The Kenosha telegraph. [volume] (Kenosha, Wis.) 1860-1888, 1886-06-11
Mr.. Parnell referred to England's methods
Of coercion, and said:

Mr.. Parnell referred to England's methods
OF coercion, and said:
During these FIVE years of the suspen-
sion of habeaS corpus in Ireland thousands
of your fellow-subjectS have been impriS-
oned without specific charges, many for
twenty months, without trial, without IN
tention to try them. You had the right
of domicile infringed at any hour of
the day or night; you have fined the inno-
cent for the guilty; you have taken the
power to expel aliens from this country;
you have renewed the curfew law and
biood-money of your Norman conqueror:
you have gagged the press, seized and sup
pressed newspapers, manufactured new
crimes and offenSeS, applied fresh pen
altles unknown to your law; all this and
much more you have done in the last five
years. HOme-rule cheers. All this
and much more you will do again. Loud
opposition cheers. Mr.. Trevelyan said
that there is no halfway house between
separation and executive autonomy for
the Irish people. l say there is no half
way house between granting legislative
autonomy to Ireland and diSfranchisement
and diSseverance of that country, but re-
fuse to believe those evils will come.
Sir Michael Hicks-Be followed Mr..
Parnell on behalf of the Conservatives.
He said the bill failed to represent the
views of the Liberal party. 1t was not so
much bad legislation as bad administra-
ton which was feared by the minority.
Whatever might be the result OF the
division, it was certain that the ma
iority OF the representatives OF Great
Britain would oppose the bill. The
House had no right to modify the union
without the previous consent of the people
OF Great Britain, who had not yet been
consulted Their verdict alone could set
10
would be decisive condemnation. There
might be dangers in rejecting the bill, but
the dangers would vanish with bold de-
termination to meet the responsibility to
maintain the union before the nations of
the world
Mr.. Gladstone then arose, and was loud
~ cheered. He said:
Take it to be absolutely beyond dispute
upon broad high parliamentary grounds
that that which is 10 be voted upon to-
night is the principle of the bill as distinct
from the particulars of the bill.
What may be the principle of the
bill | grant that | have no authority
to determine; but it is our duty to give
our own construction of the princi-
pie of the bill. ] think drew confirma-
ton of construction from the speech of Mr..
Beach, because he himself said that this
was bill for the purpose of establishing a
legislative body in Ireland for manage
ment of Irish affairs; l apprehend
it to be beyond all question that
the members voting for the princi-
pie of the bill are entirely and
absolutely free; and that if they think
there is any set of provisions by means of
which better and fuller effect may be
given to the principles of the BILL they are
at liberty to displace all the details. The
Government have taken certain engage
ments. They have taken an engagement
as to taxation, for the Intervention
of the Irish members to the terms of
which need not now refer. They have
also broken an engagement, on the
claim Of Ireland, to continued concern
through her members III the treatment of
Imperial subjects generally, and that has
entailed Il positive pledge to reconstruct,
if we do not entirely remove, the twenty
fourth clause and adopt other consequent
tial amendments connected with it.
:" wish to observe, as far as this bill is
concerned, that whatever its rights or
wrongs in other respects, is unquestionably
a step and an important step in the direc-
ton of federation. Cheers. The balance
of authority seems to have established clear
~ the elementary proposition that whether
this Parliament be the Imperial Parlia-
ment or not the Imperial Parliament it is
possessed now, as before the union and be-
fore the time of Grattan's Parliament, of a
supremacy which is absolute and in the
nature of things inalienable. 1t could not
part with it if it would, and it would
quite true that in constituting Legislature
in Ireland we do as we did
when we constituted Legislature in
Canada and Australia-namely, devolve
an important portion of power We de-
volved it with the view in Canada and
hope we shall do it in Ireland, not to estab-
liSh partial and nominal, but real and
practical, independent management of her
own affairs. Cheers. That is the right
which our opponents object to, and that
is the thing we desire and hope and mean
to do.
ut is obvious that the question may be
raised: How do you propose to deal with
questions that may arise in which the Inn
perial Government, Notwithstanding the
general division of affairs may be by the
obligations of the imperial rulers com
PEELED to intervene? We have found it
easy to reconcile the rights of Canada with
the rights of the Imperial Parliament. 1t
will be found not more difficult to recon-
Gle the rights of Ireland with those of the
Imperial Government
Mr.. Gladstone reviewed the legislation
of the past with reference to Ireland and
the condition of affairs produced by it in
that country and closed with the following
words:
Il believe that there is in the breast of
many man who means to vote against us
tonight profound misgiving, approaching
even to a deep conviction. That the
end will be as we forsee it, and not
as you do; that the ebbing tide is with
you, and that the flowing tide is
with us. Ireland stands at your bar ex-
pectant, hopeful almost suppliant. Her
words are the words of truth and sober
ness. She asks blessed oblivion Of the past,
and in that oblivion our interest is deeper
interest than hers. Go into the length and
breadth of the world, ransack the literature
of all countries and find if you can
single voice, single book, find, l would
almost say, as much as a single news
paper article, in which the conduct of En-
gland toward Ireland is anywhere treated
except with profound and bitter condemna-
ton. Are these the tradi tions by which we
are expected to stands Oh, they are a sad
exception to the glory of our .coun-
try. [Cheers.] They are more than
black blot upon the pages of it's
history. And what we want to do
is to stand by the traditions of which
we are the heirs in all matters except our
relations with Ireland, and to make our re-
lations with Ireland conform to the other
traditions of our country. Cheers. So
we treat our traditions; so we hail the de-
mand of Ireland for what | call the blessed
for the future, and that boon for the future,
unless we are much mistaken, will be a
boon to us in respect to honor no less than
a boon to her in respect to happiness, pros
perity and peace. Cheers Think, / be-
seech you, think well, think wisely, think
not for the moment, but for the years that
are to come, before you reject our plan"
Loud and enthusiastic cheering.