. Australia is dissatisfied with
her system. The American States, while giving up Customs and Excise, are
self-supporting entities; but that system has its drawback, in Federal
extravagance. We must remember, too, that even if these examples were of
any use to us, the weak States or Provinces in a Federation have a
greater control over Federal financial policy than Ireland could have
under any scheme which reserved Customs and Excise to the Imperial
Parliament; because the Federal principle, partially infringed only in
the case of Canada, is to give them disproportionately high
representation in the Upper Federal chamber, which can reject money
Bills.[148]

On all counts, Ireland's position is that of a country which
imperatively needs fiscal isolation similar to that enjoyed by States
prior to Federation, before it can dream of embarking on the perilous
sea of quasi-Federal finance. Trouble enough comes from the present
joint system. We should make a clean sweep of it, permit Ireland, with a
minimum of temporary assistance, to find her own financial equilibrium,
and so lay the foundation, perhaps, for a genuine Federation in the
future.

VIII.

ALTERNATIVE SCHEMES OF HOME RULE FINANCE[149]

Historically, these fall into two classes; though, as I shall show, they
are for all intents and purposes merged in one to-day.

The two classes are--(1) The Gladstonian; (2) the "Contract."

1. _Mr. Gladstone's Schemes_.--It is unnecessary to examine these in
close detail, though, if the reader cares to do so, he will find details
set forth in the Appendix. Four outstanding features were common to the
schemes both of 1886 and 1893: (_a_) Permanent Imperial control over the
imposition of Customs and Excise; (_b_) Irish control over all other
taxation; (_c_) an annual Irish contribution to Imperial expenditure;
(_d_) Imperial payment of part cost of the Irish Police.

With regard to (_a_), the most important point of difference in the two
Bills was that under the first Ireland was credited with her whole
"collected" revenue from Customs and Excise, under the second (as
amended) with only her "true" revenue, which was less than the former by
L1,700,000. Another point in which the two Bills differed was the
permission to Ireland, under the Bill of 1893, after six years, to
collect her own Excise. Both imposition and collection were wholly
reserved under the Bill of 1886. I have already given grounds for the
impolicy of ret