Excerpt from Home Rule: A Critical Consideration

I am indebted to the Editor of the Leader for permission to republish in book form the following articles, which first appeared in his paper and were written at his request. They are an attempt to explain in a clear and businesslike way what Nationalist Ireland means by Home Rule. My object in writing them was twofold. First to awaken intelligent discussion in Ireland concerning the details of Home Rule, and secondly to place a clear statement of Ireland's demand before fair-minded Englishmen. It was indeed to compass the second of these objects that this book has been published. I have taken as the standard for discussion the Home Rule Bill of 1893, because I do not believe that Irish public opinion will be satisfied with anything less, and because I hope that English statesmen will have the courage and foresight to give us something more. One specious argument is frequently used against a generous Home Rule Bill by politicians of the Devolution school. Stated shortly it amounts to this, that Home Rule should be granted by instalments because Ireland is not prepared for a measure of full self-government. Nothing could be more absurd. The administrative government of every country is really carried on by the permanent officials. The representatives of the people who form the party government of the day simply direct and influence the permanent officials.

About the Publisher

Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com

This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully, any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.