GREAT BRITAIN AND li:MLANI>. 



Chancellor of the Exchequer denounced the t 



.\ing communities ou some doctrine ,.f their 

 taxable capacit i- tin- present 



plan of U\ ' "u^-h I he Opposition 



generally Toted with t) aliita, Mr. 



!ilakr' 'motion .- l.-t by a maiority of HIT t" 

 ; Mr. Ki. that the 



i farmers by the agricultural 

 rat in? net of 1H06 operated a* a UMIUM in their 

 against Ireland, an. I that perfect equalit? 

 should be gran- M.cha.-l flicks-Beach and 



Mr. Goschcn. in oooUndinf against tin- 

 a Undone I the ground .-f j-erfed unity an.l equality 

 throughout the 1'nited Kingdom, and put forward 

 a plea that the Natiinali*! hailed as involving Sepft- 

 ratit prin.-ipl.-v niedlhat In-land w:, 



n agricultural depression, although the 



i Commission was at the time reducing r--nis 



mi that tt-ry ground, nml they insist. ,1 ..n tin- plan 



The claim >f Ireland for equal 



relief, although it was support.-.! by tin- entire body 

 ..f Iri-h r nionist as well as Nationalist". 



was : ..ajority of 210 t.. TJ7. A few 



days later Mr. Balf.mr i. v disclosed nn 



entinly new Iri-h policy. '1 he (iovernment had 

 till thru limited the- proposals ..f Iri-h legislation 

 for the year to the agricultural-department bill, a 

 poor-law* bill, and n measure to reduce the numlier 

 of Irish judge*. The Iri-h members had exhibited 

 no pronounced satisfaction over the promised agri- 

 cultural department, which was not sufficiently 

 popular in its basts to suit some, while others com- 

 plained of the meagernessof the funds to ! j 

 at its disposal. It was to be a department with a 

 parlia to look after Irish agriculture 



and other inilu-trie-. and at the same time an in- 

 dependent board with a fixed separate income to 

 institute experiments in the development of Iri-h 

 resources. The proposal to reduce the number of 



judges was opposed by Irish members of both 

 parties, and the poor-law bill awakened no int 

 I'h- proposal to spend 500,000 in developing the 

 Vic in Ireland was received with satisfac- 

 tion commensurate with the boon. Tin 

 of the Iri-h Nationalists to the ministerial majority 

 on the quest im of the voluntary schools and the de- 

 fection of the Iri-h I'nionists on questions of Iri-h 

 finance had created a new situation. The Irish land- 

 lords were angrily protesting against the sweeping 

 redu< Mil made by the Land <'oinmi-si..ii. 



Many of them were as fiercely denunciatory as t he 

 Nationalists in their invective's against England for 

 overtaxing Ireland. When the Chancellor of the 

 Kxehequer refused to give Irish agriculture the re- 

 hef from rates that had been accorded to England 

 a crisis arose that, if not checked, would tend to 

 unite all Ireland under the Nationalist banner. 

 Mr. Balfour hail long been pledged to deal with 

 the problem of local government for Ireland. He 

 now showed his mastery of political M rat- 

 ing at once to the exigencies of the situation. The 

 Irish department and poor-law trills were withdrawn, 

 and he announced a more . omprehcnsive policy for 

 ir by which the Government intend- 

 ed to deal with the rating grievance, and 

 hef to t he landlords by assuming t he half of t h- 

 rate which th-y now pay. and loth.- tenants b\ 

 -, of whieh the wli 



now paid by the latter. This plan would r- 

 the main obMacl.- that stand in the way . f giving 

 Ireland local gnv.-rning Uidini like ly es- 



tablished in England and Scr.tland. and would ob- 



.ill neco*-itv f.. r s|^ial restrictive anrl | M -nal 

 conditions, especially as the remaining taxation .-n 

 owners could not I- increased beyond the average 

 of recent charges. The promises'contained in Mr. 

