IRELAND AND THE BUDGET.

Dominion, Volume 3, Issue 803, 28 April 1910, Page 6

IRELAND AND THE BUDGET.

The ■ action of Me. William: O'Beien in moving the rejection of thc_ Budget brings to the front the attitude of the Irish 1 people towards the Government's taxation proposals. That, rightly or ■' wrongly, Irish opinion is solidly hostile is beyond all question. Even'Me. EEDMONDhas condemned it from top to bottom. When the Budget was introduced last year almost every , public body in Ireland, as the London Standard reminds us, passed condemnatory resolutions, and when the mail left they were still pressing the Nationalist members to protest against its passage. A typical resolution was that of the Cork, Board; of Guardians, which ' called on the Irish Parliamentary party "to • strenuously* oppose'the olause in the Budget which proposes to increase the duty on: Irish whisky, and on licenses, and also to delete' this clause for the revaluation of all land and house property in 'Ireland 'for fu-

turo taxable purposes,, for if this, with the increment tax, .is passed into law, no man can foretell or calculate the" increased taxation which must inevitably, follow this well-thought-out scheme to rob and pauperise this unfortunate oountry, already overtaxed to the extent of £2,750,000 a year over and above its just proportion." In some quarters in this country it has-been urged, that the Budget has on its merits the support of a majority in the Houso and in the Kingdom, but even if the ignprance of these authorities were not made manifest by gross errors of fact such as • the statement, adopted without inquiry'- from a statement by Me. Roche in the Westminster Gazette, that Lord.Maxs is a friend of devolution, the Irish press would, probably be accepted as a better authority when it says that Ireland is against the Budget. The Budget is entirely without defenders in Ireland. Even the Redmondite organs use extreme language in condemning it. The Irish News, for example, which is Me. Joseph Devlin's organ, said: "Tho bounden duty and., plain policy of the Irish_ party coincide.. They will fight against and kill the Budget'if it is introduced under the circumstances indicated by Me. Asquith." The Anglo Gelt not only opposes the Budget, but attacks Me. ; , As-

quith: "Very few trust the Premier, and with such a Minister it is always well to be prepared for the unlikely. No matter what he promises, he is a. shuffler, and an utterly untrustworthy politician." Of all the Iris,h Nationalist journals, however, the most influential is the Irish Independent, whicb has consistently and vigorously opposed the Budget. In a recent issue it said: "For one thing, the Budget is not yet disposed of, If by any possibility an attempt should be made to fasten upon Ireland the additional burdens of new taxation which the Budget for without Mr. Redmond's conditions as to the guarantees on the veto being obtained, it would then be the duty of the Irish party to use its power promptly and decisively and end the existence of a discredited Ministry." _ The action of the House of Lords in laying the Budget aside has been amply justified. The nation has decided against its provisions. _ The majority' in the Commons is against it! And it is in these circumstances that, tho Radicals are demanding the destruction - of tho power that thus enables the nation to give its judgment against 'objectionable legislation!