od faith. To the Irish
Parliament the authors of the new constitution in effect say: 'You may
raise no soldiers, you may not yourselves summon volunteers for the
defence of your country, you shall not impose customs on foreign goods,
and are therefore forbidden to follow a policy of protection approved of
by every civilised State except England; you shall neither establish nor
endow a church, you shall not by providing salaries for your priesthood
at once lighten the burdens of the flock, and improve the position of
the pastor; these things, not to speak of many others, you are forbidden
to do, though there are many wise statesmen who deem that the courses of
action from which you are debarred would conduce to the dignity and the
prosperity of Ireland; but there is one thing which you may do, you may
sanction breach of faith, you may encourage dishonesty, you may enjoin
fraud, you may continue to teach the worst lesson which the vacillation
of English government has as yet taught the Irish people, you may drive
home the conviction that no man need keep a covenant when the keeping
thereof is to his own damage.' This is the message of political morality
which the last true Parliament of the United Kingdom hands over to the
first new Parliament of Ireland.

II. _Their Enforcement._ The nature of the Restrictions imposed upon
the Parliament, and indirectly upon the Government of Ireland, is of far
less importance than are the means provided for their enforcement. A law
which is not enforceable is a nullity; it has in strictness no
existence.

The methods provided by the Home Rule Bill for keeping the Irish
Parliament within its proper sphere of legislative activity are two in
number--the veto of the Lord Lieutenant, and the action of the Courts.

_The Veto._ This is little more than an empty sham, for it must in
general be exercised on the advice of the Irish Cabinet; in other words
it will never be exercised at all.[73] Were the matter not so serious
there would be something highly amusing in the conduct of
constitution-makers who, intending to provide against unconstitutional
legislation on the part of the Irish Parliament, provide that the Irish
Cabinet, who are practically appointed by the Irish Parliament, and who
direct its legislation, shall have power to veto Bills passed by the
Irish Parliament presumably on the advice of the Irish Cabinet.

The English Ministry no doubt may, if they see fit, instruct the Lord