The New Irish Constitution: An Exposition and Some Arguments. VariousЧитать онлайн книгу.
to scales of emolument). The enforcement of this principle will not militate against the establishment [pg 058] by the Irish Parliament, if so advised, of an Irish Civil Service as distinguished from the service which now exists for the United Kingdom as a whole. But I earnestly trust that if a separate Irish Civil Service be established there will be no limitation of candidature to Irish-born subjects of the Crown. Ireland would, in my opinion, commit a fatal mistake—fatal in more ways than one—if she imposed any impediment to the free competition by British-born subjects for appointments in the Irish Service, should one be created. She will gain far more than she will lose from reciprocity in this connection.
Assuming for the purpose in hand that the present general policy of recruitment for the Civil Service will continue, the question arises whether there should be an independent Civil Service Commission established in Dublin: or whether the Irish Government should ask the Burlington Gardens Commission to hold examinations in Ireland for the Irish service, associating with themselves some distinguished Irish educationalists. Personally I am strongly in favour of the latter alternative, on the ground of economy; and because of the advantage of using experienced British agencies for common purposes. Good feeling and mutual understanding will be thereby promoted.
Turning to the remaining Imperial Departments, I think the Exchequer and Audit Office should relinquish its Irish functions to a similar office restricted in its operations to Irish finances only66; while the Public Works Loans Commissioners would probably cease to do business in Ireland.67 Loans to municipalities [pg 059] and other public bodies in Ireland would, under the new dispensation, be probably made by the Irish Treasury acting on the advice of the Irish Board of Works.
I had, at first, thought of adding the Department of “Woods and Forests” (Quit Rents) to the list of excluded Departments, but I trust that, following the treatment proposed in Clause 24 of the Bill of 1893, this source of income may be made over to the Irish Parliament. If not, the Department should swell the list of exclusions. In the same way I had at first intended including the Land Commission in the excluded list, because of the imperative necessity which exists of retaining the Finance and Administration of Land Purchase under the control of the Imperial Treasury. I need not labour this point; all intelligent persons are agreed that the use of British Credit is essential to the furtherance of Irish Land Purchase, that Ireland, of herself, could not finance her great Land Purchase undertaking, because the cost would be prohibitive and would bring to an end that great scheme on whose successful accomplishment the peace and prosperity of Ireland so greatly depend. If the Government decides to exclude the Land Commission permanently from the control of the Irish Legislature no Irishman need object; but, for reasons to be stated in the sequel, I am disposed to think that the Land Commission might be better placed in a temporarily reserved, than in a permanently excluded, list.
With these exceptions I think that all the other public Departments and Offices enumerated may be regarded as dealing with business of a purely Irish character, the administration of which may be localized to Ireland. All of them, with the important addition of “Finance” and of certain other minor subjects which [pg 060] are known officially as “Votes,” I would group into Departments of Government in the following way, premising that I do not pretend to give an exhaustive list of “sub-heads,” which, indeed, must vary with changing circumstances and the growth of work. As I have said, the object of this grouping or classification is to facilitate the introduction of parliamentary control over every branch or kind of public business in Ireland.
Suggested Scheme of Administrative Departments of the Reformed Irish Government.
Group I.—The Treasury.
(1) General Finance.
(a) Taxation, Bills before the Legislature.
(b) Budgets, Recoverable Loans, Local Taxation Account.
(c) Courts of Law, Legal Establishments, Legal Business.
(d) Other Civil Departments, Pensions, Valuation and Boundary Surveys.
(e) Trade and Commerce.
(f) Exchequer and Audit.
(2) Local Finance.
(a) Municipalities, Urban Councils.
(b) County and Rural Councils.
(3) Registry, Receipt and Issue of Letters.
Group II.—Law and Justice.
(1) Supreme Court of Justice and its Officers.
(2) Recorders.
(3) County Court Judges.
(4) Resident Magistrates.
(5) Crown Business.
(a) General.
(b) Law Officers.
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(c) Crown Prosecutors, Crown Solicitors.
(d) Petty Sessions Clerks.
(6) Police.
(a) Royal Irish Constabulary.
(b) Dublin Metropolitan Police.
(7) Prisons, Reformatories, Criminal Lunatics.
(8) Miscellaneous.
(9) Registry, Receipt and Issue of Letters.
Group III.—Education, Science and Art.
(1) Primary.
(2) Secondary.
(3) University.
(4) Technical.
(5) College of Science.
(6) National Gallery, Public Libraries, Museums.
(7) Registry, etc., of Letters.
Group IV.—Local Government.
(1) Rural.
(2) Urban.
(3) Sanitation.
(4) Medical Relief, Hospitals.
(5) Poor Law Relief, Orphanages and Asylums.
(6) Crop Failure, Famine Relief.
(7) Labour questions, Housing of the working-classes.
(8) Audit of Local Accounts.
(9) Registry, etc., of Letters.
Group V.—Public Works.
(1) Roads and Buildings.
(2) Railways and Canals.
(3) Marine Works.
(4) Drainage, Irrigation and Reclamation.
(5) Mines and Minerals.
(6) Registry of Letters.
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Group VI.—Agriculture.
(1) General.
(2) Relief of Agricultural Congestion. (Congested Districts Board).
(3) Land Improvement, Seeds, Manures, Agricultural Implements, etc.
(4) Improvement in the breed of Horses, Cattle, etc.
(5) Diseases of Animals and Plants.
(6) Agricultural Schools, Experimental and Demonstration Farms, etc.
(7) Arboriculture, Afforestation.
(8) Registry of Letters.
Group VII.—The Land Commission.
(1) Land Purchase.
(2) Relief of Congestion.
(3) Recovery of Annuities and Sinking Fund.
(4) Fixation of Judicial Rents.
(5) Registry, etc., of Letters.
Group VIII.—Registration.