf. matter to the personal authority of the Sovereiijn. If that be so. am I really to nn- **?I?r^ *°*"^ "**'." P™P"8»' of those members of this House who take the view I am now referr- ing to that the personal authority of a Sovereign in this country is to decide the question of what sub- jeote are to be referred to the Parliament of Ira- T "^'•.«°*J'."*'*J««'*". y* to b« refenadtotho J ??."*V ?5'"P*°t of this country If that is the dnotrine held, then I say you are immediately in- volved in a dilemma more hopeless than any that has presented Itself to sou, because on the ore Bud the subjects are to be decided on the author- ity of responsible Ministers, or on the othor band J^«- »P*'^''"*l ''"J . °' . '5>°>- If tl»« <>•- ^on is to be determined on the au- ttoiity of responsible Ministers— the responsible Mnisters of Great Britain or the respon- sible Minjbters of Ireland <» ho are to etist under the plan that 18 BOW proposed (hear. hear), evi- dently you o»n't refer to the responsible Ministers ^Hreat Britain the power of drawing a distinction wbioh involvM the most vital, delicate and pmo- *!!S'?*'*f°^ft*''°>^;5<'** Then, if in the highest ano nicest matter of Government you are going agcln to set up the personal responsibility of the (Hnrereign apart from the advice of reSpoosiblo Miniaters, you are at onoe proposing a revolution inthis country more profound than you need bring •oout by the establishment of any form of Govern- ment whatever. (Hear, hear.) I express lor my- self, uid I am sure for my colleagues, that we are most favorable to the introduction of a rightly un- dentood principle of Local Government in Ireland, and most desirous to prpmote it. For the first oi tte punioses they have in view they cannot take tte fint step, they cannot establish one foot of ground upon which and from which to address «•»' Mguments to the House of Commons, until Vav have proposed a plan jn which it shall be ^uS^^'ii'^^ *" Y^"}. authority, by what m«^ ^uuMry, they mean to divide Imperial and local gneBtions. and so to give sathfaotion to the mem- bers of this House upon its first and most para- mount dut^, namely, the maintaining of the su- Sremaoy of the Imperial authority for every prac- oal purpose relating to the interests and the pur- poses of this great Empire." (Cheers.) Now, Sir, in that speech, while anQoancing onoe aeain his adhesion to the principle of Local Government, that great statesman has endeavored to shift from the ahonlders of the Msponsiblb Qovemmcnt of the Empire to the ■hoolders of those who are in a hopeless min> ority, a question which belongs to that Gjv. emment to solve. I say that it belongs to those who are responsible for the good govern, ment of the Empire, who have the majority, who have the power, who can initiate legisla- tion themselves to grapple with the difficulty. I say that those who admit that the present system is unjust, who admit that the present omdition of Ireland cannot be satisfactory •rithout some change, who acknowledge that a ehange can \m made, are in an untenable poei- Hoc when they tell the minority: "Gentle- men, come forward, propound some plan, solve «very difficulty, tell us how you would settle this question, and until yon do that we at«nofc called upon to act." That is not, in my opin- ion, language worthy of any statesman, be he Conservative or Reformer. It is not upon such statements that the Lish question can be settled. - It would be folly to blink the consid. eration that any measure that Mr. Gladstone may propose on this question would be unsat* isfactory to many, and at any tate it would not be accepted by the Irish people as a final set* tlement ef the question. But I maintain that the longer you delay, the greater the diffioul. ties, and I maintain that though the proposi. tion yon are able to propose may not be satis, factory to all, it is no ground whatever for de* dining to do that which you yourself acknowl. edged it is just should be done. True jnstioe will do that which is right, and will give that measure of relief which it knows is just, and ffrbich it believes will give that added measure of safety and security which will result from the changed state of affairs. What it the state of affairs? The Prime Minister of Eng. land says the condition of Ireland is unsatis. factory, because the Itt^h people have not the measure of Local Got sn. ment which they ought to have, and he says: "I will not give that measure of Local Government to you; I will not stir hand or foot in the matter until the Irish