In the House of Lords the Address was moved and
seconded by Lords Airedale and Nunburnholme. We wish we had space to deal at length with Lord Lansdowne's admirable speech, and will only say here that it showed all those high qualities of Parliamentary statesmanship which the country associates with his name. Nothing could have been more dignified, or at the same time more moderate and sensible, than the way in which he dealt with points so con- troversial as old-age pensions, the state of Ireland, and the House of Lords. It was a model of fair yet strong and serious Opposition oratory. Lord Ripon in his speech on behalf of the Government did his best to defend Mr. Birrell. He had very little belief in coercive legislation, and held with Mr. Bright that "force is no remedy." The Government had reason for thinking that they could find a remedy of another kind in the fact that the Congested Districts Board in their Report for 1895 said that they could not deal with the questions submitted for their administration unless they had the power of compulsory land purchase in certain districts. They intended to act upon that advice if they could obtain the consent of Parliament.
Previous page
