eland," i. 462.]

THE IRISH GOVERNMENT BILL AND THE IRISH LAND BILL

BY LORD THRING

A mere enumeration or analysis of the contents of the Irish Government
Bill, 1886, and the Land (Ireland) Bill, 1886, would convey scarcely any
intelligible idea to the mind of an ordinary reader. It is, therefore,
proposed in the following pages, before entering on the details of each
Bill, to give a summary of the reasons which led to its introduction,
and of the principles on which it is founded. To begin with the Irish
Government Bill--

The object of the Irish Government Bill is to confer on the Irish people
the largest measure of self-government consistent with the absolute
supremacy of the Crown and Imperial Parliament and the entire unity of
the Empire. To carry into effect this object it was essential to create
a separate though subordinate legislature; thus occasion was given to
opponents to apply the name of Separatists to the supporters of the
Bill--a term true in so far only as it denoted the intention to create a
separate legislature, but false and calumnious when used in the sense in
which it was intended to be understood--of imputing to the promoters of
the Bill the intention to disunite or in any way to disintegrate the
Empire. Indeed, the very object of the measure was, by relaxing a little
the legal bonds of union, to draw closer the actual ties between England
and Ireland, in fact, to do as we have done in our Colonies, by
decentralizing the subordinate functions of government to strengthen the
central supremacy of natural affection and Imperial unity. The example
of the effects of giving complete self-government to our Colonies would
seem not unfavourable to trying the same experiment in Ireland. Some
forty years ago, Canada, New Zealand, and the various colonies of
Australia were discontented and uneasy at the control exercised by the
Government of England over their local affairs. What did England do? She
gave to each of those communities the fullest power of local government
consistent with the unity of the Empire. The result was that the real
union was established in the same degree as the apparent tie of control
over local affairs was loosened. Are there any reasons to suppose that
the condition of Ireland is such as to render the example of the
Colonies applicable? Let us look a little at the past history of that
country. Up to 1760 Ireland was governed practically as a conquered
country. The resul