Notes

New Zealand Tablet, 6 April 1911, Page 626

Notes

The New Defence Regulations We have been asked to remind our readers that all British subjects who have completed fourteen years of age and have not yet attained twenty-one full years of. age on March 1, 1911, are liable to serve in the Territorial Forces, and must register, provided that they have been resident in New Zealand for the last six months. The Government have—very reasonably and rightlygranted permission to church organisations and societies to form companies of their own; and we need hardly impress upon Catholic parents everywhere the supreme importance of seeing to it that their boys are enrolled in their own proper Catholic companies. More ' Howlers ' The University Correspondent offered a prize of one guinea for the best collection of twelve amusing schoolboy mistakes, and it has received a very large number of entries. We select the following as being at least something new in the 'howler' line: Calvin was a noted scientist and peer who died lately. Magna Carta said that the King had no right to bring soldiers into a lady's house and tell her to mind them. Henry VIIT. married Katharine, and she said it was Wolsey's fault. Queen Elizabeth rode a white horse from Kenilworth through Coventry with nothing on, and Raleigh offered her his cloak. When England was placed under an Interdict the Pope stopped all births, marriages, and deaths for a year. Liberty of conscience means doing wrong and not worrying about it afterwards. Venus was the goddess of beauty. She is sometimes called the Morning Star of the Reformation.

The New Home Rule Bill The following jottings, dealing with references to Home Rule made in the House of Commons during the debate on the Address-in-Reply on February 15, are gathered from various Home files: Mr. Winston Churchill told the House that 'every British Colony would light bonfires on receiving the news of the passing of a Home Rule Bill.' Mr. Birrell announced on behalf of the Government that a new Home Rule Bill will be introduced ' as soon as possible after the Veto Bill passes.' The Prime Minister, stated his definition of Home Rule in these terms:—'The creating in Ireland of an Irish Parliament, with an Irish Executive responsible to that Parliament to deal with purely Irish affairs, subject always to the indefeasible supremacy of the Imperial Parliament.' The Case for Home Rule t 'No one who has sat in this House,' said Mr. Asquith, can fail to feel what I feel, having sat here for twentyfive years, with increasing energy of conviction every year that we are totally incapable of giving either the time or the knowledge to the investigation and administration of these matters, which may seem petty to us but which to irishmen living on the spot are of vital importance. I hear the word "Scotland." I quite agree. I have been a Scotch member ever since I have been in the House, and Scotland suffers also from this congestion of business, from this limitation of time, and of human power in a Parliament which represents three kingdoms as well as Wales. A\ales is a very conspicuous illustration of the incapacity demonstrated by experience of this Parliament—a gigantic House—charged with the whole affairs of the Empire to give the requisite time, attention, and knowledge to local affairs of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom I have always said, and I repeat: it now, that the case of Ireland • is one paramount in urgency and importance, and 1 believe that the policy which I presented to the country in behalf of my friends and supporters at the last general election is the only one by which we can arrive at a satisfactory solution of this standing problem The Premier concluded by saying: 'We look forward to see French and English, Boer and Briton, Celt and Saxon, each bringing his own tributary, mingling their confluent waters in the stream of Imperial unity—one throne one Empire, one People, diverse in origin and in race, but all alike charged and endowed in the fullest measure with the liberty and responsibility of self-govern-ment m their own local affairs. That, surely, is the goal of a really true Imperialist, and it is to that goal that our steps are set.' • The Irish Leader's Pronouncement Mr. Redmond, the Irish leader, accepted without qualification the Prime Minister's definition of Home. Rule. He said that what his party meant by Rome Rule was an Irish Parliament, with an executive responsible to it The policy declared by Mr. Asquith was, he believed, a policy that would he a final settlement. Having laid stress on the argument that Great Britain alone had returned a majority of 60 for Home Rule, he repudiated the charge that he was a separatist; he was a Home Ruler because he desired to see peace and amity between the two nations. His party admitted Imperial supremacy and invited the House to make it effective. As to intolerance he asserted with emphasis that no man who knew history could bring a charge of intolerance against the mass of the Irish people, and he would not accept a solution of the problem which they had to solve if under it oppression or injustice could be perpetrated. What,' he asked, 'was I arnell s answer? Whilst he denied, as I do, indignantly, the possibility of such a thing, he said: 'lf it happens then your Imperial supremacy would be effective. 1 understand the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament to be this—that it can intervene in the event of the powers which are conferred being abused We, Nationalists, can accept this Bill under an honorable understanding not to abuse these powers. We pledge ourselves in this respect for the people of Ireland not to abuse these powers, but to devote our energies and influence to prevent them being abused; but the Imperial Parliament will have at its command the powers which it reserves to itself, and it will be ready to intervene in the case of every crave abuse of that kind.' * 'I say to those few men who are not content to rest in confidence on the history pi the Irish people, and on their justice, but who want some assurance, that nothing of this kind could happen. I point to the continued supremacy of the Imperial Parliament, and I say that the oppression of Protestants is just one of those things which the supremacy of this Parliament would be used, and should be used, to put down.'