members in the House of Commons, who are in the minority, and are powerless to do anything, shall propose a measure which shall be satisfactory to th(>mselves, and until they undertake to deal with this compll. catad and exacerbated question, so full of diffi. culties in the light of all the errors and circumstances ot the past. It being six o'clock, the Speaker left the chair. After Mb. Biakb. — I will not engage in a discus, sion of the various hypothetical cases and somewhat strained difficulties which, it seems to me, are dealt with in that speech on that question. I frankly admit that the di. vision of power, local and federal, .d one of them; but how there can be a difficulty in deciding how that is to be regulated and in determininff how it is to be regulated by a generad Act M justice, I cannot at all see. Thfre can be no doubt whatever that the difficulty which oc. curred to the Prima Minister on this oeoasfife, was the view which he has entertained and expressed so freely and which is that same difficulty that has prevented justice being done to Ireland in former yean and tmder other circumstances; it is the difficulty of hav* ing t^ AaM with a recalcitrant and inert maae of pul^uC opinion not sufficiently advanced to enable him to grapple with the subject. To him, I believe, the words of the gt^^at poet of the adjoining republic apply when he says: " His stateernft was the golden rule. His righl of vote a sacred trust, Ctoar above throat and ridiaule. I believe that and liberal tr nsy of that st sustained, bii to give him t ^bich, thoug him to do in service of h who moved t thnt Scotlan( Within the 1 meeting was to ask for a ] triennial ele( be no doubt, bu8in«-sa tact business has have been gt the managen been acoomp sort of imp< We know tl measures, tl Sther and i e country, been passec trenched n[ others, alra< succeeded i ceeded in m had strone which invol the United Scotland ca flueoce tn n •[uestioo. ljam»-nt can tions; tha sympathy, Olaistone I not compi*t provt^d and to deal sati the British pie this ie, restless enc timate occi ctencerns. House witi ipeeeh by lUment tb "Sir, this tinot and senipled to fintlemen; i onsidered 'J;«hly unll v:!"> • ;»• •^e ti'ieee opini ions upon t 1 have the Shicb I sec ot for In take and p policy. B<> f structure c ment. W ary and lot source of t ttmtutamsirv 1 ir:. HON. EDWARD BLAKB'S SPBKCH ON THE IEI8H QUESTION. 1 believe that a love of jostice and of u;eu.?r.>a8 and liberal treatment la an instinct 1 m ght «U8t tw anstained, hie hands munt be held np in erder to give him the power to acoomplisi the t«ak ^bich, though advanced in year**, rwrn^inw for him to do in order to crown a life Bpent in the service of hi* country. The hoii, gentleman who moved the resolution (Mr. CoHtigan) said thiit Scotland was also moving on the ^ub|l ct, Within the last ten days a very impi>rti*ut meeting was held whiih came to the ooucIuhiou to ask for a Local Jjegislature tor Scoilaud with triennial elective Parliamentb; and there can be no doubt, notwithstanding the rem*rkahl busint-ss tact and tolent by which the Scotch bosiness has been managed in Parlwmt-nt, tht-w have been great and injurious eff crs of delay in the management of that businesi. What, has been aooompUshed has been accompli sht^d by a sort of imperfect federuion in that regard. We know that, in regard to all Parliameuiary measures, the Scotch members have m«t to gether and agreed as to what was wanted for Se country, and what was agreed upon h»» been passed through Parliam«*nt, uuless it trenched upon the prejuUces and vit>w8 ot others, almost without debate. T i. y hav^ uo- succeeded in all things— they h*ve not i»uo ceeded in many important things. Th^-y h.iv. had stTonB fights when qufstions came up which involved the interests of other parts of the United Kingdom; but this agitati .u in Scotland cannot fail to have an imp-rr*ut -n flnence m maturing public >pinio« on tb« Irish •nestioD. I maintain that the Ea»4li«h P*r liam^nt cannot deal efficiently with tht-n^ qufs- tions; that from lack of kuowledg- and sympathy, in consequence of t>eiug, as Mr. GlaJstone has said, wholly overweighied. it m not competent, and its incompetency han been proved and confessed by th«< prre any sucn plan can be dealt with or can be ezaminea wiih the view ■ t being dealt with on Us merits, wo iiiusta»k those who propose it! and *•»" " *J";® question I haveinvarfably put: 'Whatarethe pM- viM-UH which y«u propose to make for the sn- prema^y of P'riiament?' That has been my c.