On Friday week, the House of Commons, after discussing Mr.
Courtney's proposal that the Members of the Irish Cabinet should be able to attend and speak in both Houses,. considered by us at length elsewhere, entered upon Lord Wolmer's new clause appointing Boundary Commissioners to- divide the whole of Ireland into single-Member constituencies. This scheme drew from Mr. Gladstone a proposal that the matter of boundaries should be settled by means of "friendly communications," which he promised should not be afterwards used against the Unionists, or in any way taken as meaning that their hostility to the Bill had abated. Mr. Balfour and Mr. Courtney, however, did not seem very eager to adopt the plan suggested, and, after some discussion, the matter dropped, nominally on the ground that the greater part of Lord Wolmer's amendment was out of order. The matter may possibly be heard of again, but it is not felt very probable that anything definite will come of it. Later, a proposal, made also by Lord Wolmer, that the Lord-Lieutenant should have power to refer Irish Acts of doubtful validity straight to- the Privy Council, was negatived by 45 (173 to 128).
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