MR. ASQUITH'S LAST BID.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2129, 22 April 1914, Page 10

MR. ASQUITH'S LAST BID.

TO END THE HOME RULE BATTLE,

EXCLUSION. OF ULSTER,

THE'PREMIER'S MOMENTOUS .SPEECH

'Necessarily the speech of the British Prime' Minister (Mr.' Asquith), when making, his eagerly expected "offer"' to tho'opponents of tlie Irish Home Rule 'Bill to, compromise on the Ulster question, was very ihuch condensed for' the purpose of cabling overseas. Latest files by mail, now render it possible to present.to the public a complete survey'of the proposals. As ; subsequent cable messages have-informed us, these have not,'}f at all'' materially modified the danger of civil war in Ulster should the Asquith'Government attempt to cocrce the'four counties which have_ united 'to resist any -attempt to force them under the •• rnlo of an : Irish Parliament at Dublin..

Facing the Daggers. Prefacing his speech with the remajk that "wo are above all things anxious that; the changes which we believe to be inevitable- in the government of .'lreland, should-start under conditions which will secure for them from the first tho best cpances of ultimate" success," Mr. Asquith asked What' are tne. dangers which l lio ahead, and which -in, my opinion .at any. rate it is the duty of statesmanship if it be possible to avert? On the one; hand, if Home Rule 'as cm-bodied-in'this Bill is carried now ;there is, I-regret to say it,but:-nobody can deny it, in Ulster-a,-prospect of acute dissension, and;■ even of ■ civil strife. (Opposition .cheers..) On the .other hand, if. at this, stage Home Rulo were.to'ho shipwrecked or. permanently mutilated or indefinitely; postponed there is in Ir'eland as a: whple at least an equally for-: midablo outlook, _ (Ministerial cheers.) Tile hazards in either event are such.,as to warrant in all quarters; I- think;, not iildeed' a surrender, of principle, but, in practical form of accommodation, an approach which could lead to an agreed settlement. : And it-is obvious—there is no use blinking the fact —thit such a settlement must involve, in tho first place, on the. side of our opponents the acceptance of a Home Rule Legislature, and Executive in-Dublin : and, on the other hand, on the side of our supporters, some form-of special treatment for Ulster—for the Ulster minority—over and'.above aiiy .of -.the safeguards which aro contained in this Bill.

Tho Three Roads. ' The Prime Minister then referred to. the itbree arehues' which lmd boon explored'for their-practicability, as offering' a way to compromise: (1) Home Rulo' within. Home Rule. (2) The Pluiikett proposal—that the whole of Ireland should-'be, in tile-first instance, included both for legislative and .executive purposes in. the Bill as it stands, but that' the* option should be given, after ■ the-lapse of -a certain time to the' Ulster countries , (and might be to other, counties, if nkessarjy tho demand'only came.., from thgifi) to. remove themselves frofri' the. jurisdiction oft thft li;ish. legislature and"executive and-, revert'to; the position in which they at present stand': and, (8) Exclusion, which last formed the basis ,_of- the - "offer," aiid'. with regard to which Mr. Asquith'e remarks may be fully quoted. (The Prime-Minister, en passant, expressed st-i personal-.' prefer-' ence;for either 1 or U, but adopted.3 as likely to be the most acceptable basis.) : Exclusion tha Basis. "We. hare cOmc to the conclusion," saidiMr. Asquith, '.'that-thp best, and, indeed; the ojily practical way, at any rate for the • simplest and the fairest plan, is to allow the Ulster counties themselves- to- determine in tho first place whether or'not they desire to'be excluded. I will say something in a moment about two crucial points of difficulty which arise—the points of area and; of time.

