The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1888-02-17
O'BRIEN TO BALFOUR.

The Editor Invites the Secretary to Prove tn Q
Truth of Mean Insinuation.
LONDON. Feb l6.-In the Commons William
O'Brien resumed the debate the address in
reply to the Queens speech. He said that Bal
four had failed to smash the Irish organization
or weaken the spirit of the Irish people. or de-
grade them in the eyes of tho world Abject
discontinue and disgrace attended the crimes
act, the operation OF which had proved it one of
the most horrible measures ever directed
against human liberties. Regarding his
own Imprisonment he said he did
not feel wounded nor in the least de-
graded. With all his jaunty bravery, Bal
four's conscience was not as easy az has own.
When he was in prison he resented and felt
keenly the letter which Balfour wrote convey
ing steathily a loathsome insinuation that he
sheltered himself whist in prison under the
plea of illness. Now they were face TO face
and he challenged the government to produce
prison doctors to prove the truth of the insinua-
tion. [Parnellite cheers 1t had been asserted
that imprisoned leaguers had tried to secure dis
tinction between the treatment given imprisoned
members of Parliament and that given impris-
oned peasants but there was not a
little of foundation for the assertion.
What the imprisonsdN members complained
of was the moral torture inflicted upon them,
from which ordinary criminals were EXEMPT.
When ,he government asked them to acknowl-
1--WE will die first; you will have to learn the
difference between repres entatives of the crimi-
nal classes and Irish political prisoners, even if
it takes corOners lufieS to announce tho dis
tinction." Reverting to the failure OF coercion.
he dec Jared the crimes act had not stamped out
. single village club. The Plan of Campaign
was uncrippled Every evicted tenant had
been restored and every shilling of law costs in
CURED had been repaid indemnity by the
landlords [Cheers.
Stuart, repeatinathe Doping story. said that
the gentlemen may not have intended to shoot,
but his conduct was calculated to lead to q
breach of the peace.
Sir Richard Webster, Attorney-eenerai, said
OBrien's speech doubtless animated by
some real passion. but it was impossible TO
doubt that there was deal Of acting about it.
Interruptions from Irish members At any
rate. if not acting, 1t was neither more nor less
than incitement to violation of law Renewed
interruptions. Nobody could listen TO his
references to members of the government with
out seeing that they were unlikely to promote
peace and good will. II was strange to hear
Parneites profess approval of Irish
remedial measures after the contempt with
which they treated them Last year. O'Brien said
the Conservative majority 1885 secured
tween Parnell and the Conservatives. but that
has been denied by Lord Salisbury, Lord RAN
dolph Churchill Baron St. Oswald and Parnell
himself in letter dated July 81 to the Attor-
eygeneraL The attorney general here read
the letter to the House.
Mr. Parnell interposed, saying that the letter
was correct. so far he concerned. but he
did not, at that time. know of the negotiation
between Lord ST. Oswald and Mccarthy. The
letter said that Parnell stated that Lord st. Os-
wald had informed him that If the Gonserva-
tives came into power. coercion would be
dropped.
: Tfe Attorney general resumed his speech, and
said he failed to understand how Parnen could