ciliating the Irish, by granting them, under the name of ‘Home Rule’, the separate Parliament which they demand. But most people fear that a separate Irish Parliament would be followed by a complete separation between Ireland and Great Britain, by the establishment of an Irish Republic, and by the oppression of the well-to-do and intelligent classes of Irishmen, who are certainly loyal to the British Crown. All British politicians, on both sides, have, during the last seventy years, made haste to remove every real, and, indeed, every imaginary grievance of the Irish people, though they have earned no gratitude by doing so.
The Ministers of the Crown.As regards the Ministers of the Crown, whom we may consider next after Parliament as an ‘institution’ of the country, it has been well understood, ever since George III’s death, that the King ‘reigns but does not govern’. He takes as his ministers men who are agreeable to the majority in the existing House of Commons. In quiet times there is a new House of Commons about every five or six years and there must be one every seven years. There is, therefore, very likely to be a change of ministry every time there is a new House. Before the first Reform Bill there were only about 300,000 electors; there are now over 7,000,000. But, oddly enough, the larger the number of electors, the more frequent are the changes of public opinion. In former days Whigs or Tories might well hold office through three or four successive Parliaments; now it is very rare that either party holds it through two. The opinion of the electors has a curious habit of swinging right round in a very short space of time; and, so, great changes in our rulers are of frequent occurrence.
