THE IRISH COUNTY ELECTIONS.
WE are neither surprised nor annoyed at the result of the Irish county elections. It was nearly inevit- able that in the Celtic provinces they should end as they have ended,—that is, in a sweeping victory for the popular party, broken only by the admission of:a few grandees whose pedigrees, or whose wealth, or whose personal qualities touch the imagination, which is the ruling quality of Irishmen. The Celts of Ireland are dominated now, as they always have been; by two dislikes, one of them' being for Great Britain, who, though she has ceased to oppress, still irritates their. amour propre by her riches, her success, and her trick of attributing that success to the inherently superior nature of her people. The English never laugh at their subjects as the French do at Alsatians and Bretons, but we do not know that their restrained smile is not more..irritating. There is such a wealth of assumption in it. The other, and perhaps keener, dislike is for the " garrison " which represents Britain in Ireland, and which to all the odium that accrues of necessity to a ruling caste has accidentally added all the odium which everywhere, except in England, clings to those who claim the right of rural eviction,—that is, as.cultivators think, of reducing them to despair. That is as strong in France, in Southern Italy, or in Bengal as it is in Ireland,— is, in fact, in most countries inherent in the conditions of life. The Celtic Irish left to themselves would break the British sceptre, and expropriate, the land for their own relief and advantage, and it was to be expected that, having the chance, they would entrust all the power conceded to them to men .who are anti-British and not landlords. They send Nationalists pledged to the interests of tenants into Parliament, and there was no reason what- ever to believe that they would refrain from sending them into 'the County Councils. The superior capacity for affairs attributed in London to their opponents did not influence them one jot, for they do not believe in the alleged superior capacity. It would have made no difference if they had believed in it, but they did not. The people of Britain, armoured in their strength and their history, cannot believe that the natives of India, the natives of Ireland, and the natives of France regard them as a most formidable, most fortunate, but singularly unintelligent race, whose claim to be the most capable of mankind is the outcome of a rather simple, and sometimes kindly, but most irritating self-con- ceit. The Irish think they can manage their own affairs much better than the English garrison can manage them, and regard the assumption that they cannot as an affront to be avenged. Add the inner conviction of every Irishman that his people cannot ruin themselves, for that England will always shield them from bankruptcy, and we may understand that the Unionists never had much chance of retaining county government.
As we have said, we feel as Unionists no annoyance at this result. In the first place, it impresses on the grant of local self-government that stamp of sincerity which has sometimes been wanting in the dealings of Parliament with Ireland. The wildest critic cannot say in this instance that the English have taken back with one hand what they grant with the other, that their concessions are tricks, that what- ever they do or say they intend a caste to rule in Ireland. The Unionists were bound by their professions to grant to Irishmen as much self-government in local affairs as Englishmen or Scotchmen enjoy, they have given it without reserve, and the Irish have accepted it as a gift to be used at their discretion and not ours. Neither a grateful use of the gift, nor a wise use, nor a friendly use was among the con- ditions of the bargain, nor has there been any breach of any contract, express or implied. The Irish were promised free- dom in local affairs as full as a Parliament of their own could have given them, the promise was fulfilled, and they have availed themselves of their freedom to express their real, almost their instinctive, opinion. We regret that opinion keenly, for we believe the two races to be bound together by a tie which the will of both could not break, but we had much rather it were openly expressed than secretly entertained. Rage is better than rancour ; and there is a quality in liberty which softens the heart,—the quality which has made of the English at home the most tolerant of mankind. As to any use of the new freedom for the purpose of furthering Home- rule, we cannot see that it is possible, and should rather suspect to see the dreaminess of that dream more accurately perceived. To govern a parish does not diminish your sense of the difficulty of governing a country. As regards what may be called the international politics of the elections, therefore, we are not annoyed ; and as regards domestic politics, we are by no means certain that there is =eh ground for apprehension. The .Connty Councils will doubt- less appoint popular candidates -to all offices; will multiply offices, if they can, to.excess, the attainment of office gratifying at once the Irishman's wish for personal dignity and- hts longing for security -of income ; but there is no proof thit the work will be badly done, great numbers of those-elected being men of business ; the Councillors, cannot'tag unequally ; and if they waste the - taxes, the consequences must in the end recoil upon themselves. No doubt they will make blunders, and possibly do reckless things, but they will gain experience by doing them, like the rest of mankind. Englishmen are unfair to Irishmen in this respect, and forget how new their freedom -is, how com- pletely those who complain cut off those who are complained of from learning wisdom by the actual administration of affairs. The Celts have been shut off from power for ages, they are therefore young in its exercise, and among the young men in the gravest races there will be a proportion of spendthrifts, gasheads—we want that new word ully—and men -whose whole interest is in personal enjoyment. Councils or Corporations are only so many individuals in a room. Fortunately, they are responsible to the taxpayers, and although we admit that a democracy even of taxpayers has a strange tendency to extravagance, it is less when the taxes are direct, and the amounts within the grasp of popular comprehension.
The one point on which we fear the new Councils is that they may have a deficient sense of responsibility, may spend without thinking of the future, and may, above all, borrow. An Irishman in difficulties will sometimes retrench, but if he wants to conceal the necessity for retrenchment he borrows till credit fails. This is the grand danger, and we cannot but believe that it can be removed in part by the British people. If they will only insist that an Irish County Council, being entirely independent and composed wholly of persons chosen by the electors, must sink or swim according to its own powers of flotation, all will, ultimately go well The electors here must resolutely declare that no British guarantee shall, under any circumstances whatever, be iven for an Irish county loan. If the Councillors like to face ruin, let them face it. If they choose to destroy their own credit by repudiation, let them destroy it. If they choose to evade responsibility by resigning en masse, let them be superseded by Commis- sioners, and the daily work go on. This is what English Councils have to do, and the superior wealth of England is no reason why Irish Councils should be allowed to dip their hands into the British Treasury. They can be economical if they like, and, as they have formally elected to do without British help, they are bound to show not only that they can, as they fully believe, mawe their own local affairs, but that they can also provide fully for their own local neces- sities. They cannot have the sweets of independence and the luxurious ease of dependence both together. In choosing the former, they have, it may be, chosen the nobler course ; but then to make it a noble one they must adhere to it when the skies lour as well as when the sun is bright. It is for British electors to see to this with energy, for the British Government, whichever party may be in power, is always seeking votes, and always ready to evade difficulties by pecuniary concessions. One Minister turned out of his seat for acceding to an Irish local loan will strengthen the hands of all his fellows, and strengthen, too, the sense of respon- sibility. For the rest, we can only hope that the dis- inherited classes " of Ireland, having taken the reins of power, will drive the vehicle cautiously and on the right road. That will secure the Union, for men who can do that will have the sense to see that it is not British arrogance, but Nature, history, and the facts, which compel Great Britain and Ireland to remain united.
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