On Thursday, the chief point debated in Committee was the
power of the Irish Government to organise a police force other than a local police force. Mr. Gladstone declared that he had no sort of desire to give the Irish Government the power to raise an army under an alias, but protested that the Irish Government must have "a central something," as Mr. Goschen phrased it, which could be employed on emergency,—.a mobile force, in fact, to put down Belfast. Mr. Chamberlain showed extraordinary ability in manceuvring Mr. Gladstone into a corner, and in forcing him at last to agree to a limitation thus expressed by Mr. Balfour : —" He understood," he said, "that the Government pledged themselves to bring in words which would abso- lutely exclude from the powers of the new Irish Legisla- ture the right to create any force analogous to the Royal Irish Constabulary." The Irish sat mute as usual. They, no doubt, dislike the limitation, but feel that with a solid block of independent votes to sell in the great political auction at Westminster, they will be able to buy back all they are losing in Committee.
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