^u«e. »nd that is the . oarBO I V.tend to pursue I am bound to say I have not received »»">;*»„ to that question. 1 have never heard in the tiBro of Mr. Butt or from the mouth of any other genUe- ma-u any ndequate j.r satisfHCtory «Pl"»«*»»A«T; on that, subject To this declaration 1 have only one limitS more to add. and th« is I ^ not prvpar^d to give to In- land anything whioh to poii.tot i.rinclplo it would, be wrong to mve to tland it Scotland ask for it. (Home Rule oheertj That i., I apprehend, what Irish mo^of?' *»3IS members of the mo-t popular .classes, will be reaoy to accept (Cheers.) Jhe right hon. Bentlemaa was d«te.mi..ed to make out that these declan^ tions «>n my part were a tormidable novelty , and M said be believed 'hat. I hadin Mid-I«thian-th« sceue of HO • any mi^deads-daughtert-aid like- wise at ti e ttuildhnll, which might .have been con- sidered a more consecrated preoinct-delivejea oi.in.ons of this kind Well, I cannot recall all the si.eeohes I have delivered on the subject, but I have t»ken the pain* to recall six of them-(lHUghtor)- which seems to me a very tolerable allowance. • iMHWrtJimadein 1872. at Aberdeen, when 1 was Prime Vlu.isier. The next wis "» l^'.JJk iijl L f hi.i.n, at.d another was made m the Guildhall to 18isl »ut the three spe-ches m»de.out of . i arliar meiit were baUnced by three made in Parliament, f..rinl872 as Prime Minister. I . ma^* .* W' *® Mr. Butt precisely in the same spirit of the.deolarsp tions I h .ve now mo^^ie. and in tlw snint of UM "entenoes j: utt. red !»st wee^; ^. H*^«,!!£., rf 1874. wi.eii I was not Prime Minister but lea*er ot the Oppo.idon, and I did the same t.hing in WU. when I -dt on these benoh«s as an independOM member P<^rhapR I mny be allowed ♦o read a tew words e'l- that speech. Kdy hon fnena the member for Cor'* ( Mr. Shaw), in the beginning ot 1880, en th - 2rth of February, made a remarkable spee^ upo . this questioii. He made a proppstion wMon 1 could not accept any more than I could accept the proposition of my hon. ftieod the member tor TipP'8r»ft'(Mr. P.J Smyth) the other night, and, protV-ssitig himself an advooate.of what I think h» termed Home Rule, aigued for it and pleaded fotU in a sjdrit which I own won my sympathy and n- g ,rd. ». d I did not hesitate, as I do not now, to OM these words. (The ho.n. gentleman then quo. ed the words in which he said t.hat from the tone of tne hon. member's remarks, if the relations between Y ngia. d and Ireland were to becooue satistactory. the mos important contribution to that essential end W..UM have been made by Mr. Shaw.) Thi* was the ^pirir in which I received the deolarotlcm madet>. the hon. member as leader,. for he men WHS leader of the party froru I"»*'>'J> »"i/f.T^ one of the speeches to which I have """•*"•.* believe.i- complete and exact confomity «»»h the Drief outline of my opinions upon this question. Now, sir, I have read that spe ch for two or three realms. First of all, because you wiU 0^8- rve that the hon, the Prime Minister, aner an interval of refl-'ction, comm nt and criti- cism, reiterates he demand as an essential con. dition preliminary to any action on this subject. f «a<«jwa(S8W»W"««»» # » 12 HON. EDWARD BLAKV8 SPEKCH ON THE IF BH QUESTION. thiit % wtufaotory aolotion of all these diffi coltiM ahoald be propoanded by chose who ask forit on the Heme Rule bsnches. Therefore w* find the Miggestion that it stand antil aday wkioh may never oome. Secondly, there is a OflOkration which he says he has made for ten ytaia, aad therefore we find no advanoo in his ▼ifl»8 npon this qnestion. Lastly, and most Mfipertaatly, ws Sad him usiug these same fatal words with which Irish qnrstions, m^' r have proved, have been always pqitponed until the day ot grace and utility ware past. This is a practical question. I do not expect to be called upon to deal with it I care nothing for mere speculations. I ■qr it is a praetical, a burning question. It is tb(S most practical and burning question we c«i conceive, and when the Minister has ■teted that the results are not satisfactory as twy stand, that there ought to ba a change, tl^t there ought to be a grant of local rights sua privilpges, that justice demands it, and that it cannot be expected that they will be ■atisfied if the Parliament of the United King. doBtt does not discharge that duty; justice de- oiknds that thoae who have the port-er and the rsiponsibility should propound that legislation. .now. Sir, I como to the consideration of au- other branch of this question, and that is