GRATEFUL IRELAND.
At the end of October Maud was married from the house of the two sisters
in Dunedin. No attribute of wealth and pomp was wanting to make the
wedding a grand one. Both Maud and Montreal were general favourites, and
the number and value of the presents they received were unprecedented.
Hilda gave her sister a suite of diamonds and one of pearls, each of
priceless value. One of the most gratifying gifts was from the Emperor;
it was a small miniature on ivory of Hilda, beautifully set in a diamond
bracelet. It was painted by a celebrated artist. The Emperor had
specially requested the Duchess to sit for it immediately Maud's
engagement became known. It was surmised that the artist had a
commission to paint a copy as well as the original.
Immediately after the wedding Lord and Lady Montreal left in an
air-cruiser to pass their honeymoon in Canada, and the Duchess of New
Zealand at once proceeded to London, where she was rapturously received
by Mrs. Hardinge. She reached London in time to be present at its
greatest yearly fête, the Lord Mayor's Show, on the 9th November.
According to old chronicles, there was a time when these annual shows
were barbarous exhibitions of execrable taste, suitably accompanied with
scenes of coarse vulgarity. All this had long since changed. The annual
Lord Mayor's Show had become a real work of elaborated art. Either it
was made to represent some particular event, some connected thread of
history, or some classical author's works. For example, there had been a
close and accurate representation of Queen Victoria's Jubilee
procession, again a series of tableaux depicting the life of the
virtuous though unhappy Mary Queen of Scots, a portrayal of
Shakespeare's heroes and heroines, and a copy of the procession that
celebrated the establishment of local government in Ireland. The
present year was devoted to a representation of all the kings and queens
of England up to the proclamation of the Empire. It began with the
"British warrior queen," Boadicea, and ended with the grandfather of the
present Emperor. Each monarch was represented with his or her retinue in
the exact costumes of the respective periods. No expense was spared on
these shows. They were generally monumental works of research and
activity, and were in course of preparation for several years.
In many respects London still continued to be the greatest city of the
Empire. Its population was certainly the largest, and no other place
could compare with it in the possession of wealthy inhabitants. But
wealth was unequally distributed. Although there were more people than
elsewhere enjoying great riches, the aggregate possessions were not as
large in proportion to the population as in other cities, such as
Melbourne, Sydney, and Dublin. The Londoners were luxurious to the verge
of effeminacy. A door left open, a draught at a theatre, were
considered to seriously reflect on the moral character of the persons
responsible for the same. A servant summarily dismissed for neglecting
to close a door could not recover any arrears of wages due to him or
her. Said a great lady once to an Australian gentleman, "Are not these
easterly winds dreadful? I hope you have nothing of the kind in your
charming country."
"We have colder winds than those you have from the east," he replied.
"We have blasts direct from the South Pole, and we enjoy them. My lady,
we would not be what we are," drawing himself up, "if the extremes of
heat and cold were distasteful to us."
She looked at him with something of curiosity mixed with envy.
"You are right," she said. "It is a manly philosophy to endeavour to
enjoy that which cannot be remedied."
The use of coal and gas having long since been abandoned in favour of
heat and light from electricity, the buildings in London had lost their
begrimed appearance, and the old dense fogs had disappeared. A city of
magnificent buildings, almost a city of palaces, London might be termed.
Where there used to be rookeries for the poor there were now splendid
edifices of many stories, with constant self-acting elevators. It was
the same with regard to residence as with food and clothing. The
comforts of life were not denied to people of humble means.
Parliament was opened with much pomp and magnificence, and a mysterious
allusion, in the speech from the throne, to large fiscal changes
proposed, excited much attention. The Budget was delivered at an early
date amidst intense excitement, which turned into unrestrained delight
when its secrets were revealed. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, the
Right Honourable Gladstone Churchill, examined critically the state of
the finances, the enormous accumulations of the reserve funds all over
the dominions, and the continued increase of income from the main
sources of revenue. "The Government," he said, "are convinced the time
has come to make material reductions in the taxation. They propose that
the untaxable minimum of income shall be increased from five to six
hundred pounds, and the untaxable minimum of succession value from ten
to twelve thousand pounds, and that, instead of a fourth of the residue
in each case reverting to the State, a fifth shall be substituted." Then
he showed by figures and calculations that not only was the relief
justifiable, but that further relief might be expected in the course of
a few years. He only made one exception to the proposed reductions.
