The first of these principles would have been closely scrutinised in Committee, but probably in the main it could have held its ground. In the first place, it reduced considerably the Imperial contribution, consisting hitherto of the balance of revenue after payment of Irish charges. As Mr. Gladstone pointed out, the amount of military expenditure, on which the proportion of 2 to 28 was calculated, was considerably reduced, and Great Britain had to pay the difference, and so far the change was favourable to Ireland. In the second place, Irish expenditure was increasing, and under the existing system the balance of Irish revenue, constituting the Irish Imperial contribution, was, as the sequel lamentably proved, diminishing, and, a result not foreseen at the time, the wasteful and unsound finance which financial partnership entailed upon Ireland ere long extinguished it. The grant of autonomy was an effective check on this continued waste, otherwise the contribution of a fixed quota would soon have reduced the Irish Government to insolvency. The grant to Ireland of the _collected_ not the _true_ duties of Customs and Excise was open to grave objection. It presented her with the duties levied in Ireland on articles consumed in Great Britain, but if at any time the habits of the people, such as decrease in drinking, reduced this practical gift—estimated at £1,400,000, or if changes in law or practice transferred the payment of these duties from Ireland to Great Britain, the financial equilibrium of the scheme would be destroyed. This was a real danger as under the bonding system the British trader could, if he pleased, pay these duties in Great Britain. The decision that Ireland was not to be represented at Westminster led to a clumsy device for giving Ireland a voice in the Imperial Parliament when Irish interests were involved. This would be the resource if a war contribution had to be obtained. The scheme of 1886 can only, therefore, be regarded as a draft to be tested and modified in discussion and to form the basis of a revised and amended scheme. THE BILL OF 1893 Mr. Gladstone introduced the second Home Rule Bill in February, 1893. In the discussion he pointed out how incredibly wasteful the method of governing Ireland was; the Irish Civil Government grants, which had averaged from 1833 to 1837 £762,000, had risen between 1888 and 1892 to £4,042,000, and the cost of local government in Ireland was twice as much per head as the like cost in England.