134 THE IRISH AGRARIAN PROBLEM. 



On the other hand, the members representing 

 non-Irish constituencies, whose electors really 

 had to meet the expenses, offered no opposition 

 worth mentioning-. Quite apart from the question 

 of party discipline many of the Conservatives 

 saw in the Irish colleagues who were like- 

 minded with them on tariff questions, and whose 

 help might be valuable if Chamberlain should 

 compel the free trade Conservatives to withdraw. 

 The Liberals had no interest in thwarting the 

 Irish. As soon as a Conservative Government 

 had carried through the dispossession of the 

 landlords, then the weightiest argument against 

 Home Rule — the avowed Liberal policy — would 

 fall to the ground. 



Thus the role of opposition to the scheme fell 

 into the hands of certain purists in finance, 

 whose objections the Chief Secretary met by 

 pointing out that one could not pa}' too much 

 for the reconciliation of Ireland : the financial 

 sacrifices would soon be made good by the 

 considerably reduced cost of the police employed 

 by the Irish administration. The dream of an 

 Irish millennium, by which most Irish administra- 

 tions are at one time or another deluded, wrought 

 its spell anew. In Dublin Castle sat a young 

 Viceroy, full of sympathy with Ireland, whose 

 guest King Edward was to be on his first royal 

 visit to that country. Could one lay before a 

 king, whose friendly inclinations towards Ire- 

 land were well known, a better offering than 

 the acceptance of a bill which seemed at last 



