The men and
women who are receiving those pensions are the veterans of the famine
period, and England has a special obligation towards them.
The Home Rule Bill of 1912 provides that these old age pensions should
be kept for the moment as an Imperial charge. That will be both a
generous and humane provision.
Another proposal made by Irish financial reformers is that the Royal
Irish Constabulary, a force which costs L1,370,000 a year, should be
regarded and paid for as an Imperial force. The argument is that the
Royal Irish Constabulary was created in the interests of the English
garrison--was, in fact, an army of occupation, which, since the new
settlement of the Irish land question, has become, in Mr. Kettle's
witty phrase, an "army of no occupation."
That proposal is not adopted in the Home Rule Bill of 1912. The force
is kept under the control of the British Government for six years, and
it will then be handed over to Ireland. In the meantime, it will be
paid for out of the money reserved from Irish revenue by the Imperial
Government. We shall have to wait, therefore, for six years before the
Irish Government is able to apply economy to what is perhaps the most
expensive and most extravagant service in the whole administration of
Ireland.
Pages:
144
145
146
147
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168