 Bal four's statement were hailed with satisfaction 



by all parti.-- in the h..u-e. and by Irishmen of all 

 shades of opinion, by Cons l.iu-ral I'nion- 



ists, and Qladstonian honu- rulei-. \>\ I'l.-ier land- 

 lonl- and ll-t.-r tenants. Dillonites. Hoalvites, and 

 hi-h landlords were willing to 

 al.andon their control, \\hieh was alrea.lv di- 

 .f the local authoriti.- in \ie\\ i.f the < ! 



which the\ pay in p. - i rates, \\hieh 

 .1 them ..f all apprri 



misapplication by the ne\\ l<.<-;il authoir 

 funds contributed by them; the Nationa 



heme the prmni-e <! a laiL'e m.-a-ur' 

 lar lM-al government capalile ..f e\pan-i..n in I lie 

 direction of their aims; and the tenant-. I- 

 gaiiiiig control of their local all., 

 bonus of IMINMMM) a \ear.the amount of hai 

 COUDI i he Irish landlords obtained ti 



pointment of a <. mini ion, j.re-ided ov. r i 

 Edward 1-Vy, t> in.juire into the admim 

 the land-conimi ion court-, and th-\ br..u-ht be- 

 fore the House of Lor.N their conipl 

 duct ion* and of the fixing <>f tithe rent - 

 of proportion to the .due of the land, but 



M< I \\ith i,- 



crnmeiit. When the Nationalists ur^ r cd the i)n. 

 of a Catholic university f..r Ireland. Mr. Halfour de- 

 clared that it was impossible to deal with it during 

 this session, and that the next \\mild be taken ui 

 with the Irish local-government mca-uie. The bill 

 for reducing the numb, r of Irish judges was not in- 

 troduced till late in .Inly, when it was passed, tl.e 

 Irish ineinbeix ,,n both sides \\h< had threat. -m-d to 

 opj.o-e it ha\ii. nciliated by the promised 



Concessions, and by a pledge that the tconoii. 



be reali/ed by the abolition ,f three judge-hips ami 

 the consolidation of courts, amounts- to ll"> 



\oiild lie applied t Iri-h purposes. 

 In the middle of July the l.a-l.r of the I! 

 made his calculations as to what part of the un- 

 completed legislation could be saved and what bills 

 would have to be sacrificed. The fi-h<-rie< bill and 

 the criminal-evidence bill were abandoned. This 

 latter, a measure for enabling an ac.-u-ed ] er-on to 

 A it ness, while it was supported by Sir Kdward 

 Clarke and many legal experts, encountered i; 

 po-ition of other pnifessimal authorities. A bill to 

 model the procedure in S<-.,tch private bills on that 

 adopted for provisional orders, which w.^ild bo 

 cheaper and would afford facilities for local in- 

 quiries, was postjKined till another year in order to 

 give time for criticism and di-cuiou. The land 

 transfer bill was rescued after it had und 

 considerable amendment. There have been many 

 bills introduced that had for their object the 

 (ration of titles and the simplification of s;> 

 land, but the landowning class have a prejudice 

 against the easy transfer of land, and the -"!i.-itors 

 have alway- fought against measures reducn, 

 difficulties and costs of conveyancing. The a.-t ..f 



- a tentative one intended to : \ -ti-m 



of compulsory registration aw expcrinn nta; 

 at fir-t in a single county, to see if it < an I c adapted 

 to the social and business conditions of Kn 

 The bill relating to limited companies was 

 Heed. The pr..mi-ed London water bill was not in- 

 troduced because the (i.,v. rnment had decided that 

 further inquiry ought to precede compreh. 



it ion on this subject. At the instance of the 

 London County Council right bills had been brought 

 in for the purchase of water companies' work- 

 private meinlN-r. Three fourths of the count 

 oughs of Kngland alrea<ly had the water supply in 

 their own hands. The County Council de-ircd to 

 buv out all the companies supplying the metrop,lis 

 with water so as to secure uniformity in char _ 

 quality, ami in the supply of water as soon ai 

 sible. The Government "declined to support 



