The Daily News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17. HOME RULE FOR IRELAND.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LII, Issue 266, 17 December 1909, Page 2

The Daily News FRIDAY, DECEMBER 17. HOME RULE FOR IRELAND.

n. the inidst of tlie political crisis in iritain, no issue foreign to tlie Budget b of greater moment than that of Home lule for Ireland. The .Nationalists may lossibly be in the position, after the ilections, to sway tlie balance of power n tlie House of Commons, and they are imte conscious of their power in thai lirection. Naturally their leanings are awards the Liberal party but their iingleness of purpose on the question of Home Kule is such that their allegiance night be purchased by the party which a prepared to go farthest in meetrag their demands. The Premier has made i very definite pronouncement emphasising the Liberals' Home Kule tenden:ies but we are informed it lias awakened' no responsive chord in Ireland. The Nationalists, /lowever, as a party have not yet passed judgment on the statement, and ere doing so will probably insist on concrete concessions in Parliament at an early date. We notice, however, by yesterday morning's cables that Air. John Kedmmid, tn e Irish leader, considers Mr. Asquith's declaration satisfactory. There is mucu confusion of opinion in the colonies on .the question of Home Kule, and the .time is opportune for the Irish leaders .to restate, in popular language, exactly .their aims. Similarly on the part of .the Premier of Britain a more definite expression of the Government policy ■with regard to Irish affairs would considerably clear a somewhat, clouded political atmosphere. Conditions within ttlfe past year or two have greatly altered in the Imperial sense. At this distance we arc, we hope, in a position to weigh this question dispassionately, and, while our sympathies are entirely with any nationality within the Empire Ithat desires to have i2iternal self-gov-ernment, we are nevertheless conscious of the fact that Ireland's position as regards the rest of Great Britain is not quite analogous, for instance, to our position. So far as questions of national diplomacy (relations with foreign Powers) and the vital questions of defence are concerned, we fail to see iiow it is possible to differentiate. On all other matters of internal policy and administration, however, Ireland should be trusted to make her own arrangements, exactly aa we are. Ireland's position in the matter of defence and foreign diplomacy is in quite a different position to the overseas dominions; the interests of the Empire demand that on these vital questions there shall be undivided strength at the fountain liead. Until, therefore, we have a definite pronouncement, in the light' of the more recent Imperial events, exactly as to what Ireland's position in the Imperial family will be under the conditions the Nationalists demand, it is impossible to express a definite opinion. .We are—with most New Zealanders, we believe—in favor of the utmost freedom in domestic government being granted the constituent portions of the Empire wherever it is justified, but it is clear that the homogeneity of Great Britain and Ireland, as the heart of the nation, niust not be disturbed. There is, however, no necessity for any such retrogression eventuating, and a practical scheme of domestic government for Ireland should be evolved. The time, we ■believe, is fast approaching when everv portion of tlie British Empire will lie milder its town domestic Government, and Imperial affairs governed by a zollverein Parliament, in which every part of the Empire will be represented according to its responsibilities. It is not inopportune to recall, at this juncture, the efforts that have been inadc liy the British Parliament within recent years to improve the condition of •Ireland, and so repair past mistakes. Much has been written by friends and opponents of Home Kule on ■tlie subject, but in most cases their reports have been colored. It is extremely refreshing, therefore, to liave the opin--son of a critical colonial and an observant journalist on this question. .Mr. Fox, late of the Sydney Bulletin—one of the best training schools in the world for anti-humbug writers—is publishing in the London Daily Mall a series o? six articles on the present condition ot Ireland. He has spent many weeks in itlhe green isle, wJicre ; Jie says, "tho miles are bigger, tne acres bigger, the liearts bigger, and the smiles wider'than anywhere else in the British Empire"; and as a result he declares the last, illusion of pessimism has gone:— "The Ireland I expected to find was a running sore near to the heart of the Empire, threatening its wcll-bcin". ■The Ireland I found was a healing Ireland, not yet prosperous, but prospering. The population was not made up chiefly of bailiffs and famine-strirken peasants. The chief article of production was not grievances. A once-aflliet wd people are being led by tlie affectionate arm of a strong kinsman to wards comfort; and everywhere —east 'wes'fc ; south, north—there is a note o hope, of cheerful knowledge that time are better, of faith that soon they wil ■be better still."

Mr. Fox puts together some remarkI iible statistics in proof of his assertion that a new dawn is breaking over Ireland' "In 1881 the total deposits in the Irish banks were £28,289,900. In 1908 ithey were £50,144,000. In 1881 the Post Office Savings Banks (the hanks of the small folk) had !)7,11)|] deposits, with a total of £l."2:l,:i!« to their credit. In 1009 these banks had ."i25,44] depositors with ,-e.J0,r,70,f)14 to their credit. In 1904 the imports to Ireland were worth .£54, 140,000 and the exports a 1,037,543. In 1907 the imports were worth :,C61,fi17,22n, and the exports £(i0,i>21,24:>."

Tt is clear that more is being done bv the State for It-eland, and for Irishmen, than is being done by the State for the individual in any other part of the civilised world. To quote Mr. Fox: "Here is a brief summary of the measures which arc responsible for the regeneration of Ireland: j "Gladstone's 1870 Act gave tenants , jthe, right to compensation, for SttDjgp „

nients and for disturbance if their leases were not renewed. "Gladstones 1881 Act provided fori "fair rents' assessed judicially, fixity or tenure, and the right for the tenant to sell his occupation title. "Ashbourne's Purchase Act of l»Ha made a hold step forward, providing . .f."i,(H)U,OUO of money to finance a scheme of small holdings. . "Mr Balfour's Congested Districts Districts Act of 1891 sought to grapple ' with the problem of the districts wlicre farms were so small as not to be living areas. Power was given to migrate people from crowded districts to others. A State subsidy of £IBO,OOO a year was granted to the scheme. "Wvndliain's Act of 1903 made the system of purchase general. The British taxpayer gave a lionus of £12,000,001) to finance the scheme, and provisioni was made to raise a loan of ,£100,000,000 to purchase the land from the landlord and divide it among the small holders It is calculated now that that loan will have to be extended to £100,000,000 to complete the task of making the Irish a nation of small holders. "Under the Irish Laborers* Collages Act of the present Government, :. -.eady ..t"1,2.)0,«U0 has been spent in providing r.0,000 Irish agricultural laborers with cottages. .. . ••'lhe evidence of a turning tide towards prosperity comes from all quarters. Everywhere you hear o new hopes, of new industries, here and there of the tide of emigration being stemmed and exiles returning from America or I Australia to make a living in Ireland. The land is on the up-grade. The people are turning their faces from 'the vain magic shadow-show ot politics and setting themselves to reap prosperity from a generous opportunity. Grievances are being forgotten in hopes.'