HOME RULE BILL

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10627, 4 May 1912, Page 5

HOME RULE BILL

MR BALFOUR CRITICISES THE MEASURE

HESTBICTIONS IN THE BIT.L NECESSARY.

♦(Received lust night, 9.45 oVo-* '.

LONDON, May .1

Theßt. Hon. A. J. Balfour, ,<waking in tin? House of Commons on the Homo Hnlc Bill, said that restrictions •in the Bill, though necessary, "id not . jg't'e Irishmen an .opportunity .if developing their affairs on their o.vn lines. Dual control was written !ar;_e -throughout tho measure, and neither protecting die minority nor giving Irishmen tho advantage* they now derived in connection with the United Kingdom. The Bill would prevent public spirited men from entering tho Irish Parliament, and would result in • the return of inferiors and the loner•ing of the Assembly's status. Tho proposal to temporarily strengthen representation- at Wcstmin:?i<«," vdtiring the adjustment of the -fin nices was amazing. He challenged the Minister to cite a case where a unified C»iveniment had broken up to meet the -demands of self-government were an instable community resulted. Was there any precedent to tlie starling of •of a Federation on a basis of ine:.".ility, or where the claims of a homogeneous fraction were ignored ?. Was not the federal idea the creation or the general services, the abolition of fiscal divisions, and-a desiro for'rlosor Unity. Tlie Government had ' not Iteeded theso questions, and preferred ,to cut up the Kingdom, while Nationalists propably regarded partial independence as the precursor of comply independence. Sir Edward Grey dealt with the a '- .vantage of relieving the cong4stiori an the Commons, and in reply to. Mr Balfour's questions, said thatit would require prolonged historical research, and therefore he was not prepared to ■answer the questions. He concluded that Mr Balfour had said that the Transvaal was not a parallel case. The Transvaal, he said, was not mentioned svs a parallel, but to show that the prophet of evil-was not always right. He asked Mr Balfour' whether there i iwas a parallel to the monstrous over'concentration of business in. the House of Commons. . Tho present system proved unworkable, and a devolution was required, not in Ireland alone. He admitted that the present plans were not a pattern for a Federal system to 1)0 universally applied to the United Kingdom. He" d'd not believe that perfect similarity was necessary. The Bill would give finality in an importantsense, that the. Nationalists aecepiedas the fulfilment "of Home Rule. If •!- sister prevented the solution, some other must be found to free the House of Commons, and put the control of 'lrish'affairs" in Irish -hands. He believed the present animosity would -disappear when joint responsibility was established. '

• UNNECESSARY LOYALTY. FINAL SETTLEMENT IMPOSSIBLE. (Received Last Night, 10.45 o'clock.) LONDON ;\\lay 3. Sinufein sneakers at Dublin referred to tho Nationalist leader's extraordinary -and unnecessary professions of'lovaltv to the Empire. Homo Ruie. th'evsaid, would never bo a final set lenient, and even Mr, John Redmond could not fix tho boundary A the march of nations.