THE OVER-REPRESENTATION OF HOME-RULE AND ITS RESULTS.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE " SPECTATOR.")
Sin,—Home-rule is represented by eighty-three seats, whereas it is entitled at most to forty-five. For many years the Spectator drew Mr. Balfour'e attention to this dangerous anomaly, and yet, though he had a splendid majority at his back, he did nothing. What has been the result P Ireland has been governed according to Irish ideas—that is, by bringing the law into line with lawlessness—because these eighty-three votes had always to be reckoned with, Take the practice Of boycotting. You have only to enable its victim to recover the amount of his losses before the County Court Judge, and there will be an end of it. But then boycotting is an Irish idea, and Mr. Redmond would object. Next, as to cattle-driving. You have only to take away its motive, which is to get hold of land for nothing, which in the open market will fetch forty or fifty years' purchase. When the Estates Commissioners buy grass-lands, these might be divided into twenty-acre farms and offered to the highest bidder, and there are hundreds of farmers who would gladly buy the occupation- right in these farms for their sons. The proceeds could be applied to the building of homesteads, thus saving the British taxpayer's pocket, besides removing the incentive to lawless- ness. The grass-lands would be divided all the same, but among small capitalists instead of paupers. But, then, this method would not be iu accord with Irish ideas, because these lands are rewards for services to the United Irish League. Where Mr. Balfour did nothing, can we expect from Mr. Asquith a self-denying Act to cut down his following by thirty-eight seats p I fear not. Therefore Mr. Redmond must go on representing 3,300 electors, Mr. Gwynn 2,200, Mr. Mooney 1,905, and Mr. P. O'Brien 1,583, making a total of 8,938 electors, against the 16,000 of East Belfast with its one representative.-1 am, Sir, &c.,
Aw OLD CRO/AWELLIA.N.
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