paration of these duties. One is
that separation of customs has been accepted everywhere as vitally
inconsistent with the Federal idea. No State of the American Union has
separate customs. Even Bavaria, a State of the German Empire which
possesses, as we have seen, a separate army, post office, and national
railways, has no separate customs. Such a plan could, therefore, hardly
fit in with Federalism, as at present realised in any part of the
world. The second objection would be the very grave offence given to
the free trade sentiment of Great Britain, and the very grave injury to
trade between Britain and Ireland, if we were to hand over to Ireland
the right of placing taxes on English goods. Under such circumstances
it would certainly be impossible to persuade the British public to
grant a bonus to Ireland in order to give her the power of taxing
British goods. That would clearly be too great a strain upon the
Christian sentiment even of John Bull.

Parnell, it is well known, felt a strong temptation to make a demand
for separate customs. But he always put it aside as impolitic, probably
on this very ground; and the rise of the Tariff Reform movement since
his death has certainly not weakened those considerations, because it
has led to a corresponding rise of free trade feeling among a large
part of the British public on this side of the Channel.

It is quite clear that the Government's compromise on customs and
excise, ingenious as it is, will be subject to very close and shrewd
criticism. But the first duty of Home Rulers, both in Great Britain and
Ireland, is to avoid the carefully-baited trap of a quarrel on points
of detail. That is the obvious game of the enemies of Home Rule. The
proper policy of every true Home Ruler is to preserve through all the
vicissitudes of those financial discussions a sane and steady
perspective, well knowing that, after all, finance is not really the
true heart of this problem.

THE MIGHTY HOPE

We must not reduce a great human problem to a squabble over
pocket-money. We must in this, too, as in the religious and political
sides of the question, have faith in the result of freedom. We must
believe, as we have every right to believe, that liberty will bring to
Ireland a new power over her resources, and a new skill in using
them--that her magnificent harbours will no longer be silent, or her
rivers empty; that her factories will hum once more with a new life and
industry; that t