The Stourbridge Observer, Cradley Heath, Halesowen & District Chronicle.
Stourbridge, West Midlands, England, 1881-02-05 00:00:00

THE STATE_ OF IRELAND.
The Dublin correspondent of The Time writes

JANUARY 29.
The tremendous struggle in the House of Commons
appears to absorb the whole interest of the country in
public affairs, and to cause a suspension of all other
political action. All parties seem to hold their hands
and their breath, and to look on with riveted attention
at the furious combat. The issue, they know, is as
inevitable as the fate of the gladiators: but when is it
to come—when is obstruction to receive the coup de
grdce, and coercion to be proclaimed the victor? Ex-
perience of the past three weeks does not warrant any
very sanguine expectations of a speedy termination
of the contest, and the precedents of similar en-
counters are not encouraging to those who desire
to see the end. The opponents of the Government
are cheered by the reminiscence that in 1846 a Coer-
cion Bill was brought in on the 30th of March and
resisted until the 25th of June, when not only the Bill
but the Government which brought it in were over-
thrown. There is a bitter satisfaction in the memory
of that triumph, and it may be fairly said that if
so much was done at the time when obstruction
was only in the cradle, what may be expected
from it now, when it is full grown, highly trained,
and animated by the fearless and inflexible spirits
of which Mr. Parnell is the impersonation? A
greater victory than the defeat of the Bill and of
the Ministry could not be anticipated; but a vic-
tory as complete may, it is thought, be obtained if the
battle be fought out with uncompromising deter-
mination. In the parallel, however, which is at-
tempted to be drawn, and the expectations founded
upon it, the fact is lost sight of that there was an
essential difference in the conditions. The Coereion
Bill was then resisted, not by a handful of despe-
rate opponents, but by the whole moral, and to
a large extent numerical power, of the Liberal
party arrayed against the Peel Administration.
Not only was the Opposition hostile, but there
was division in the Conservative ranks, and a
large section in open revolt. The one fact that Mr.
Bright then did battle with all his characteristic
vigour and the fire of his eloquence against the policy
of coercion, which now as a Cabinet Minister he
supports, makes a vast difference between the two
cases. As might have been expected, Mr. Bright is
reproached for his change of front. His speech in sup-
port of the Government measure is condemned, and
treated as if were a surprise or an act of treachery on
his part, although it is manifest that it was only a
logical inference from his retention of office and an
act of duty which no loyal Minister could refuse to
perform. Fragments of anti-coercive speeches which
he made in past years, and especially one delivered in
Rochdale on the 23rd of December, 1867, are flung in
his face with relentless, fury, and it is passionately
insisted that the Land League are doing no more than
giving effect to the views which he then expressed
when he said, "There are men among the Whig party
who have fair sentiments with regard to Ireland, but
who, whenever they treat of this question, are afraid
of dealing with it as it must be dealt with, and there-
fore it might be necessary to stimulate by vigorous
language, and by a strong expression of pubhc opinion,
timid counsels." It is complacently assumed that the
stimulus went no further than vigorous language and
strong expression of public opinion, and Mr. Bright
is reproached for inconsistency. "Et tu, Brute?" is
the rebuke addressed to him by those who profess to
have expected to find him fighting by their side. But
his part in the debate is only an episode, though an
interesting one, which for the moment diverts atten-
tion from the main issue. "When is it to end?" is
still the question which recurs to the mind of every
spectator of the contest with irresistible force. If
the country were to continue in its present
state of comparativ9 tranquility and order,
there being a truce in the "land war," and
a marked abatement, if not a cessation for the time,
of crime and outrage, it might be said that the
debate itself is a most effective Peace Preservation Act.
But it would be unreasonable to expect that the pre-
sent lull can last very long. The storm will burst
forth again and repeat its ravages if it be not guarded
against. The country is now on its very best be-
haviour while the rod of coercion is shaken before it,
and the thought is suggested that, if "the boys"
only keep quiet until Dame Britannia's
.anger cools
down, they will not only escape the punishment but
get a share of something very nice which she
has provided for them, and which they might
have had a taste of before now if they had
not been so naughty. The diminution in the list
of outrages sinee the Parliamentary Session began
is a tribute to the influence of the Land League, if not
some evidence of its responsibility, and it Illaf also be
considered an omen of success in the administration of
the Government measure. If it be once known that
such a power exists in the hands of the Executive, there
is reason to hope that the necessity for applying it in
its most rigorous form will seldom arise ; but if such a
contingency were possible as the failure of the Govern-
ment to carry the Bill, a reaction of lawlessness would
set in and the result would be disastrous to the
country.