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5. The independency of the Irish Parliament in its sole and exclusive legislature.
The British Parliament, then involved in a tremendous armed struggle was, in Parnell's words, "beaten to its knees," and following the action and demands of the Irish Parliament the British Act of Parliament, known as the Renunciation Act (23 G. III., c. 28) declared that "the right claimed by the people of Ireland to be bound only by laws enacted by His Majesty and the Parliament of that Kingdom in all cases whatever was established and ascertained for ever."
"The Irish Parliament was thus constituted absolutely independent of the British Parliament. The Crown was outside the struggle, for an Irish Act of Henry VIII. and the Act of Recognition of William and Mary had established that the Crowns of England and Ireland were inseparable, so that whoever was King of England was, ipso facto, King of Ireland, but the two legislatures were now regarded as independent co-ordinate, and in their respective spheres co-equal."—Lecky, History of Ireland, vol. ii., p. 335.
Under whatever verbiage, by means of whatever subterfuge, using whatever rhetorical modulation may be necessary on British platforms, the aim of the Nationalist Irish is to regain this position. They only advocate "Home Rule," whatever these words may be tuned 10 convey, because they intend to secure by means of "Home Rule" as a starting point the restoration of such an independent Parliament.
"Home Rule is not a finality. It is worth having partly for what it is worth, but even more as furnishing the means for an agitation which will end in repeal of the Union. … Ireland can recognise no finality short of absolute justice, which means the restoration of what British invasion and the bribed Union took from her."—Patrick Ford's paper, the Irish World, 11th April, 1908.