wh«tber we have any interest in this question oalliog upon os to interfere in it, and I deal with that branch of the question now, partly bepause the hou. gentleman baa alluded to it, •nd partly because it is not the first occasion on w^ioh a great Irish question has come nader the consideration of this H'use Md has been treated House in one way or another. while «go to the question of the swat of the hish Cbnrch as one • portance both in its direct and tipns to the condition tf Ireland, and it hap- pened that while that qupstion was under diibate a late respected member of this House, the Hon. Mr. Holtou, seconded by Mr Mao. MDSie, moved on the Slst of May, 1869: "That this House will immediafely resolve itself utOAoomuittee to ooD«ider the followinB nro- poaad resolutions:— "1. That in the opinion of this House the meas- jtfa now pendlM before the imperial Parliamem JUW Churoh will, if it becomes law. by the re moval of oue of the chief causes of the deep! » mted discontents which hare long exisred among amunorous body of Her Majesty's sabjects. pro- a««a the traoqulluy, inore 'se the prosperity and JKM nnmeasurubly to the strength hs w«II >i3 the JOS., renown i.f the great Empire of wLichthir Dominion lorms no inconsiderable part. **?• That this opinion Is strengthened and Rup- ported by the recent experience of the lato Pro vljUeorCiuiada: fortho oontroverj'ies which ha-i «»"«£» many years disturbtid thit Provime and retarded its progress were finu'ly and happity ter miMted in 1854 by an Act of the ProvlneiHl Legie- Mtore, iwan.ig a close resemblnnne in its essential leatnres to the measures now ifore the Imperial j^niacDaiit^ "8. That a royal and dotifn] address, foonded on he forei oinc resolutions, be presented to Her Ma- by this I alluded a •lisestabiish of vast im- indirect rela> jestythe Queen, and that a special oomm{tt«eef , Members be appointed to preparo an addrebs and report the same." To this the right hou. leader of the Got- emment moved, seconded by Sir Gleorge Cartier^ the previous question, and the previous que*, tion was upon that occasion ca^rried by the hon, gentleman with the assistance of his snpporten^ against the vote of the Liberal party. The hon, gentleman supported his motion for the pte> vious question by a speech. He said: — ''Sir JoHK A. Macdonald replied thi.t he did not doubt that the hoo, gentleman was intiaeneed by patriotic motives, but it was quite certain that his object was junt at) mischievous as his mode wi bnnKioK It op. The hon. member appeared to giv* up the whole case whoo he admitted that, as » matter of legislntion, we had no right to deal with J J " Parliament of the Dominion, he acknowl- edged, was only authorised to pass laws for tha good order and peace of Canada. Therefore, tho hon. member said that all we could do was to give a simple expression of opinion— nay, more, that we vhould not do so ordinarily, except on import- ant ocoaaions, or in respect to a matter of supreme necessity. Now, the question immediately sug- gested itself— where was the necessity fv)r tbo C resent motion? The measure has been approved V the public opiniou of Great Britain— it had been sanctioned by an overwhelming raaiontyoi tbe House of Commons, and the hon. gentleman himselt had been certain that the House of Lords, in due subnsissi'm to the oopular sentiment, would agree to Us passage. Now, surely, it was an extra- ordinary course on the part of the hon. member to asK the House to deal wir.h a matter with «hioh it had no co corn, and render itself amenable to the answers that tt should mind its own business.* The hon. m»mberaot preme necessity for the motion— it was not of su- premo impi»rfano6 to tbe Bmpire whatouropiniona on such a quection might be— whether we weiw ' favorabl-^ or opposed to the disestablishment of the Churoh of Ireland The hon. membei had asserted that wo were in the habit of pas^in8 ad- dras^os to the Sovereign on matters of interest, affecting herself or family. Now, the Queen of England was the Noveraign of Canada, every one had an interest in hersef and family. In the very Aotpf Confederation, the first clause (sanctioned by the British Parliament), declared that the Sovereign of Great Britain and Ireland shall ba our own Sovereign for all time to come; and.ther»- fore, It was quite withi.i the limits of our jurisdio- tion and propriety to refer to matters oonneotei with the propriety and happiness of Her fami nor opr interest was at stake. He for one wot Id not go into the discussion of the merits of toe measure— he would not say whether it was goo < or not, for it was not the plaoe to de- bate it. The hon. member had no right t'> force ua expression of opinion in the Canadian Pnriiament, and he must Uavc know i tu>it there was a vury considerable aod respectable minority in tlM oonntry imme-iiately affected, who received the bill with hearttiurninsr and the deepest dissiitisfao- tlon. The people of Canada lived in harmony and peace— or had no religious or other anti athies tO' t)&uit« ua; »uu ye; the hon. gentlemen wished t* transter to the Dominion the heart-burnings and animosities of the Old World. If the policy of the HON. BPWAKD BLAKE*8 SPEECH ON THE IRISH QUESTION. 