IRELAND IN PEACE, ENGLAND AND THE COLONIES IN PERIL.
WHEN the Home Secretary stated, in the House of Commons, that the Commander of the Forces in Ireland could spare smother regi- ment, shouts of exultation—such shouts as attenuated ranks and weary :Members in the middle of August can raise—broke from the Ministerialists. Trhunphant vindication of time Government's Irish policy ! praise be to Viscount KmnmNGTON—glory to his pre- decessor ! BaorwtAm and LYNonuasT, WELLINGTON and WHARN- cum:, retract your accusations, solicit pardon for your calumnies on the virtuous Viceroy. Take courage, Lord NORM ix ov! cheer up, thirst heart! 1,o, the soldiers are crossing the Irish sea to conthund your foes. This, the f'4,sricr says, is " wormwood to your maligners." You must "pardon much 1611y, as the result of bitter mortification and rage at witnessing the extraordinary' spec- tacle of troops withdrawn from Ireland tbr the security of other parts of the empire in a time of commotion and alarm." WHEN the Home Secretary stated, in the House of Commons, that the Commander of the Forces in Ireland could spare smother regi- ment, shouts of exultation—such shouts as attenuated ranks and weary :Members in the middle of August can raise—broke from the Ministerialists. Trhunphant vindication of time Government's Irish policy ! praise be to Viscount KmnmNGTON—glory to his pre- decessor ! BaorwtAm and LYNonuasT, WELLINGTON and WHARN- cum:, retract your accusations, solicit pardon for your calumnies on the virtuous Viceroy. Take courage, Lord NORM ix ov! cheer up, thirst heart! 1,o, the soldiers are crossing the Irish sea to conthund your foes. This, the f'4,sricr says, is " wormwood to your maligners." You must "pardon much 1611y, as the result of bitter mortification and rage at witnessing the extraordinary' spec- tacle of troops withdrawn from Ireland tbr the security of other parts of the empire in a time of commotion and alarm."
And it is unquestionably " a spectacle " which, as fbr as Ireland is concerned, must give satisfaction to all. We are not in the' least Inclined to undervalue the evidence of improvement in the general condition of Ireland, which the diminution of the English garrison there implies. The necessity of maintaining all army in the Sister Isle we have alway attributed to misgovernment. The withdrawal of a portion of dint three may in fairness be considered as evidence of a better state of things—the result of a more just and generous exercise of administrative authority. So much for Ireland: now turn to England.
Where are these soldiers to be employed, and how ? They are needed for "the security of other parts of the empire in a time of commotion and alarm." "Other parts"—the words suggest a long journey. Are they wanted in Canada ? in time West Indies? in the East Indies ? All these "parts of the empire" are in "com- motion and alarm." Undoubtedly, their presence would be most ac- ceptable in each of these territories—but the troops are wanted nearer home. It is Eawland, the heart and soul of the empire, that must be subjected to martial law ! The civil force has been aug- mented to an extraordinary number : the country swarms with speetal constables. The Yeomanry of several counties arc in the held. Riflemen and Dragoons hold possession of some of the prin- cipal towns. Already has the regular Army, stationed in England,
been considerably reinforced ; but the cry is still "More men— from Ireland."
Now, it' time withdrawal of troops from Ireland is accepted as evi- dence of an improved state of affairs in that country—if the Go- vernment is entitled to take credit for a popular and wise policy there—the importation of soldiers to suppress insurrection in Eng- land must be received as equal proof of misrule in England. The argument cuts two ways. Ministers cannot boast of the state of Ireland, and escape reproach on account of the state of England. They have chosen to base their Irish case on an argument which, when applied to England, rebounds against them with terrible force. And the same remark is applicable to the most extensive and va- luable Colonies and dependencies of the Crown. They need addi- tional troops. Ireland presents the only calls spot in the vast ex- panse of the British empire!
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