Morning journal and courier., 1881-02-02
Wednesday Morning, Feb. 2, 1881.
PLAIN TALK IN THE HOUSE OF COM-
 

On the night of January r, in the House
 of Commons, Mir. Gladstone made powerful speech in reply to Mir. Justin Mccarthy, who proposed humble prayer to her Majesty to refrain from psing the naval, military and constabulary forces of the Grown in enforc- ing ejectments for non-payment of rent in Ireland, until the measures proposed to be submitted to her Majesty with regard to the ownership of land in Ireland had been decid- ed upon by Parliament Mr. Gladstone de- scribed this as request to the government that they should not execute the law, for the enforcement of which the government exists. He also said i More than that, thoslek admitting that the landlords of whom he nows mestlthose of the county which he represents-are for the most part considerate, kind and generous men, and though not asserting that the ten ants are disabled by poverty from payment, he asks us to suspend the law which enables those landlords to recover debts admittedly due them by men admittedly able to pay And more than that, the honorable gentle man, therefore, without asserting the slight est injustice, comes down to the House of Commons and asks us must say-though am sorry to use the word-he asks us to insult the Throne by carrying to the foot of the Throne 8 proposal that the Queen-sworn at the coronation to maintain and execute the law of the land-shall, by her own arbitrary will, refuse to execute the law of the land, in obedience to this extraordi- nary proposition. He cannot suppose that the House can have any hesitation in reject ing such proposal. It is not for the char acter of the House that such proposal should be used as the engine of the waste of those precious hours which we are now un- der more than solemn obligation to employ, without sparing ourselves and without fear or favor, in considering both what is re- quired for the peace and order of Ireland, and what are the principles of justice that ought to be introduced into the land law of
 Ireland.
 Almost every sentence of MT. Gladstone's speech was cheered, and Mir. Smalley writes to the Tribune that when he sat down there was feeling that new departure had been taken. He had not spoken as the leader of a party, still less as the opponent of the just claims of Ireland. He had spoken as the First Minister of the Grown as the one man above all others responsible for the govern ment of Great Britain and meaning that it shall be governed in accordance with the tra- ditions and laws of a great nation; meaning to let it be understood, further, that neither the authority nor the dignity of Parliament should be handed over to the keeping of faction which proclaims' it's contempt for both.
 Mir. Parnell replied to Mr. Gladstone. Be- ginning with the avowal that he and his CO., workers meant to abolish both the landlord and his interest in the land, he said:
 If then, they could abolish Irish landlords and the numerous and powerful classes who depended on them for their living, there would remain no class in Ireland who were interested in the maintenance of English government there and they would in nat ural and peaceful way, without any violent I revolution, in his opinion, and without any force of arms, have a union of all classes in l Ireland and obtain the restoration of their legislative independence. When he said i he ought not to say in that House, and | what he certainly should not venture to say at public meeting in Ireland. He wished I to say he believed 1t would be the duty of every Irishman, if circumstances should come about that fair chance presented itself of | obtaining the freedom of his country, to do | that which the people of every country were | proud to do for their own land-to shed his | blood. He believed that it would be crimi | nal to plunge the Irish people into an unequal | struggle. He had never gone beyond the | lines of constitutional agitation. He be- l lieved that if they could abolish the divisions | which lexisted between classes in Ireland they l would obtain by peaceful and constitutional | agitation the right to make their own laws; l and under system of constitutional govern ment, snch as prevailed in this country, he believed the right to make their own laws would be practicable, that they would remain friends with England, and that, as Grattan used to say. there would be the link of the Grown between England and Ireland.
 of | of the agitators made great impress sion on the House and called up Sir Stafford Northcote who rose as leader of the opposi- ion, to express his surprise that the govern ment had not instantly taken notice of the terms and manner of MT. Parnell's speech. Said Sir Stafford
 He has spoken as if he were an equal pow er addressing the power of the Grown and the Parliament, as if he were-for anyt hing know he may claim to be-supreme over the organization which is now the virtual ruler of portion at least of Ireland. He speaks of what he considers to be right and fair and just-of what the particulars are n which the law of this country ought to be obeyed, and what are the portions of it which ought not to be obeyed; and he told us, in | the frankest possible manner, that his inten- lions in all these proceedings have been 1fOWcu Ou JULIET OcCdSAOuS-tHhG LHey &ItafC l been directed, not for the redress of particu- ar grievances or inequalities in the land laws of Ireland. but to the destruction of a great clement of British power in that country and 'o the ultimate separation of the Legislature.
 There is no mistaking the meaning of such speeches as those of MT. Gladstone and Sir Stafford Northcote, and there is also no doubt that the English people approve them If he Irish uuderteke ko dafv the Grown and | Parliament very short work will be made of such an undertaking. There is good reason 70 believe that a reform of the land laws of Ireland can be attained, but the time has not yet come when the Irish can hope to achieve by fighting for it.
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