England's Case Against Home RuleDicey, A. V. (Albert Venn)
History
England's Case Against Home Rule
Dicey, A. V. (Albert Venn)
Home rule -- Ireland
The Lord-Lieutenant can, after the manner of a Colonial Governor, refuse
the Royal assent to any bill passed by the Irish House of
Parliament.[60] It would rather appear (though this is by no means
certain) that a Bill passed by the Irish Parliament might, even though
the Lord-Lieutenant assented thereto, be like the Bill of a Colonial
legislature, disallowed by the Crown, or in effect by the English
Ministry.[61]
The Judicial Committee of the English Privy Council, with the addition
of certain members, who must be, or have been, Irish Judges, exercises
under the Gladstonian Constitution a very peculiar authority in respect
of Irish legislation. It becomes both an administrative and a judicial
body.
As an administrative body it can give a decision as to the
constitutional validity of any Bill brought before or Act passed by, the
Irish Parliament. In its judicial character it is a court of final
appeal, with exclusive power to pronounce a decision upon the validity
of an Act of the Irish Parliament whenever the validity thereof comes in
question in the course of an action.[62] The decisions of the Privy
Council are final; their twofold character as opinions and judgments
deserve special attention. The result is that the Judicial Committee of
the English Privy Council can always in one way or another pronounce
void the proposed or actual legislation of the Irish Parliament if it is
in the judgment of the Privy Council unconstitutional.
Ireland in return for the advantages gained by her under the Gladstonian
Constitution gives up the representation which she now has in each of
the two Houses of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. No Irish
representative, either Peer or Commoner, sits under that Constitution at
Westminster.[63] The present Parliament of the United Kingdom under
whatever name it be described, and whatever be its powers, becomes
therefore on the withdrawal of the Irish representatives a British
Parliament, and is hereinafter termed by me, for the sake of
distinction, the British Parliament. Ireland also contributes annually
to the Consolidated Fund of the United Kingdom a sum of over four
millions. The Irish customs and excise are made the security for the
payment of this contribution; they are, if I understand the Government
of Ireland Bill rightly, to be collected by British officials and paid
into the British Treasury, but the details of the financial arrangements
intended to exist under the Gladstonian Constitution are not within the
scope of this work.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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