The "Protection of Life and Property in Certain Parts of
Ire- land Bill" went into and through committee yesterday week, 'before the Whitsun vacation, giving rise to a remarkably confi- -dent speech of the Prime Minister's in answer to Sir John Gray, -and to Mr. Martin's speeches delivered on previous evenings. Sir -John Gray had reproached the House with the indifference it was -showing to Ireland, in allowing so grave a Bill to be discussed with -so thin an attendance that but for a rush of Government mem- bers, the House would have been counted out. Mr. Gladstone -replied that this was an ungenerous charge against a House which had devoted so large a part of two sessions to the =affairs of Ireland as to throw all English and Scotch legislation seriously into arrears, and which now only showed indifference to -the pending discussion because the argument had been completely -exhausted in previous debates, and action, not further discussion, was wanted. He denied that this Parliament was in any sense a Parliament hostile to Ireland, and declared that Mr. J. Martin, the Member for Meath, had "come amongst us with certain ate- Teotyped opinions which I will venture to call antiquated, for they are the inheritance of a former people, they are the growth of cir- oumstances that have passed away. But I cannot wonder and -cannot complain if he be so far the servant of the evil traditions of his country, and of the evil traditions of our country,—forI must admit that it is our rather than his countrymen who are responsible -for the mischiefs that have come down to us,—that he fails to -exhibit on his first coming among us that flexibility of mind which would enable him to appreciate the full force of the efforts, and I may say of the sacrifices, the British Parliament has made -for the sake of carrying the spirit of peace into Ireland, and .giving strength and unity to the Empire. I tell the honourable Member for Meath that we are not afraid to compete with him for the future confidence of Ireland." These are memorable words. From all we can hear of the state of Ireland, they were not spoken with- -out book. The first election by Ballot will show the confidence of the Roman Catholic people in the Government which passed the Disestablishment Act, and, still more remarkably, of the Irish farmer in the Government which secured to Irish agriculture its -customary profits and its moral independence.
Previous page