■ "I will first briefly describe to tho Hotjse what is 'the. plan, we aro putting forward. It• is, that.'any county, in tbo proriuco of.Ulster is"to be excluded for a certain.p6riod.it'.on a pollbcing taken, of-the. Parliamentary electors of the county before'the Bill .conges into operations majority, a baro majority, votes in favour of .exclusion. Tho poll would, bs taken- in a county, if a requisition wet©- presented sighed by, say, onetenth of the, electors, and presented' within, say, throe 1 months of the date of the passing. of. the Bill.' The■ poll would• bo■ taken, for the'county as a whole, without regard to its Parliamentary divisions. "Persons entitled ■to : vote are those cntitled' to'vote at' Parliamentary elections, and' the questions to bo put would be these—the; phraseology might, be varied, but in substance they would be—-'Aro you .in favour , of tho exclusion! of'the cptinty from . the Government of. Ireland Act, .1914, for a period of years?' (1,.wi1l say something about the period'lat'or),.or 'Are'you against 6uch . exclusion !■". ...

"Tiie poll would, be taken by ballot in the same manner, as.far as possible, as a poll.'in a Parliamentary election, and the' ' machinery .of Parliamentary elections, including the Corrupt. Practices Act, would be adopted by Ordor-iri-Council for the.purpose.. If on the poll a ; . majority in 'any county should vote-in-favour of. exclusion the county would be automatically excluded for the -prescribed period of years. Thatwould be tho machinery. ■

and Time Limit. .. "Now let mo say. something to make' the-matter more, clear, first about. the; area and. then-, about tho,time. As-tho HousO will observe, I have used the term county; and when I speak".of a county I include-as sopatato counties for this purpose' the two' great cohttty .boroughs in Ulster, Belfast: and Londonderry. Biit I am- speaking- of the'counties, and we. have anxiously considered; tho' questioii whether tho county is the'best area that can be- ta.keii for the piirpoiio. '."It-is not altogether.-a .satisfactory one,' I- agree. But any other, alternative that you can suggest—for instance, one which we havo tried, the districts subject'to' the. authority of the District Councils— I would'; we believe, Ibs both lfes convenient in itself and less- trustworthy'in its results. 'On the whole, if you aro to apply this principle of allowing tho various .areas whicb make up the ProVilioe of Ulster to determine, for themselves whether or ; uot. they will come into tho operation of tho' Bill,- we don't believe you oan select a fairer or a, more' practical aTea than the county itself. •

• "Then as regards time, as I have indicated, this poll would ho taken ou the requisition of a comparatively small percentage of tho electors- immediately upon or after tho passing into law of tho Bill, and lAiig before, of. course, it e a mo into practical operation. That raises tho question of ivhat' oug;ht to be the period or term for which the comity if it wished could vote'for-its .own exclusion. Wo fhinjc, after'miich consideration, that ifc ou&bt.to bo for a term of. six years', and .six years riot from tho. takiiig'-of tho poll biit'wx years from mooting of the Irish Legislature in Dublin. Testing the Irish House. "Wo hard taken the term'of six years to ensure that beforo the period of exclusion comes'to'all end there shall be first ample time, to tost by experience Ch® actual 'working of tho Irish Parliament. That, is'why wc date the boginuiafof the 'sis ;years*hot' from the tat

ing of the poll but from the first'assembly of tne new Legislature. In the second-place, we are sure- also-that before that-period l of exclusion comes to ail 'end there shall be-a further and a, cortaiu':opportunity for-"the'-'electors of the wholo United Kingdom,-both"'Great Britain and Irelando'with that experience,'to pronounce'whether or not the exclusion shall come to an cud. (Minis-terial-'cheers.) ■' ' •

"Let me, in order .to make."my meaning 'clear, give an imaginary time-table, and I am going to take, for the-purpose of the time-taljle - Kiay calf an extreme-test—-that is'to »ay,, 9 test that, will work as .'badly as pbsslMe - for-my own hypothesis. This' is- lie time-table: Assume that»tho ■ Bill ■ passes • into law in tho: month of July, .in tho present -year. -I assume that-the'lrish Legislature meets.in July; .1915, a-General Election, m 'this country. Tnust- take' plsco if-this Parliament; is prolonged ..to tho last jpossible moment of its .'constitutional existence ;in October, or -.November, 1915. If I were asked to predict whether it would last so long 1 should bo disposed, as a political prophet, to predict;that it ;would'not last so long, (Laughter.) But I-may be.wrong.