Incomes derived from foreign loans and the capital value of such loans
were still to be subject to the present taxation. Foreign loans, he
said, were mischievous in more than one respect. They armed foreign
nations, necessitating greater expense to the British Empire in
consequence. They also created hybrid subjects of the Empire, with
sympathies divided between their own country and foreign countries.
There was room for the expenditure of incalculable millions on important
works within the Empire, and those who preferred to place their means
abroad must contribute in greater proportion to the cost of government
at home. They had not, he declared, any prejudice against foreign
countries. It was better for them and for Britain that each country
should attend to its own interests and its own people. Probably no
Budget had been received with so much acclamation since that in which
the Chancellor of the Exchequer declared the policy of the Empire to be
one of severe protection to the industries of its vast dominions.
Singularly, it was Lord Gladstone Churchill, great-grandfather of the
present Chancellor of the Exchequer, who made the announcement, seventy
years previously, that the time had arrived for abandoning the free
trade which however he admitted had been of benefit to the parent
country prior to federation.
The proposed fiscal reforms were rapidly confirmed; and Parliament rose
towards the middle of December, in time to allow members to be present
at the great annual fête in Dublin. We have already described how it was
that the federation of the Empire, including local government in
Ireland, was brought about by the intervention of the Colonies. The
Irish people, warm-hearted and grateful, felt they could never be
sufficiently thankful. They would not allow the declaration of the
Empire to be so great an occasion of celebration, as the anniversary of
the day on which the premiers of the six Australasian colonies, of the
Dominion of Canada, and of the South African Dominion met and despatched
the famous cablegram which, after destroying one administration,
resulted in the federation of the empire of Britain. A magnificent group
representing these prime ministers, moulded in life-size, was erected,
and has always remained the most prominent object, in Dublin. The
progress of Ireland after the establishment of the Empire was
phenomenal, and it has since generally been regarded as the most
prosperous country in the world. Under the vivifying influence of
Protection, the manufactures of Ireland advanced with great strides.
Provisions were made by which the evils of absenteeism were abated.
Formerly enormous fortunes were drawn from Ireland by persons who never
visited it. An Act was passed by which persons owning large estates but
constantly absent from the country were compelled to dispose of their
property at a full, or rather, it might be said, an excessive, value.
The Government of Ireland declared that the cost of doing away with the
evils of absenteeism was a secondary consideration. The population of
Ireland became very large. Hundreds of thousands of persons descended
from those who had gone to America from Ireland came to the country,
bringing with them that practical genius for progress of all sorts which
so distinguishes the American people. The improvement of Ireland was
always in evidence to show the advantages of the federation of the
Empire and of the policy of making the prosperity of its own people the
first object of a nation.
The Irish fête-day that year was regarded with even more than the usual
fervour, and that is saying a great deal. It was to be marked by a
historical address which Mrs. Hardinge had consented to deliver. Mrs.
Hardinge was the idol of the Irish. With the best blood of celebrated
Celtic patriots in her veins, she never allowed cosmopolitan or national
politics to make her forget that she was thoroughly Irish. She gloried
in her country, and was credited with being better acquainted with its
history and traditions than any other living being. She spoke in a large
hall in Dublin to thousands of persons, who had no difficulty in hearing
every note of the flexible, penetrating, musical voice they loved so
well. She spoke of the long series of difficulties that had occurred
before Ireland and England had hit upon a mode of living beneficial and
happy to both, because the susceptibilities of the people of either
country were no longer in conflict. "Undoubtedly," she said, "Ireland
has benefited materially from the uses she has made of local government;
but the historian would commit a great mistake who allowed it to be
supposed that aspirations of a material and sordid kind have been at the
root of the long struggle the Irish have made for self-government. I
put it to you," she continued, amidst the intense enthusiasm of her
hearers, "supposing we suffered from the utmost depression, instead of
enjoying as we do so much prosperity, and we were to be offered as the
price of relinquishing self-government every benefit that follows in the
train of vast wealth, would we consent to the change?" The vehement "No"
which she uttered in reply to her own question was re-echoed from
thousands of throats. She directed particular attention to what she
called the Parnell period. "Looked at from this distance," she said, "it
was ludicrous in the extreme. Government succeeded Government; and each
adopted whilst in office the same system of partial coercion, partial
coaxing, which it condemned its successor for pursuing. The Irish
contingent went from party to party as they thought each oscillated
towards them. Many Irish members divided their time between Parliament
and prison. The Governments of the day adopted the medium course: they
would not repress the incipient revolution, and they would not yield to
it. Agrarian outrages were committed by blind partisans and weak tools
who thought that an exhibition of unscrupulous ferocity might aid the
cause. The leaders of the Irish party were consequently placed on the
horns of a dilemma. They had either to discredit their supporters, or to
admit themselves favourable to criminal action. They were members of
Parliament. They had to take the oath of allegiance. They did not dare
to proclaim themselves incipient rebels." Then Mrs. Hardinge quoted,
amidst demonstrative enthusiasm, Moore's celebrated lines--
"Rebellion, foul, dishonouring word,
Whose wrongful blight so oft has stained
The holiest cause that tongue or sword
Of mortal ever lost or gained--
How many a spirit born to bless
Has shrunk beneath that withering name
Whom but a day an hour's success,
Had wafted to eternal fame."
