IRISH FINANCE.
Belfast, 3d May 1858.
Sin—Ireland owes a debt of gratitude to Mr. Disraeli for completing the commercial union of the two islands, by the assimilation of the spirit-da- ties. In many respects, however, the union is still incomplete. When we are inclined to express surprise and disappointment at the im- perfect success of the policy of the Irish Union, we ought to remember for how short a time, compared with the life of a nation, that policy has been in operation. Ireland was a kingdom only in name previous to 1782, but a colony in reality, and was treated with less liberality than any colony is now : the acts of the Parliament of Ireland were subject to the approbation of that of Britain, and Irish commerce was subject to the restraints of the protective Navigation-law of Britain. The revolution of 1782, (as it de- serves to be called,) made Ireland an independent kingdom, as Norway is now, and opened the colonial trade to Irish enterprise ; but Britain and Ire- land remained commercially foreign countries to each other. The union of 1800 was a union of the Parliaments and general or Imperial administra- tion only; but Ireland remained commercially and financially distinct, with distinct laws, a distinct administration, a distinct exchequer, and a distinct and most anomalous currency. By acts passed, I believe, in 1822 and 1828, the exchequers were united, the currencies assimilated, and a commercial union of the kingdoms effected, except in the one article of spirits ; and now Mr. Disraeli has completed the commercial union.
Much, however, remains to be done. The financial union will not be com- plete until the taxation is assimilated : and the expiration of the Income-tax will perhaps be a good time for doing so, if that opportunity is taken of ex- tending the assessed taxes to Ireland. The Viceroyalty is a memorial of the time when Ireland was a dependency, and ought to be abolished, either by placing Ireland under the Home Secretary, or, what would probably be better, appointing three Secretaries of State, for the three kingdoms. The worse than useless Irish Education Board ought to be swept away, and edu- cation in Ireland put under the Minister of Education. Persons called to the bar in Ireland ought to be permitted to practise and to be eligible to judgeships in England, and vice velvet. And whenever we revise our sta- tutes, the opportunity ought to be taken of giving England and Ireland a common code of laws. There is no difficulty in doing this, for Ireland, un- like Scotland, has the same common law as England : the differences are partly due to the unrepealed acts of the Irish Parliament, and partly to the very objectionable practice of the Imperial Parliament of making different laws for England and Ireland, respecting the same subject.
We are apt to pride ourselves on not being logical, and on preferring prac- tice to theory : but we shall generally find, some time or other, that theore- tical anomalies are practical disadvantages.
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