Two General Elections, . "Now take the. Parliament of the United Kingdpm which is elected on that hypothesis in November, -15)15; it canjio!last, assuming it prolongs its term -ais& to the last moment coßstitutiona'ily possible beyond tho month ef NovefflOer, 1920. And if these eountic-s,' after the passing of the Act in July, *1914, have taken their polls and votod-ior exclusion, that exclusion for sis years dates from July, 1915, and, therefore, catniofc coino to an end until July, WJi. "The House, will see from that- timetable, in which I have taken every date as adversely, as I possibly -can, that before inclusion can become operative there must, be. tw<> gcnei'al elections ill this' country, one in 1915, and another, iu 1920, and'before tbj second of these general elections takes place tho-elector-ate-of: this country ana;of .Ireland will have ■ had' between five and six. years', actual experience'.of' the working of the Irish iPariiament and'executive. (Minis-terial;-cheers.)

'.'We believe tliat is a'fair ,vdd equitable arrangement. (Ministerial ehe-crs.) It gives to t'lie whole of Ulster in the tirst'instance'tbe option of saving whether t'hey will come- Within the Bill; and if they" vote foryflxcfeioH they cannot bo brought back'into it unless with the assent, after a -general election, of tho majority'of the electorate, of Vast whole of the-'dnited Kingdom."

A Straight Question. "I think.it is quite efe-ar," Mr, Boisar Law''interrupted, "but 1 aiii : sure it would bo better that it should be absolutely unquestioned. Does tie right h6n. gentleman moan that at the end of the six years the counties which have, tho option aow are not io have it then?"

"Yes,"-Mr., Asquith replied, "they will conic .iu after six-years unless the-. Imperial Parliament otherwise deter* mines.

"I will say', a -,word now as to the status of, these eS-eluded.areas,a|tcr the option -for. exclusion has. bi<yi osercisqd. during tljo'sis-'yeafs: They- will, continue, their , representation bete exactly as it is now in undiminished numbers. So. far.as p6ssible .wo should cOEtinuo th» administration as.it is bow, The Irish Executive n'ould ■'• hare no right of entry iilio the excluded area. • "I. do'not think. there, wjll be'. any difficulty in. .regard'to polico or lgndipurcbase, for- they" are reserTod.servioos-rr-. land purchase indefinitely, police for-, sis. years. As regards the. remainder, special provisions will hav© to bo; made. There will'be-uo difficult* about factoryand workshop administration,, which _ in. Ulster is an important branch, more impOrtant than, in any other part of ' Ireland. They will, continue as now trader the . Home Office, .

"Education and-Ldcsl Government will bo dealt with'locally by .the creation of some administrative board, and 1 , ill regard to all other.administrative matters the- Imperial Sfinfeter;, who; mi-d.er.-the. Bill is to remain Here.iti.this House to answer for all reserved services as re» garcjs the rest of Ireland, would. be responsible . to_ Psiriiantfut for. every detair of administration in Ulster."