13 r hAti mambcT w»B Banotioned, then we Bhould we thr;2d?w^taole of different religious eeots m this SSntfyo'SS forward. erobodyTng their respeo- «»- feeliiwson this vexed onesilon. The hon. SImhe?had not even assumed to discuss even the SSSWthe quertion--1^ go into details, and show Sit Uws worthy of the support of the Hohse. Tm. he wL SliSg upon the %« t^ «P[?^« ft ^Mided ODinion on a question respeoting whioU it S!^n«ivS«Bneralide». There could only be one oCfectntuchl motion, and that was. to create. an «WlinK between the Protestants and Catholics. «ik. Reform Bill, and other questions of equal im- fEf^Ssffisrtlfrre^Thn^^^^^^ ifthe Dom nionrwith equal justice. mUfhi be call- eduDontogive a strong expression of sentiment S?MfltinK separate schools, or church endowing. M Sther matter of interest to the people of Lower OMadl! In whatsoever light he viewed the ques- «SS^ could not avoid seeing the impropriety of &lnotion brought forward by the hon member inr <^hnteauKuay. and was convinced taat ine hSum would dS with it promptly and effectually. 5 m"o PWveSt the introduction of similar resolu- 'llons in the future. In conclusion, be woajd move Se previous question in amendment to the motion before the House." Now, Sir, I maintain that the hon. gentleman was on that occasion mistaken aa to the real feelings and sentiments of the great majority of the Canadian people. I believe that, so far from that motion being, as the hon. gentleman said, calculated to excite discord, heart-bum- iscs and religions difficulties, we would have all aKfeed— had he but seen the question m another light— in favor of that solution of that question, just as we had, in the old Province of Csnada, lively though were the feehngs of religious diflference in that old Province, when we settled a somewhat simUar questv^n. 1 refer. Sir, to this statement, because I wish to express the hope that in the interval between 1869 and 1182, the hon. gentleman has ad- vanced in his views, has observed the cunent of events, and that he wiU now be disposed to take a different line, and instead of arguing on the precedent which he himself created by moving the previous question on that occasion, which he stated would be an effectual barrier to similar resolutions in the future, he may be disposed to admit our right to tender aome ad- viw on this occasion, and give his support to the mot-Ion before <-he House. I say we have an interest, w a port of the great Empire— as sharers in its prosperity, as sharers in its shame; we have an interest in everything whijh will tend to develop the strength and the unity of that Empire; we have an interest in every «reat and important question affecting the general consUtution and orcanization of the Etopire at large. Nobody can doubt that, through chaos and without any formal system, the gradual tendency of the constitution of the Bmpii^ has been more and more— perhms ^onah driftinc, perhaps otherwise-Howards the adoption , to express an opinion upon this subject. An • part of the Empire largely peopled by old countrymen— by Englishmen, Irishmen, and Scotchmen— we have a deep interest in a quei- tion which must materially affect the prosper^ ty and happiness of our countrymen in the old land. As a country wanting immigrants, as tie hon. gentleman has said, we have a mate- rial interest of • very great degree. Wo all know where the Irish immigration goes; wedl know that those who cross the sea and land upon the shores of America, go almost wholhr, particularly those of the Roman Catholic faith, to the United States instead of to Canada; "We know thai our share of the Irish immigration is insignificant, and that our share of Irish Iloman Catholic immigration is but » ▼'^ small proportion in these latter days of OTCn our share of Irish immigration. We know, on the other hand, that enormous numbeis of that