MR GLADSTONE’S HOME RULE PROPOSALS.

Temuka Leader, Issue 1505, 13 May 1886, Page 1

MR GLADSTONE’S HOME RULE PROPOSALS.

Mr Gladstone in introducing the Bill dealing with the Irish question! in the House of Commons, said the Bill proposed to introduce two orders, which would sit and deliberate together with the right of voting separately on any occasion on demand of either body, which would be able to interpose a veto upon any measure for a limited time, either until a dissolution or for three years. The orders would be constituted as follows ;—There were 28 Representative Peers, who could not continue to sit in the House of Lords after the representatives of the Irish people had left the Commons, They would have the option of sitting as a portion of the First Order in the Irish Parliament, with power of sitting for life. He proposed that with these twenty-eight Peers, now in the House of Lords, there should' sit seventy-five representatives elected by the Irish people. With regard to the power of electing, constituencies would be composed of occupiers of holdings of the value of £25 and upwards, and representatives would be elected forten years. The property qualification of these representatives would be £2OO annual value on capital value of £4OOO. Mr Gladstone continued, aud said that the 100 Irish members in the House of Commons should be members of the Irish Parliament, and while the first order of the Legislative body would consist of 108 members the second order would consist of 206. It was proposed to retain (he Viceroy, but he would not be a representative of a party or quit office without the consent of Government. -The Queen would be empowered to delegate him any prerogatives she now enjoyed or would enjoy. The religious disabilities now existing which make Roman Catholics ineligible for office would be removed. In future Judges would be appointed by Government and paid out of the Consolidated Fund, and be removeable only on a joint address of the two o rders. The constabulary would remain under their present term of office and authority. The proportion of Imperial burdens ■*h ! ch ho had to propose that Ireland should bear was one fourteenth. He then entered into an elabbrate calculation of the total income and expenditure of Ireland, in tne course of which he stated that the total charge to Ireland as an Imperial contribution would be £8,245,000 per annum. He estimated the total expenditure of Ireland, including payments to the Sinking Fund for the Irish portion of the National Debt, at £704,800 per annum. Against there would b*, a total income of £835,000, or a surplus to the good of £404,000 (I). In conclusion he said ; “ When I held office in the Colonial Office forty years ago the colonies were governed from Downing Street. The result was that the Home Government was always in conflict with those countries which had Legislative Assemblies. We had continual shocks with the colonies then, but all that has been removed. The British Parliament said ‘ We will pass good laws for the colonies,’ but the colonies said said ‘W* do net want your good laws, we want our own good laws,’ and Parliament at length admitted the reasonableness of'this principle. It has now come home to us from across the seas, and the House.has now to consider whether it is advisable to cast off Ireland. We now stand face to face with what is termed Irish nationality venting itself in a demand for general self-government in Irish, riot in Imperial, affarsi” Antagonistic Meeting at Guildhall. A great m iss meeting was held on the afternoon of ApoT2ni in t e Guildhal 1 , to protest ag dost the granting ..f a P«i dammit to Ireland. Th<- Lord Mayor presided. Sir'John Lnhtim-k, Liberal member of Parliament lor London University, moved the adoption of a resolution condemning Gladstone ior his iuieiiuon to hand Ireland over to Parnell, whwm 1.0 had previously denounced. A working man rose and offered an amendment to Sir John Lubbock’- resolution, hut was howled down, an i the resolution was odrried aard wild enthusiasm. At every mention of Parr,bU’s n me it was h’s«e'l, and the name of the Premier was treated in the the same way every time any speaker mentioned it, and there were cries of “Qlalstone is a AH the speeches ' wore' intensely patriot'c, and the speakers were loudly cheered. Mr George Potter, a Liberal, ventured to propose an amendment to John Lubbock’s resolution, to Hie effect that Mr Gladstone was. entitled “ to the confidence of the audience and of the British public,” but bis voice was drowned by groans and cries of “Go home” and "Turn him out.” The meeting closed with threo cheers for the Queen, after which tiiassemblage left the hall singing “ Rum BriUnni#.’