"But, my dear friends," pursued Mrs. Hardinge, "do not think that I
excuse crime. The end does not justify the means. Even the harm from
which good results is to be execrated. The saddest actors in history
are those who by their own infamy benefited or hoped to benefit others.
"For one sad losel soils a name for aye,
However mighty in the olden time;
Not all that heralds rake from coffined clay,
Nor florid prose, nor honeyed words of rhyme
Can blazon evil deeds or consecrate a crime."
When the applause these lines elicited subsided, Mrs. Hardinge dilated
on the proposed Home Rule that Mr. Gladstone offered. Naturally the
Irish party accepted it, but a close consideration convinced her that it
was fortunate it was not carried into effect. The local powers Mr.
Gladstone offered were very moderate, far less than the Colonies then
possessed, whilst, as the price of them, Ireland was asked to virtually
relinquish all share in the government of the country. Gladstone saw
insuperable difficulties in the way of establishing a federal
parliament; and without it his proposals, if carried into operation,
would have made Ireland still more governed from England than it was
without the so-called Home Rule. In fact, the fruition of Mr.
Gladstone's proposals would have driven Ireland to fight for
independence. "We Irish are not disposed," declared Mrs. Hardinge, "to
submit to be excluded from a share in the government of the nation to
which we belong. Mr. Gladstone would virtually have so excluded us; and
if we had taken as a boon the small instalment of self-government he
offered, we could only have taken it with the determination to use the
power we acquired for the purpose of seeking more or of gaining
independence. Yes, my fellow-countrymen," she continued amidst loud
cheers, "it was good for us, seeing how happily we now live with
England, that we did not take Mr. Gladstone's half-measure. Yet there
was great suffering and great delay. Weariness and concession stilled
the question for a time; but the Irish continued in a state of more or
less suppressed irritation, both from the sense of the indignity of not
being permitted local government, and from the actual evils resulting
from absenteeism. Relief came at length. It came from the great
Colonies the energy of all of us--Irish, English, and Scotch--had built
up." Long, continuous cheering interrupted the speaker. "You may well
cheer," she continued. "The memory of the great colonial heroes whose
action we this day commemorate, and whom, as usual, we will crown with
wreaths of laurel, will always remain as green in our memory as the Isle
of Erin itself." She proceeded to describe individually the prime
ministers of the Colonies who had brought the pressure to bear upon the
Central Government. "The Colonies," she said, "became every day, as they
advanced in wealth and progress, more interested in the nation to which
they belonged. They saw that nation weakened and discredited at home and
abroad by the ever-present contingency of Irish disaffection. They felt,
besides, that the Colonies, which had grown not only materially, but
socially, happy under the influence of free institutions, could not
regard with indifference the denial of the same freedom to an important
territory of the nation. Their action did equal honour to their
intellect and virtue."
Mrs. Hardinge concluded by describing with inimitable grace the various
benefits which had arisen from satisfying Ireland's wants. "The boon she
received," the speaker declared, "Ireland has returned tenfold. It was
owing to her that the Empire was federated; at one moment it stood in
the balance whether this great cluster of States should be consolidated
into the present happy and united Empire or become a number of
disintegrated communities, threatened with all the woes to which weak
States are subject."
After this address Mrs. Hardinge, in the presence of an immense
multitude, placed a crown of laurel on the head of each of the statues
of the colonial statesmen, commencing with the Prime Minister of Canada.
Those statues later in the day were almost hidden from sight, for they
were covered with a mass of many thousand garlands.