22 MAY 1886, Page 2

Much the ablest speech of the week on the side

of the Govern- ment was that delivered on Monday night by Mr. Bryce. It was a speech not only of large knowledge, but of great skill, and yet not at all wanting in candour. It opened with an announcement of the willingness of the Government to go to the constituencies, which elicited immense enthusiasm from the Home-rulers, and then went on to reply to Sir Henry James. Mr. Bryce maintained that the Imperial Parliament could not divest itself of the strictly legal right to repeal any Irish statute passed in the Dublin Assembly ; but he asserted that if this Bill passed, Parliament would have bound itself by contract which it would be morally disgraceful to break, not to use that right except in the way appointed,—namely, after resnmmoning the Irish Members, and rearguing the whole case with them,—so long as the Dublin Parliament observed honestly the terms of the " treaty " between the two nations. If, however, the Irish Parliament did not observe fairly their side of the contract, it would, he maintained, be morally justifiable, as well as strictly legal, for Parliament to veto what the Irish Parlia- ment might do, and this without resummoning the Irish Members.