CHAPTER VIII

THE MECHANICS OF HOME RULE


The inevitableness of Home Rule resides in the fact that it is, as one
might say, a biped among ideas. It marches to triumph on two feet, an
Irish and an Imperial foot. If there were in Ireland no demand whatever
for self-government it would, nevertheless, be necessary in the
interests of the Empire to force it on her. The human, or as some people
may prefer to call it, the sociological case for Home Rule, and the
historical case for it have already been outlined. We now turn to
consideration, of another order, derived from Political Mechanics, or
rather bearing on the mere mechanism of politics. Let us approach the
problem first from the Imperial side.

On the whole, the most remarkable thing about the British Empire is that
there is no British Empire. We are in presence of the familiar
distinction between the raw material and the finished article. There
are, indeed, on the surface of the globe a number of self-governing
colonies, founded and peopled by men of Irish and English blood. In each
of these the United Kingdom is represented by a Governor whose whole
duty consists in being seen on formal occasions, but never heard in
counsel or rebuke. The only other connecting links are those of law and
finance. The Privy Council acts as a Court of Appeal in certain causes,
and Colonial Governments borrow money in the London market. These
communities widely seperated in geography and in temperament, have no
common fiscal policy, no common foreign policy, no common scheme of
defence, no common Council to discuss and decide Imperial affairs. Now
this may be a very wise arrangement, but you must not call it an Empire.