AMERICA AND IRELAND.
[To THE EDITOR or THE " SPECTATOR.") Sia,—The project of a Convention to frame a Constitution for Ireland is probably based upon the American plan of dealing with work of this character. By a remarkable coincidence, a Convention is about to meet, in the State of Massachusetts, of delegates who were elected on May 1st, 1917, " by the cities and towns of the Commonwealth," for the purpose of " revising, altering, or amending the Constitution of the Commonwealth "—i.e., of Massachusetts—and in a very short time the Convention will ba called together for this purpose. The population of Ireland is estimated by Whitaker (June 30th, 1916) at 4,337,00. That of Massachusetts is estimated by the New York World Almanac at 3,719,156 (July 1st, 1916). The existing Constitution of Masiachn- setts was similarly framed in 1780, and was tuMpted by the people on. Referendum vote. If the coining Convention in this State should frame a revised Constitution, or should adopt an alteration or amendment of the present Constitution, such revised Constitu- tion or alteration or amendment will be " submitted to the people " (as the Referendum vote is called in America), and if approved by them will become the fundamental law of the State; if it is rejected, the cld order will remain in force. The first step in this process of Constitution-making or changing was the passage of an Act of the Legiilature, by virtue of which the following question was put to the electorate at the State -Election in 1916: " Shall there -be a Convention to revise, alter, or amend the Constitution of the Commonwealth? " This question was answered in the iaffirmative by a total vote of 217,293 against 120,979. "The next step was the election of delegates already mentioned :May 1st, 1917). The date of the meeting of the Con- vention has not yet reached me, and the last step will be the " submission " of its work to the existing electorate. Perhaps these facts may be of use to those who seem to think that Colonel Roosevelt's plan of Home Rule as it exists in an American State is a good plan for Ireland. It only remains to add that Massachusetts is the oldest American Slate and the first to adopt a written Constitution by the method of the Referendum qr "Submission to the People," which is now in vogue in all the
forty-eight States.--I am, Sir, &c., S. R. H.
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