The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas, et Praevalebit. WEDNESDAY JUNE 9, 1886. Home Rule.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume V, Issue 1259, 9 June 1886, Page 2

The Ashburton Guardian. Magna est Veritas, et Praevalebit. WEDNESDAY JUNE 9, 1886. Home Rule.

The news of the rejection of Mr Gladstone’s Horae Rule Bill by the British House of Commons will, we feel shre, be received with feelings of relief by a large majority of the people of this colony. The result of the division was very closely estimated some weeks ago, and the figures we publish this evening will not create any wide-spread surprise. Now we are confronted with the question, What next? So far as the Parliamentary aspect of the matter is concerned we shall, probably, hear little more until the House meets to-morrow, but Mr Gladstone will, we expect, seek for a dissolution, and, under circumstances, we think his adviee*lo that end should be accepted. Whatever differences of opinion may exist as to the cause and nature of the Irish difficulty, there can be no two views, among observant men, as to the magnitude and gravity of the present crisis. The proposals submitted by Mr Gladstone have given the subject an entirely new complexion, and the electors should have an opportunity to express an effective opinion upon the present defined situation. We have little doubt as to what the verdict of the British people would be ; we believe they would consign Mr Gladstone, his magnificent ability and splendid attainments, to an oblivion from which he would never return; but clearly it is a question of Imperial importance, and one upon which any leader may fairly demand an appeal to the country. What policy the Irish Home Rule party, headed by Mr Parnell, will now pursue remains to be seen. If the prognostications of some of its prominent members are well founded, we may expect to witness a renewal of agrarian outrages in a much aggravated form. We do not, however, believe for one moment that the passage of the Home Rule Bill would have proved a “ permanent treaty of peace between England and Ireland.” The only complete solution of the difficulty will be attained by satisfying the Irish people that their destiny is already in their own hands. Separation—and this really is the proposal—would, beyond a doubt, bring about national ruin to Ireland; her union with the Empire may, if her people choose, bring about the prosperity, happiness, and eminence she has so long rejected.