Men quarrel over money very easily, and some of the
fiercest opponents of Home Rule still imagine that they can silence the
Home Rulers by talking "money" at the top of their voices. But the Home
Rulers must not be drawn into that net. They must refuse to view this
matter as a question merely of book-keeping and accounts. They must
remember always that the financial difficulty is simply another
statement of the fact of Irish poverty, and that Irish poverty is due
to the Act of Union. It is not any financial arrangement, but Home Rule
itself, that will cure the difficulties of Irish finance.
On the one side, the English are being told that they are going to be
bled white in order to please Ireland. On the other side, the Irish are
being warned by their extremists that England hopes to undo the effects
of Home Rule by a dowry of impoverishment. On both sides of the Channel
the enemies of Home Rule hope to use this as a weapon to defeat the
cause. Let us, therefore, keep our heads, and look at the problem
calmly and sanely.
What is the present position in regard to Irish finance? It has totally
changed since 1893. It follows, therefore, that the financial proposals
of the 1886 and the 1893 Bills are of little value to us as a guide to
the policy of 1912.
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