With regard to the Parliamentary representation of Ireland, having
recently spent seventy-three days in an examination of the subject,
whilst serving as a Member of the Dublin Election Committee, I assert
most distinctly that the representation which exists at this moment is a
fraud; and I believe it would be far better if there were no
representation at all, because the people would not then be deluded by
the idea that they had a representative Government to protect their
interests. The number of taxes which the people have to pay, in order to
secure either the municipal or Parliamentary franchise, is so great that
it is utterly impossible for the constituencies to be maintained, and
for public opinion--the honest, real opinion of intelligent classes in
Ireland--to obtain any common or decent degree of representation in the
Imperial Legislature. I feel quite confident that in the next Session of
Parliament, the questions of religious equality in Ireland and of Irish
representation must receive a much more serious attention than they have
obtained in any past Session.
I come now to those social questions which must also receive the
attention of Parliament; for if they do not, the political remedies
will, after all, be of very little permanent use.
Pages:
449
450
451
452
453
454
455
456
457
458
459
460
461
462
463
464
465
466
467
468
469
470
471
472
473