responsible colonies. The
first of these forms is open to the objection, that it perpetuates those
struggles between English executive measures and Irish opinion which has
made Ireland for centuries ungovernable, and led to the establishment of
the union and destruction of Irish independence in 1800; the second
proposal would destroy the fiscal unity of the empire--leave the
agrarian feud unextinguished, and aggravate the objections which have
been urged against the Home Rule Bill of 1886. A question still remains,
in relation to the _form_ of the Home Rule Bill of 1886, which would not
have deserved attention but for the prominence given to it in some of
the discussions upon the subject. The Bill of 1886 provides "that the
Legislature may make laws for the peace, order, and good government of
Ireland," but subjects their power to numerous exceptions and
restrictions. The Act establishing the Dominion of Canada enumerates
various matters in respect of which the Legislature of Canada is to have
exclusive power, but prefaces the enumeration with a clause "that the
Dominion Legislature may make laws for the peace, order, and good
government of Canada in relation to all matters not within the
jurisdiction of the provincial Legislatures, although such matters may
not be specially mentioned." In effect, therefore, the difference
between the Irish Bill and the Canadian Act is one of expression and not
of substance, and, although the Bill is more accurate in its form, it
would scarcely be worth while to insist on legislating by exception
instead of by enumeration if, by the substitution of the latter form for
the former, any material opposition would be conciliated.

What, then, are the conclusions intended to be drawn from the foregoing
premises?

1. That coercion is played out, and can no longer be regarded as a
remedy for the evils of Irish misrule.

2. That some alternative must be found, and that the only alternative
within the range of practical politics is some form of Home Rule.

3. That there is no reason for thinking that the grant of Home Rule to
Ireland--a member only, and not one of the most important members, of
the British Empire--will in any way dismember, or even in the slightest
degree risk the dismemberment of the Empire.

4. That Home Rule presupposes and admits the supremacy of the British
Parliament.

5. That theory is in favour of Home Rule, as the nationality of Ireland
is distinct, and justifies