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Show A NEW PRINCIPLE. In diacusaing the Irish home rule bill in The Tribune of April I7lh, we criticized crit-icized former Premier Ralfour's ob)ev tions to the bill wherein be stated that it was patterned upon tbe principles of the Government of the United States. Wo pointed nut, as the fact is, that the home rule bill in its general provisions, follows pretty closely the autonomy granted to Canada and to Australia, but rather more restricted m pome particulars, par-ticulars, ae on the tariff question, absolute ab-solute free trade between Ireland and Britain being provided- Rut it appears that there is one principle in tbo homo rule bill which is distincti vely fouuded upon our own civic principles and practice, viz., where it confers the power upon a court to overrule a statute. stat-ute. Heretofore, it has been a solid British principle that a law could not be ouestioned anywhere. It 'was supreme, su-preme, and the judicial arm of the Gov. ernment had no power to rem h it nor to override it. The most that the British Brit-ish courts ran do with respect to any law is to construe it, and if inconsistencies inconsis-tencies appear, to re, oncile those inron aiateociea in the best possible manner But one ,,f the provision; of the Irish home rule bill is that the courts or the judicial committee of the Priw Council is empowered f0 decide whether wheth-er a given act. passed by the now Irish Parliament is within tVa ,.,,ro ,.r n,.,, . , nuinij i ne powers r,l thnt body. Thai is, the home rule law will be. ia effect, the constitution of Irelaud, precisely as the Constitution of the United States is the suprem.- law of this country, any constitution or statute of a State to the contrary notwithstanding. notwithstand-ing. A..y Btate law or state constitution constitu-tion nin-l yield to the Federal constitution constitu-tion where there is a conflict. Aod so in the caOS of the Irish nome rule bill, any law which the Irish Parliament, might pass could be challenged on the score of what we would eaJl its unconstitutionality, uncon-stitutionality, as being beyond the powers pow-ers conferred upon Treland b this home rule law Tn all other matters, how over, the home rule bill follows British precedent exactly, nnd it wa- doubtless in order to conGne the Irish Parliament strictly within the limits of the lowers low-ers conferred that thi,, ,-lause was pot into the bill. For. doubtless, there yet remnins in England a verv considerable suspicion that the Irish Parliament might enact statutes which would, from the English standpoint, require supervision super-vision or correction. Accordingly, this one American Innovation is included in i the bill; otherwise it is strictly British, 'the fact that i he home rulers arc- quite content to accept this supervisory power pow-er over the legislation of tho Irish Parliament, Par-liament, shows at once their good faith and their lovalty to the Empire. |