Abstract

The Irish Franchise and Registration Question

The rejection by the Lords of the Irish Registration Bill, the suppressed excitement this rejection has caused in Ireland and the certainty that it will be a fertile cause of discussion during the recess, renders it desirable to have a clear conception of what the Irish franchise and registration question is. The present inequalities have existed for fifteen years. The Government has made no real move to reform them and has given no effective assistance to the Irish members, who have pressed them again and again upon Parliament. Such disabilities scarcely tend to sweeten the character and bearing of the Irish people and those who represent them or to render them enthusiastic supporters of the British Constitution.