These were the provisions of the measure which the Liberals introduced to the disappointment of their Unionist opponents, who had foretold that it would be a Home Rule Bill under some form of alias, intended to dupe the predominant partner.  It is to be noted that in 1885 Mr. Chamberlain made a proposal which was on the same lines as this, but went further in one respect—­that there was no nominated element on the Board which he proposed to create, and furthermore, the powers of the departments would under it have been transferred to a single elective Board, whereas under the Council Bill the departments were to be suffered to continue, albeit under control.  Lord Randolph Churchill was prepared at the time of Mr. Chamberlain’s proposal to give even more than the latter wished to concede, but both proposals were forgotten on the announcement by Mr. Gladstone of his intention to legislate on a comprehensive basis.

The attitude of Mr. Redmond on the first reading of the Bill has been so grossly misrepresented by the English Press, both Liberal and Conservative, which published only carefully-prepared epitomes of his speech, that it is necessary that one should devote some attention to what he actually said.  After asserting that no one could expect him or his colleagues—­until they had the actual Bill in their hand and had time to consider every portion of the scheme, and to elicit Irish public opinion with reference to it—­to offer a deliberate or final judgment, Mr. Redmond went on to reaffirm what the Irish people have long considered the minimum demand which can satisfy their aspirations, and declared that since the measure was introduced as neither a substitute nor an alternative for Home Rule, he would proceed to consider its terms.  “Does the scheme,” the Irish leader went on to ask, “give a genuine and effective control to Irish public opinion over those matters of administration referred to the Council?  If not the scheme is worse than useless.”  After protesting strongly against the nominated element in the Council as being undemocratic, Mr. Redmond went on to express his willingness “to accept it or any other safeguard that the wit of man could devise, consistent with the ordinary principles of representative government, which is necessary to show the minority in Ireland that their fears are groundless.”  He then proceeded strongly to criticise the power of the Lord Lieutenant under Clause 3—­a power not confined to a mere exercise of veto such as is possessed by a colonial governor, but something much more than this—­“a power on the part of the Lord Lieutenant to interfere with and thwart every single act, so that a hostile Lord Lieutenant might stop the whole machine.  If that was the intention of the Government it destroyed the valuable and genuine character of the power given to the Council.”  Having protested against the proposal that the Chairmen of Committees were to be the nominees of the Lord Lieutenant, and, therefore, not necessarily in sympathy with the majority of the Council, Mr. Redmond went on to say:—­“The whole question hinges on whether the finance is adequate.  The money grant is ludicrously inadequate.  I fear that the L650,000 would be mortgaged from the day the measure passed, and that it would be impossible with such an amount to work the scheme.”