Mr. W. H. Smith, the First Lord of the Treasury,
speaking at Salford on Tuesday, made a good point by remarking on Mr. Gla.dstone's condition for a successful Home-rule measure, that it must be a final measure. How many final measures, he asked, had we had? The destruction of the upas-tree in 1869-70 was to have been absolutely final. But now we had got a great deal beyond anything ever contem- plated in 1869-70, and still the great desideratum is to make some concession that shall be absolutely final. Mr. W. H. Smith is quite right. We need not wonder that it is difficult, since the more we concede, the more the Irish agitators demand. If Ireland were made absolutely independent, in a year or two the Irish Home-rulers would soon be complaining that they did not make and enforce laws for Great Britain, as well as for Ireland. And really there would be something in the claim. They exercise so magical an influence over some English statesmen, that there would be no reason why it should stop short of bringing Great Britain into complete subjection to Ireland.
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