GISBORNE TIMES PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1906.

Gisborne Times, Volume XXV, Issue 1966, 29 December 1906, Page 2

GISBORNE TIMES PUBLISHED EVERY MORNING. SATURDAY, DECEMBER 29, 1906.

The demand for Home Hide is in the j air, and Ireland is not the only country that is urging its demands upon the British Government for the privileges of self control of local affairs. Not more than a year ago, what ap- ! peared to he a very determined agitation was started in Scotland, with the object of pushing the claims of that country for the control of her internal- business, and now we find I that India is at last concentrating its * energies in the same direction. In view of the fact that the Transvaal Ci'hony has been granted Home Buie and jtihat the same privilege is promised to Blit* Orange River Colony, there .Ippiws ito ho no excuse left for refus-ing, the demands of any other British dependency. But of course the matter must he judged from the Impel ial point of view and local conditions, as well as past history, have to he taken iirito account in the final decision of the matter, for not only has the Imperial Parliament to couscive the interests of l-hc claimants, hut also those of the Crown itself, and the latter must necessarily be a;corded prior consideration in any case where the interests are likely to clash. The question, therefore, b >- comes almost wholly one of Imperial expediency as to whether t'ne claims of any section of His Majesty's dominions should he granted or refused the privilege of managing its own affairs and making such internal laws as are considered by its own people to best suit their requirements, always provided that those laws do not touch upon international questions 01 usurp the authority of Lir.peri.al Statute. Or, to put the matter in other but plainer words, Can' the people ' who are asking to he allowed to gov- < ern themselves be trust'.*! to do to i without risk of injury to the Ifritisli ( Crown? No one will suspect Scotland 1 of any such intention, or for a moment entertain the thought that the granting of Home Hide to the. people i, North of the Clyde would, alfeet the e stability of the Crown or endanger v Imperial interests in any way. and. therefore, it will be hard to find an , excuse for refusing Scotland’s request si when it assumes serious Parliament- b ary shape in the House of Commons. n - 1 Then people will naturally ask why r( Ireland should not be allowed the k* iamo privilege, and the opponents si rill answer that Ireland cannot be J ll rusted, to govern herself with safety leeause of her many agrarian out- K j ages, her frequent displays of dis- di avalt.y, and the disagreements that 111 rishmeu have had amongst them- JJ' elves, a!-' tending to show that Ire- | m NiU..is. eot-cauablc.of .governing .her- Cl

soil' aright. 1 How much there is *ll this contention limy lie seen from a glance at her history. Jt is now more than a century since her union with Britain was completed, and the history of that century is dotted at frequent intervals with instances where Ireland has valiantly fought to preserve the British Hag in hours if extreme danger, and there is no trace of a record in all her gallant deeds that is not honorahle and loyal. Her sons have won the highest positions in the army and navy, and have ever been lead.v to take up arms iu defence of the flag whenever and wherever duty called them. Scotian I lias done so too, hut Scotland is not under suspicion of disloyalty, nor would Ireland he either were it not for tin l misguided action of a low people who call themselves Irish patriots, and who lave done more t.) damage the interests of their own country than they have ever had the power to do to the Crown of Britain, and it is not fair to assume that Ireland, os a whole, is disloyal or untrustworthy because of the mistaken deeds of an insignificant few of lie, population. She has proved her 10/ alty most convincingly whenever tin iccasion arose that gave the nppor tnnity for doing it, and has thereby earned her right to he regarded with equal favor on that score with any other portion of the British dominions. But as these objections wen not urged against the Trausvcal, nor are they likely to la- urged against the Oraiigia residents who have never (ought with the British, and have only recently fought against them, it seems like “another injustice to Ireland’’ to urge them in her case as an argument against Home Rule. It is an injustice pure and simple, and it is an equal injustice to delay the granting of .Home Hide to that unhappy country if Home Hide means nothing more nor less than local selfgovernment. But there are those who believe that Home Hole means absolute separation from British rule, and if such it is, even as a remote possibility, the movement can claim no sympathy from those who desire to see an amicable union preserved between all members and sections, oi the British race. The position oi India is somewhat different, and the question as it affects that country r not an easy one. Like other British subjects, the native people of India have manifested their loyalty, but are not of us though with us. They differ in language, religion, manners customs, and aspirations as they din color; lint the greatest objeetioi to permitting them to govern themselves is tlie fact that Imperial interests cannot bo maintained in tlmi vast country without a resident army controlled direct from the British headquarters, and to grant self-gov-ernment there would mean the withdrawal of that army and the pinctie.il abandonment of the country to foreign intrigues, flic iact that Russia is temporarily crippled adds a measure of safety to the experiment being tried at this stage; hut Russia’s disablement only relieves the tension at Herat for-a very few years, and gives no. permanent security that would alone justify the experiment being tried in that country, except iu an extremely modified form, with very extensive Imperial powers retained. Yet such a system could possibly he devised that would satisfy the Maharajahs' and placate the people -if India who are now clamoring for Home Rule. Whim turbulent, disloyal South Africa can ho dealt with by conceding a measure of Home Rule, surely the more loyal peoples of other dependencies have a stronger claim to a like concession, even though it may differ in terms.