Davitt's Remedy for Irish Dissension.

Te Aroha News, Volume II, Issue 98, 18 April 1885, Page 4

Davitt's Remedy for Irish Dissension.

Michael Davitt's views as to "how the Anglo-Irish problem could be solved " are thus set forth in his recent work, "Leaves From a Prison Diary : "—ln the first place, there should be established in Ireland a system of county government, by means of elective boards, to take the place of the present unrepresentative and practically irresponsible Grand Jury system. These boards should be permitted to initiate measures of general application - such as schemes of arterial drainage, tramways, railways, canals, docks, harbours, and similar enterprises which would be of more than local importance and character. Such schemes, after being fully discussed by the elective boards, should be submitted to the national assembly. The county boards should control the police within tho borders of the county and appoint magistrates. Further, in the event of the land problem having beep satisfactorily solved on the lines of national proprietary, these boards should assess and collect the land tax. In fact, each country should, as far as practicable, ba a self-governing community. His plan for a national government is to establish a national assembly at Dublin, composed of elected members from the constituencies in Ireland, who should administer Irish affairs in the manner of the colonial Parliaments, excepting the substitution of one for the two chambers proposed, That is to say, the I representative of the Crown in Ireland would call upon some members of the national assembly to form a government, the different members of which should constitute the heads of the various boards, to become departments of a popular government and open to the supervision of the people through the national assembly. Such a government, subj ct to the control of the governed through their elected representatives, would be a practical solution of the Anglo -Irish problem, and "what possible danger," says Michael Davitt, " could England run from such an application of constitutional rule to a country much nearer to the centre of imperial power than Canada ? But what a beneficent change for Ireland— j nay, what a relief to England herself— would be involvod in such an act of. simple political justice !" I