people have gone to the United States. When I said two years ago that that was due largely to the difficul'iea to which I referred, and hoped that a better feeling might be engendw- ed by remedial measures APPIIBD TO THE STATE OF IBBLANS hon. gentlemen opposite did not seem to sym* pathize with that remark. I was glad to hoar the hon. gentleman repeat it to-day, and I hope it has become, to a large extent, the acceptod sentiment of the people of this country. W© are interested materially in another sense in this question. We and our neighbors have a common frontier of 3,000 miles long. That country is, and must always be, a country to our cordial and friendly relations with wmoh, must lie a great part of our own prosperity; and no man can doubt that the existAuce of the Irish question is a main feature of the difc Acuities between the United Kingdom and the United states, and cannot but react moat nn- fayorably upon us. We recollect what hap- pened in former days; we recollect when onE peace was broken, our territory invaded mire than otce, expense was incuned and Mood shed- we recollect that such a state of thini^ existed in tiie United States, that redrest, whether by expression of regret or by peconi- ary compensation, was absolutely aemed, on the score, I presume, that tiie state of feeling ia. that country rendered it impossible for wiy saoh concesfdon to be made. If you look «fc gome of the figures of the recent Census, yon will 8^ how directly and indirectly— dlrwtiy, as wanting immigrants ourselves, indirectly M those with whom the people of the United States dionld be Ctt! TFRISHISIiT TWRM8— we are interested to this question. Take the 14 HON. EDWARD BIJiKB's SPEECH ON THE IRISH QUBfiTION. ' ■ « :tfe 'f A) State of MsBsachasetts in which out of a popu- lation ol 1,626,000, the foreign- born people, if I remember rightly, namb.ir eome 420.000 aoola, and of these no less than about 240,000 were bom in Ireland; so that more than one- half of ihe foreign-born population of the State cf Massachusetts is of Irish birth, while if yon add to those the number who are the descend- enta of Irishmen in that State, you will see what a powerf.tl factor in the prosperity and the progress of that countrjr is the Irish immi- gratioi:. ^ Of that immigration we want a share i<» ourselves and we want still more earnestly that those who choose the R-'publio instead of the Dominion, shall not choose the K^publio with feelinifs of animosity and disaffection to- wards the empire of which we form a part, but with those friendly feelings which animate the Englishmen and Scotchmen who also happen to prefer, for material reasons, the Republic to the Dominion. Now^ air, there is another reasm why we should interfere — we can speak with authority on th s subject; we are federal- iats ourselves; we are experienced in the bene- fits of Home Rule ; we know what it means; we know that it is our most precious possession; we know that there i«i nothing that we would part with greaterireluctarice or more diffionity than our ance this evening. I beUeve that these are the senttQeuts native to our own sense of FBBBDOM AND JITSTICK, ■( I *. PORTION or HOME BULB ; we know that ther« m nothing that we would sacrifice more to retain than our portion of Home Rule, whether you advert to that por- tion which the Dominion has in relation to the Empire, or that portion which the Provinces have in relates to the Dominion. In refer* ence to the important Federation which exists laetween Canada and the United Kingdom, or the more perfect form of federation which ex- ists between the Dominion and the Provinces, if any people in the wide world can speak of the difficulties engendered from the want of Home Rule, and the benefits to be secured by the grant oi' Home Rule, it is tie people in whose name and for whose interests we sit and deliberate in this hall this night. Now, Sir, the descendant of Irishmen myself— my grandfather by the father's side a rector of the church to which I have referred, and sleeping in his churchyard, and my ances- tor by my mother's sid? slain in conflict with iusurj.-ents, while it might have been my misfor- tnune, had I been born and bred in the old land, to adopt from prejudice views very dif- ferent from those I hold this night, yet, it having been my good fortune to have been bom and bred in the free air of Canada, and to have learned those better, those, wiser, those more Christian and just notions which here prevail, xtpon the subjects of civil and relicious liberty. i>ls2S ifSiH=!i!