Law and FlnanqG. ■ "Will you ■ sqjy anything about tie, judiciary?!' asked* isir Edward- Carson;. "I ' would rather, rat say anything about the- this, moment;" Baid'Hr. A.squiih..~-"lf_nec<bsaty that could • be'- arranged. Y'oij .'.would;-ee-r-i tainlyhave to have somebody who wealdcorrespond'to tbe Attornijy-G-aneral inthe rest of lielqrai in;the excluded: area.. County Court Judges present 110 difficulty,' but'. aa-. • Judg?? <sf . the High Court, 1 atfi-'not at all sure-thai it would; be the desire of the excluded' area\that ; that procedure should oesjse, and! that nothing. else. should. be' substituted'for it. That'is-a point upon. which I anr quite ready; indeed, ansfous; _to come-.to'an Agreement; So toueh for the' status of. the- esohjded; counties.. "As:regards.th'e rest of Irolaud; when those-counties bavo-been excluded. ad-, justments,, both financial and administrative, in . the application of the Bill will- become Their general nature, not their ■ details, is indicated in the White :Paper which I have promised 'to circuJate> and which-non. members will have in their hands tomorrow (Tuesday). "I purposely do not- go into them at all, because it .is Hot on these points that, the chances.- of - settlement really depend. Some amount of administrative and financial adjustment is necessary in every scheme of -exclusion, total or partial, permanent or.:;provisional. Instead', of committing ourselves to any cut and'dried scheme now,.if the broad principles can be agreed upfln, we can afterwards,work out the general details with something like general co-opera-tion. I do not say anything about it, not'because I ignore or niider-rate its importance, as- to the precise mode of Parliamentary procedure which- the Government would* , propose if the-gen-eral scheme, of-th»r plan were adopted or treated, as- a basts of settlement."

Leaders' Views in Brief. The Unionist, leader (Sir. Boiiar Law} ask'od whether these proposals wou'h} satisfy I'lstcr. H© was not entitled to'speak- for Ulster.,,but he'felt bound' to say at once that- if tho'Prime Minister adhered to' tte condition which lie... bad lain- down—that this' portion of Ulster was to bs given the option of remaining out of "tie Bill ;f it to &• sired, but at the end oi ; ais years, it was to come.in, oven though its hostility was. as great or greater than it was to-day—he really could Hot se'e.htiw it was possible'that the proposals could bo apceptid. (Opposition chc-ers,). Mr. John Kedmond (tho Irish Nationalist leader) said that if tho proposals offered were' rejected, naturally Nationalists could .not accept either them or any other weakening whatever in tha Bill as it stood. (Nationalist chcers.) If, as seemed likely from tho specch of tho Loa,dor of'the Opposition, the Unionist Party, iii a moment of unwisdom and passion, rejected those far* reselling and generous suggestions, and spurned tho sacrifice.which Nationalists we'ro willing to make, then tho path of duty for'the'majority of tho fimiso of Commons was plain and straight— (Ministerial 'and- Nationalist 'sheers) —, that of placing the Bill;' without one single uiiiiecofcsary hour's delay, upon the Statute Book, and of fating with firmness and resolution',' and with all tte forces at their command- -(chcers. and' countor-chcijH)—any movement' that; might arise to ■over-awe Barjioin^ot' or subvert the law' by tho.' nieuaco of. arms. (Ministerial .and' ; NaUon.i.%t cheers.) ■ Sir .Edward Carson (Lender of tljo Ulster DelVstwo jjoagufi)',' silid 'that the Government hircl'mad* ,?ome advadca. that eveniug by.' the astaofi'kdgQient ;cf

the principle ef exclusion. 'iho moment the> pviuciplft. was admitted' the details might'be worked out by negorHation. But there had been added So 'he iHlhu.v sion of the principle a teem which ho believed' had been'- added in ord«r to make any negotiations impossible. Ulster wanted this question soiled now and for ever.. (Opposition chcefsO They did not want sentence I ,ot, death witli a stay of «x«catwn' for six years. (Opposition cheer's.) Knowing TJlstorm'en.as ho (lid, he believed they would rather bring matters to'close quarters at' oiic© father than.be. used as a pawn in the political game. (Opposition cheers.) If they totfk the time limit a war he, would feel it his duty to go t.s Ulster -and-call a convention, much as there was that was impracticable, in tho.Owwnmcnt proposals. But -with this time' limit • and Ulster ready for any osigency, at the'present. moment, he should not'go toJJlster. , (Ldik.l-Op-position cbeors.) if they substituted for the time limit,'-tho-limitation of Parliament as elected ;by tjn>. pcoplo whatever they might determine,- having regard to the'feelings of Ulster, • then be would go to. Ulster.