On Wednesday, Mr. Chamberlain said "a few words with reference
to the ferocious speech" of the Prime Minister. His. remarks were in excellent taste, and no doubt completely turned the tables on Mr. Gladstone ; but we hardly think that it was worth his while to notice an attack evidently- meant to cover a total absence of argument. The most note- worthy speech of the afternoon was Sir John Lubbock's. He objected to the unjust proposal "that, while Ireland was to pay one-third of her revenue for common purposes and keep two-thirds for herself, England was to pay more than two- thirds for joint expenses and keep less than one-third for herself. Moreover, even as regards this small proportion, Englishmen were not to spend it as they liked, but Irishmen were to have eighty votes in deciding what Englishmen should do with the small amount of their money graciously left to them for their own purposes." It was no doubt true that there were poor districts in Ireland ; but so there were in England.. Take the tests afforded by the consumption of tea and tobacco.. The average consumption per head of both was as high in Ireland as in the United Kingdom as a whole. "Now, if the working classes in Ireland could afford to smoke as much tobacco and drink as much tea as our working classes, he did not see why our working classes should be called on to pay so much more heavily towards the joint expenses of the King- dom." Again, " Ireland's taxation was the same as ours, except that we paid some taxes from which she was exempt, such as the land-tax, the dog-tax, and-the assessed taxes. The Irish farmer paid a lower rate of Income-tax than the English farmer." The divisions taken on Wednesday were on motions of a technical character.
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