-.'..-ir: =llj4 TT.-.iv.i. V}-.''... li •« T !.__' always entertained ever since I have had the opportimity of thinking on this subject, the sentiments to which I have given feeble ntter- of forbearance and toleration, and a desire to dt-al with this aubject, as the hon. gentleman said who moved it, in that spirit which says: "Do unto othurs as you would they should do nnto you," I had been anxious that this dis- cuasion sh uld be raised, and ha ; myself pre- pared a motion on the subject when private cir- oumstaooes called me from my desk here. On my return I learnt that the same hon gentle- men to whom the hon. member for Victoria had aUuded has taken the matter in hand, and it was thought better not to meddle with them, or with the course that they, under his leader- ship, might propose. But although I remained silent I felt that it would be doing but a scant josticetothe feelmg of Canadians, Freaoh. Scotch, English or Irish, to suppo e that there IS any material difference in the intensity of - their feelings on this subject from that of tbos* whom the non, genUeman who brought tor- ward the motion more particularly seems to represent. I believe our sentiments are based on the general principle of poUtical action to which we have been educated and which has advanced our prosperity and our intellectual and moral standing «.n the world. Now, I heard the hon. gentleman's resolution with some regret, for one reason that I find it em- asculated. I find it very much weaker than the resolution which he put on the paper in the first instance. In some particulars it does not legislatively suit my view. He has fallen into something like the error ascribed to Mr. Gladstone, and not willing myself to repeat that error, I would prefer to vote for the best resolution we can get. Yet I WILL VOTE WITH RBLUOTANOK for the measure which hypothetically refers to the grant of a measure of self-government to Ireland. The hon. gentleman says in the altered resolution:— "And we would venture to express a hop« that if E'^fl^'^^'i'''' integrity and well-being of th" Empire, and if the rights and status of the minor- ^a^'k f""y, promoted and secured, sure means may be found of meeting the expressed deairaof so.many of your Irish suljeoU in that regard, ♦i™. iT ® ^°"'** further express a hope that the time has come, when Your^ Mi^esty's clemency TT^f«J''H??* i'y^'y ^ **»» Interests of thJ United Kingdom, be extended to tho"e persons who are now imprisoned in fiJf 111*?'""??'* uT**^. P°"*J''aJ offences only.a^d *?lL°fV?*''',1 blessing of personal liberty res- oroa to toem. We have no idea that the rights and interests of the minority will be other than fully pro- tected and secured. I beUeve that its best se- curity is to be found in a united Irish people, managing their own affairs. I say that the possession of such a measure is essential to tiio maintenance of the Empire. There ought tobenoifsor ands in the expression of tha views of the 'Canadian' people upon this most important subject. It ia only upon the HON. EDWARD BLAKR's BPBBOH ON THE IRI8H QUESTION. 1(^ tlMoiy, only apon the strong view tha^the poaaesaion of raoh a law is essential to the in< tegrity of the Empire that we can agitate or act with the effect in dealing with this matter. i am not disposew to act hypo* thetically. I am not disposed to deal with thu question with its ifs and ands. I am willing to advise conciliatory measnres •nd ample justice to Ireland. I should like the Canadian people, throagh their represen- tetires in Palriament, to say to the Imperial QoTemment,eonrteoa8ly,that, in their ooinion, as 4,000,000 of British sn^acts, they believe that, the integrity of the Empire demands SEtF OOVBEHMKNT FOB IBKtAND. So with reference to the clause that speaks of those men depriled of constitutional right of trial by jury, I do not understand them to in- vite the clemency of the Crown. I do not understand them to be charged with politick •ffsnces. I understand them to be imprisoned under a law which does not call on tL? Qov- emment to charge thum with any crime what* ever. What we ought to have asked for those gentlemen is the restoration of the fwieas eorpiu and a trial by their peers on any charge which the Government of England may ts-ink fit to make against them. It is not an api>iioa- tion for clemency and mercy that they demand and that we should express, but a hope that the ordinary constitutional right of every British subject may be extended to these par- ticnlar Britioh subjects— namely, the right