During Mr. John Redmond's speech, Mr. Gladstone was not present,
and on resuming the debate on Tuesday, he virtually ignored it, while he replied with some elaboration, reading from written memoranda, to Mr. Justin McCarthy's. Of course he gave large and vague promises as to the character of the Home-rule measure, indicating, however, that the supremacy of the Imperial Parliament would be asserted only as it is asserted in relation to the legislation of the self- governing colonies. He hoped that the evicted tenants would be restored voluntarily by the Irish landlords during the long vacation, and that there might be no necessity for legislation ; but if that were not so, he was not prepared to say that legislation would not be needful. He declined to deal with the case of the political prisoners till he himself was officially responsible for the Government, but he remarked that at fixed periods all long sentences are reconsidered,—a remark which hardly answers the demand, since for the next two years at least the period referred to will not have arrived. On the general topics of the debate, Mr. Gladstone (who was in his best form) did not say anything of importance, except in the solemnity of his warnings to the House of Lords, to whom he predicted that their rejection of any Bill passed in the House of Commons might lead to very serious results. For the rest, he declared that his official life was bound up almost entirely with the Irish Question, and that he remained in active political service to settle that question, and for hardly any other purpose. But he announced his intention to intro- duce other important measures for Great Britain simul- taneously with Irish Home-rule. In one sentence, he appears to us to have indicated a leaning to Scotch and Welsh, as well as Irish, Home-rule, but he carefully guarded himself against the supposition that he had selected the federal or any other solution of the constitutional difficulty. His former acknowledgment that Irish Members are to be retained in the Imperial Legislature, was of course reiterated. His peroration declared that it was "moral force," and not material force, which had given Home-rule the victory.
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