At the end of last week the evidence given before
the Committee on Irish Finance, presided over by Sir Henry Primrose, was issued in a Blue-book. The Committee, it will be remembered, was appointed in April 1911 to report upon the financial relations between Great Britain and Ireland, in order to aid the Government in drafting the Home Rule Bill. The Committee reported to the Government privately in October 1911, and the Government rejected all their more important recommendations, such as those in favour of complete fiscal autonomy and the exclusion of Irish members from West- minster. In April 1912 the Government published the Report, but withheld the evidence, on the ground that the consent of the witnesses had not been obtained. The Blue-book now published contains all the evidence except that of Sir Henry Robinson, the Vice-President of the Irish Local Government Board. We can take only three points from the evidence. Mr. G. F. Howe stated that only a small percentage of Irish land would pay more revenue if the valuation were increased. Seventy- eight per cent. of the land belongs to persons who do not pay income-tax. Sir James Dougherty explained why the White Paper Treasury return could not be regarded as giving Irish expenditure accurately. Lord MacDonnell also con- demned the White Paper return, and said that in his experience Ulster feared the want of business capacity in the West of Ireland much more than religious persecution.
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