§ MR. WYNDHAM (Dover)I ask the indulgence of the House for the statement which I now wish to make of the reasons of my resignation. I regret that my health prevented me from doing so at an earlier period of the session. I have, however, Sir, nothing to say this afternoon of the interesting character which sometimes attaches to occasions of this kind. I neither differ from my late colleagues on any issue of policy, nor have I found cause to change in the smallest degree the views which I have long held and frequently expressed upon Irish administration. I think now, as I have always thought, that the maintenance of the Union is a fundamental principle of any sound Irish policy. I think now, as I have always thought, and on more than one occasion said, that the plans for what are now called devolution are, from some points of view, more open to criticism than the plan for Home Rule, since they have not even the merit of appealing to any large section of Irish opinion. I insisted on resigning, therefore, not on grounds of policy, but because certain circumstances, partly political and partly personal, convinced me that I could best help the Party to which I belong and the Government as an unofficial Member than as Secretary for Ireland. The situation both in Ire land and here became complicated, as every one knows, by personal misunderstanding and this, as is apt to happen in such cases, produced an atmosphere of rumour and suspicion.
1353 Looking back with the wisdom born after events, I think, and am perfectly willing to say, that I have been myself in part to blame. I have always desired that Irish Unionists, and above all that Unionists in the South of Ireland, should take a more active part in social reform. I have always been aware of the great difficulties which beset them if they attempt to take such a course. The benefit of such action upon their part was abundantly seen in the passing of the Land Act. I greatly wished that they would apply themselves to other problems of a practical character. I was myself absorbed in what seemed to me practical objects upon which all sections of Irish opinion might conceivably agree—upon the housing problem, including the labourers' question, upon Poor Law administration, upon education, upon the development of transit and industry; and, Sir, I was also anxious, perhaps above all, to secure to the Irish Government a greater degree of financial elasticity in order that it might be in a better position to meet needs peculiar to Ireland. Believing that such objects can only be prosecuted under favourable conditions of political calm, I tried to maintain the spirit which had guided the Land Conference to success, in the hope that the projects I cared about and which I had in my mind might also enlist support even from those who are most sharply divided upon constitutional questions. But, Sir, I have never contemplated and I have never approved of any proposal for introducing a financial board into the administration of Irish government. And so too, Sir, with the delegation of legislative powers from this House other than for private Bills. That also I have never contemplated and never approved. I was not, therefore, at the time sufficiently alive to the probability that any body of Unionists could advance into the region of constitutional controversy where I could not follow them, nor, if they proceeded so far in that direction, refrain from expressing my dissent. I did not consequently give that attention which I now think I should have given to the earlier proceedings of the Reform Association which were reported in August last.
I had not, Sir, intended this afternoon to repeat the explanation which I have 1354 already given of the subsequent misunderstanding between myself and the Under-Secretary. Sir, misunderstandings are very rarely to be explained, and they do not occur unless men who believe that they know all that is in each other's minds are, as a matter of fact, imperfectly or inaccurately informed of what is in each other's minds. Subsequent at tempts at explanation rarely lead to any satisfactory conclusion to either party; but, in view of comments which have come to my notice to-day, I wish to make the following observations. At the end of last session I did not know that the Land Conference was still in existence. I did not know that it intended to take a new name and a new lease of life; and, therefore, I did not anticipate the publication which appeared in the Press on August 31st. I paid no heed to that document. I will not, and I feel no obligation to, dwell again upon the considerations that a Minister who goes away at the end of the session in the full belief that he may safely divert attention from the cares of his office may be excused from such an admission. I do not feel called upon to offer any excuses in that respect. I do not base myself on the fact that I gave insufficient heed to that document or on the vague nature of the terms in which it was drawn up. Having read it again recently in a pamphlet which has been published I know that I could, if that were to the point, show that it would not have led me to expect the later proposals. I do not urge that, and I cannot urge that, since I did not attend to the document at the time. No copy of it was sent to me. I was not reading the Irish newspapers. I did not know then, though afterwards I did, that the leading Unionist paper published in Dublin, after studying its proposals on the spot, concluded by saying that, for the present—
We are content to bid the Irish Reform Association a cordial welcome and to wish success to its patriotic efforts.The Under-Secretary wrote me a letter. I cannot produce that letter because I have not got it, and I cannot speak of it from recollection because I cannot recall it. I unreservedly accept the fact that it was written, and. that in the mind of the writer it was sufficiently explicit, in 1355 view of the earlier publication, to lead me to expect the later development. I say, however, without a shadow of doubt on my mind, that I did not expect the proposals to which I objected when they appeared. This second manifesto contained concrete proposals to which I strongly objected and which I could not ignore. I at once stated my objections; and here the matter would no doubt have ended but for the fact that the Under-Secretary was cognisant of this document. As I have pointed out he was sincerely, though erroneously, under the belief that I should not object to its contents. It was inevitable that such a misunderstanding should give rise to every species of rumour and misconception as to my own action and aims. Such misconceptions, while they last, are destructive of all efforts for good. I came to the conclusion that my power of doing useful work in Ireland was at an end; and, therefore, I felt justified in pressing on my right hon. friend to accept my resignation, believing that I could best strengthen his policy and support his Government by resigning from his Government, and tendering to him, as I do again to-day, the assurance of my unwavering support as a private Member.