Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1911. HOME RULE.

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10175, 27 February 1911, Page 4

Wairarapa Age MORNING DAILY. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1911. HOME RULE.

From the present trend of legislation it would appear that, the price of keeping the Liberal Party in .power is to be the disintegration of the United. Kingdom. The Party in which Mr D. Lloyd-George occupies so 'prominent a, position does not really represent the people of England. And, if it were to-morrow to announce itself opposed to the Home Rule policy of Mr Redmond, * as it most assuredly would have done had it been returned with an independent majority, at the December, elections, it would immediately be put out of office. The position of British: polities to-day is about as unsatisfactory as it could possibly be. .The Prime Minister and Mr Lloyd-George are using the Irish Nationalists to secure the passage of the Parliament Bill on the explicit understanding that this will be followed by a Home Rule Bill for Ireland, and possibly another for Scotland and a third for Wales, The Party is afraid to take a referendum of the people on any one of these great issues, 'because it knows what the result would he. It seems certain, therefore, that the outcome of what may be termed an ''unholy alliance" will be the forcing of both the Single Chamber B. : il and the Home Rule Bill down ~he throats &f the English people.. What the outcome "of Home Rule, in the form presci'ibed by Mr Redmond, will be, only time can tell. Meanwhile, it is interesting to know that a great many Irishmen, as well as Englishmen, think that it would be a deplorable mistake. For example, a member of the Society of Friends, writing from County Down to the

London Times, says:—"The tragedy of it is that Ireland has for the past ten years been rapidly and obviously settling -down to work out a destiny better than the perpetual discord, agitation, and emigration <;f the past 100. years, or than* politi'-al change can ever give her. Men of good-will, Roman and Protestant alike, have been str'ving (studiously apart from politics) to make 3-or happy and self-reliant. The face of the country, has changed, not because of the work of the JSationali-jt party—far from it—but owing .to ihe efforts of hori-political Irishmen like Horace Plunkett and to the conciliatory legislation'"' which George Wyndham, William O'Brien, and others helped to carry through iu 1903, whereby half the land in Ireland, within the past few years,.barpassed peacefully from landlord to tenant. It 'was the "work of John Redmond, and the men who live by political agitation, to upset this legislation a year ago and stop -the. sales of land which, from their point of view, were making the people dangerously contented." This may be taken to represent *he views of tlhe. : minority of Irishmen It represents the opinion, however, of a great many, students of Irish affairs. Moreover, it is 'significant that Mr William O'Brien and Mr T. Healy, both of whom are sincere Catholics,.,are.opposed to the -.Home. Rule policy of Mr Redmond, v. Inch >s\ said to be kiept alive 'by ' and subscriptions 'from ■'■ Auieri.".i ■' Speaking "recently at Cork on Mr Redmond's .Bill, Mr "VV. 0 Hrn-i] said:— -"The All-for-Iretit.T j.oague proposed a different progr-irniiie, a. no.blei programme. They hue now reached a point at which ooth England and the English garrison in Ireland had surrendered , their yk l pretensions, their old privileges, and there was nothing wanting except true and patient friendliness andtoleration to complete the passing away both 0f... landlordism' and of alien misrule/", Let them have done with old religious prejudices, and , that old agrarian turmoil which'': was now passing away for -ever. ■ Let/ them allow their people to settle down in tranquility and security . o enjoy the fruits and-blessings whidi 1 they had earned hard after thirty years of bitter war, of suffering, and sacrifices, and devote, themselves to development. They .were not going to be frightened by threats from' preaching this doctrine of toleration.'" .;.".' /' .•.•.--.' ', '..'■; , .