A Leap in the Dark: A Criticism of the Principles of Home Rule as Illustrated by the; Bill of 1893Dicey, A. V. (Albert Venn)
History
A Leap in the Dark: A Criticism of the Principles of Home Rule as Illustrated by the; Bill of 1893
Dicey, A. V. (Albert Venn)
Home rule -- Ireland
dictatorial authority, should he ever obtain it, will to himself
mean political ruin; to his English supporters it will seem
political pusillanimity; by his Irish confederates it will be
denounced as breach of faith and treachery. As certainly as night
follows day the passing of the Parliament Act will be succeeded by
the attempted passing of a Home Rule Act.
_Secondly_.--Mr. Redmond and the Home Rulers, or Separatists, of
whom he is the leader, will exact under any Home Rule Bill of say
1912 or 1913, at lowest, every advantage which was demanded by
Irish Nationalists in 1893.
Why, in the name of common sense, when Irish Nationalists are
absolute masters of the situation, should they demand lower payment
for their support than was offered to them twenty years ago when
the Home Rule majority was every day losing strength, when every
one knew that nothing but the show of moderation gave the slightest
chance of a Home Rule Bill escaping the veto of the House of Lords,
when every one, except perhaps Mr. Gladstone, foresaw that the next
General Election would give to Unionists a crushing majority? Every
advantage conceded in 1893 to Irish Separatists at the expense of
England will assuredly reappear in one form or another in the next
Home Rule Bill. Thus Ireland will, we may anticipate, under the
next Home Rule Bill send to the Parliament at Westminster at least
eighty members armed with the fullest legislative authority, so
that, to revive the language current eighteen years ago, Ireland
will govern and tax England whilst England will retain no right
either to govern or to tax Ireland.
_Thirdly_.--Every question to which in 1893 Gladstonians could
discover no answer satisfactory to Unionists or to the electorate
of Great Britain requires an answer in 1911 as much as in 1893. The
answer favourable to Home Rule has not as yet been discovered.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account