New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1882-05-05
DJSTprST or COERCION ACTS.

An impetuous reader does us grave injustice
when he charges us with swerving from our
convictions on question which has been fire.
ouently discussed in these columns. From the
outbreak of the land agitation in Ireland we
have made a painstaking effort to deal fairly
with the grievances of an unfortunate people
and with the remedial schemes of an efficient
and well-meaning Administration. Every phase
of the controversy has been freely and impair
TALLY discussed, and our conclusions, deliDer-
ately and explicitly expressed have had uni
form direction. The accusation made in the
following letter is on this account peculiarly
unreasonable:
TO the EditOr Of The Tribune.
SIR 1t Is refreshing TO find fHE TRIBUNE opposing
the Coercion tyranny for and approaching the
rble blunder which Mr. Gladstone made in arTestng Mr.
Parnen have known all along you would have Ia turn
over new leaf your mcnt Of the Irish question
You right Don't swerve from your convictions
again. keep urging the Brush Government to let
Irishmen have hing to in the administration Of
their own affairs You have shown too much sympathy
for Mr. Galstone's incapable Government am glad
to see You are finding out your mistake and that
now admit that Coercion was opposed to the best feel
ings of every true American. TRUE FRESHMAN.
Netc York. May A. 1882.
Now we have never denied that the Coercion
acts were opposed to :" the best feelings" of
Americans; nor did we fail to recognize the
risk which Mr.. Gladstone incurred in arrestng
Mr.. Parnell. We have repeatedly said that
Force bills were repugnant to American ideas
of Justice and expediency, and have declared
that they could only be justified on the ex-
IRENE ground Of political necessity. We are
glad now to recall the following extracts
showing that there has been no break in the
continuity of THE TRIBUNE's course i'll this
controversy:
The confession ia made for the eighth time since 1s4s
that Ireland be governed cOnstitutionally but
only by legislation aud troops. IL Is Illuminating
confession and the fact that progressive statesman
like MI Gladstone makes ii Is very dishearening; for If
he cannot reconcile Irshmen British rule what Eng
lishInan can do iti-lTHE TRIBUNE, January %, 1884,
when the Coercion policy proposed.
It's a standing reproaoh to the English people that
after 40 many centuries of occupation they SIN com
PEELED TO suspend Constitution every few years and to
garrison the island This il ugly fact that cannot be
dsguised-THE TRIBUNE June TO- after the passage OF
the Coercion acts.
The Premier has taken an enormous risk in ordering
this arrest for it may end In hS making Mr. Parnel far
more powerful than OConnell at his best. and in prcu
dcing Irish people for whole generation not only
against the Land BILL but against every measure that
may be conceived at Westmnster-tTnE TRIBUNE Octo
her H. 1891 after Mr.. Parnel's arrest.
From these convictions we have not swerved.
While we have had an instructive feeling that
the English Liberals could do more, if they
were only allowed fair chance, to help the
unhappy, impoverished tenantry than profess
sional agtat0rs and noisy obstructonsts, we
have distrusted and recOcd from the reprcs-
sive measures to which Mr.. Gladstone's Min
islry have reluctantly had recourse. We have
honored the Premier and had faith in his
schemes of REFORM but we have detested Force
bills and military intervention as essentially
un-Engish and only to be tolerated because
statesmen of enlightened Judgment, such
the Premier and Mr.. Bright. considered them
unavoidable. Now that those statesmen have
abandoned policy which we have always
looked upon with cold distrust, our original
preju ice against Coercion acts is strength
ened.
The apprehension which we expressed when
Mr. ParnelI was arrested was well founded.
Mr.. Gladstone has made him more powerful
than O'COnnell at his best, and it now rests
with him to decide whether the Irish people
are to be permanently prejudiced against
English legislation. But if the risk incurred