Present Irish Questions Part 15

(6) Treason, treason-felony, alienage or naturalisation; or

(7) Trade with any place out of Ireland; or quarantine, or navigation (except as respects inland waters and local health or harbour regulations); or

(8) Beacons, lighthouses, or sea-marks (except so far as they can consistently with any general Act of Parliament be constructed or maintained by a local harbour authority); or

(9) Coinage; legal tender; or the standard of weights and measures; or

(10) Trade marks, merchandise marks, copyright, or patent rights.

Any law made in contravention of this section shall be void.

[Sidenote: Restrictions on powers of Irish Legislature.]

=4.= The powers of the Irish Legislature shall not extend to the making of any law--

(1) Respecting the establishment or endowment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or

(2) Imposing any disability, or conferring any privilege, on account of religious belief; or

(3) Abrogating or prejudicially affecting the right to establish or maintain any place of denominational education or any denominational inst.i.tution or charity; or

(4) Prejudicially affecting the right of any child to attend a school receiving public money, without attending the religious instruction at that school; or

(5) Whereby any person may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law, or may be denied the equal protection of the laws, or whereby private property may be taken without just compensation; or

(6) Whereby any existing corporation incorporated by Royal Charter or by any local or general Act of Parliament (not being a corporation raising for public purposes taxes, rates, cess, dues, or tolls, or administering funds so raised) may, unless it consents, or the leave of Her Majesty is first obtained on address from the two Houses of the Irish Legislature, be deprived of its rights, privileges, or property without due process of law; or

(7) Whereby any inhabitant of the United Kingdom may be deprived of equal rights as respects public sea fisheries.

Any law made in contravention of this section shall be void.

_Executive Authority._

[Sidenote: Executive power in Ireland.]

=5.=--(1) The executive power in Ireland shall continue vested in Her Majesty the Queen, and the Lord-Lieutenant, on behalf of Her Majesty, shall exercise any prerogatives or other executive power of the Queen the exercise of which may be delegated to him by Her Majesty, and shall, in Her Majesty's name, summon, prorogue, and dissolve the Irish Legislature.

(2) There shall be an Executive Committee of the Privy Council of Ireland to aid and advise in the government of Ireland, being of such numbers, and comprising persons holding such offices, as Her Majesty may think fit, or as may be directed by Irish Act.

(3) The Lord-Lieutenant shall, on the advice of the said Executive Committee, give or withhold the a.s.sent of Her Majesty to Bills pa.s.sed by the two Houses of the Irish Legislature, subject nevertheless to any instructions given by Her Majesty in respect of any such Bill.

_Const.i.tution of Legislature._

[Sidenote: Composition of Irish Legislative Council.]

=6.=--(1) The Irish Legislative Council shall consist of _forty-eight_ councillors.

(2) Each of the const.i.tuencies mentioned in the First Schedule to this Act shall return the number of councillors named opposite thereto in that schedule.

[Sidenote: 48 & 49 Vict. c. 3.]

(3) Every man shall be ent.i.tled to be registered as an elector, and when registered to vote at an election, of a councillor for a const.i.tuency, who owns or occupies any land or tenement in the const.i.tuency of a rateable value of more than _twenty_ pounds, subject to the like conditions as a man is ent.i.tled at the pa.s.sing of this Act to be registered and vote as a Parliamentary elector in respect of an owners.h.i.+p qualification, or of the qualification specified in section five of the Representation of the People Act, 1884, as the case may be: Provided that a man shall not be ent.i.tled to be registered, nor if registered to vote, at an election of a councillor in more than one const.i.tuency in the same year.

(4) The term of office of every councillor shall be _eight_ years, and shall not be affected by a dissolution; and one _half_ of the Councillors shall retire in every _fourth_ year, and their seats shall be filled by a new election.

[Sidenote: Composition of Irish Legislative a.s.sembly.]

=7.=--(1) The Irish Legislative a.s.sembly shall consist of _one hundred and three_ members, returned by the existing parliamentary const.i.tuencies in Ireland, or the existing divisions thereof, and elected by the parliamentary electors for the time being in those const.i.tuencies or divisions.

(2) The Irish Legislative a.s.sembly when summoned may, unless sooner dissolved, have continuance for _five_ years from the day on which the summons directs it to meet and no longer.

(3) After _six_ years from the pa.s.sing of this Act, the Irish Legislature may alter the qualification of the electors, and the const.i.tuencies, and the distribution of the members among the const.i.tuencies, provided that in such distribution due regard is had to the population of the const.i.tuencies.

[Sidenote: Disagreement between two Houses, how settled.]

=8.= If a Bill, or any provision of a Bill, adopted by the Legislative a.s.sembly is lost by the disagreement of the Legislative Council, and after a dissolution, or the period of _two years_ from such disagreement, such Bill, or a Bill for enacting the said provision, is again adopted by the Legislative a.s.sembly, and fails within three months afterwards to be adopted by the Legislative Council, the same shall forthwith be submitted to the members of the two Houses deliberating and voting together thereon, and shall be adopted or rejected according to the decision of the majority of those members present and voting on the question.

_Irish Representation in House of Commons._

[Sidenote: Representation in Parliament of Irish counties and boroughs.]

=9.= Unless and until Parliament otherwise determines, the following provisions shall have effect:--

(1) After the _appointed day_ each of the const.i.tuencies named in the Second Schedule to this Act shall return to serve in Parliament the number of members named opposite thereto in that Schedule, and no more, and Dublin University shall cease to return any member.

(2) The existing divisions of the const.i.tuencies shall, save as provided in that Schedule, be abolished.

(3) An Irish representative peer in the House of Lords and a member of the House of Commons for an Irish const.i.tuency shall not be ent.i.tled to deliberate or vote on--

(_a_) Any Bill or motion in relation thereto, the operation of which Bill or motion is confined to Great Britain or some part thereof; or

(_b_) Any motion or resolution relating solely to some tax not raised or to be raised in Ireland; or

(_c_) Any vote or appropriation of money made exclusively for some service not mentioned in the Third Schedule to this Act; or

(_d_) Any motion or resolution exclusively affecting Great Britain, or some part thereof, or some local authority, or some person or thing therein; or

(_e_) Any motion or resolution incidental to any such motion or resolution, as either is last mentioned, or relates solely to some tax not raised or to be raised in Ireland, or incidental to any such vote or appropriation of money as aforesaid.

(4) Compliance with the provisions of this section shall not be questioned otherwise than in each House in manner provided by the House.

(5) The election laws and the laws relating to the qualification of parliamentary electors shall not, so far as they relate to parliamentary elections, be altered by the Irish Legislature, but this enactment shall not prevent the Irish Legislature from dealing with any officers concerned with the issue of writs of election, and if any officers are so dealt with, it shall be lawful for Her Majesty by Order in Council to arrange for the issue of such writs, and the writs issued in pursuance of such Order shall be of the same effect as if issued in manner heretofore accustomed.

_Finance._

[Sidenote: As to separate Consolidated Fund and taxes.]

=10.=--(1) On and after the appointed day there shall be an Irish Exchequer and Consolidated Fund separate from those of the United Kingdom.