e whole of the Irish railways and have three days a week
left for fishing. Nowadays, I suppose, the Irish lines are not laid in
such pleasant places. At any rate the best part of two days has been
occupied in deciding whether in the new scheme for the government of
Ireland they should be administered by the Central Council or the two
Parliaments, and under the compromise eventually reached they will be
more or less subject to all three authorities.

The debate was chiefly remarkable for the evidence it provided that
the Ulstermen are developing into the strongest of Home Rulers--almost
Sinn Feiners, according to one of their critics--where their own
province is concerned.

_Tuesday, June 15th._--Mr. CHURCHILL had again to withstand attacks
upon his Army uniform proposals, this time on the ground that the
reversion to scarlet and pipeclay would entail extra labour and
expense upon the private soldier. His confidence that Mr. Atkins would
not grudge the short time spent on cleaning his full dress, so closely
bound up with regimental traditions, was endorsed by Mr. BILLING, who
said, "The time occupied is about twenty minutes, and I speak from
experience."

[Illustration: THE BUTTON EXPERT.

"ABOUT TWENTY MINUTES, AND I SPEAK FROM EXPERIENCE."--_Mr BILLING._]

A statement that the issue of bagpipes to certain Irish regiments
was under consideration brought protests from Scottish Members, who
evidently thought that their own national warriors should have a
monopoly of this form of frightfulness. But Mr. CHURCHILL pointed
out that the Irish Guards were already provided with bagpipes, and
Lt.-Commander KENWORTHY horrified the Scots by declaring that the
pipes were not an indigenous product of their country, but had been
imported from Ireland many centuries ago.

[Illustration: MR. ASQUITH IS DEEPLY STIRRED.]

Further progress was made with the Government of Ireland Bill. A
proposal to strengthen the representation of the minority in the
Southern Parliament was sympathetically received by Mr. LONG, who
thought, however, that the Government had a better method. As that
consists in a proposal to exact the oath of allegiance from every
candidate for election and to give the KING in Council power to
dissolve any Parliament in which more than half the members have
not taken the oath, it is sufficiently drastic. Having regard to
the present disposition of the Sinn Feiners there seems to be mighty
little prospect of a Parlia