Wichita eagle. [volume] (Wichita, Kan.) 1886-1890, 1888-07-26
THE PARNELL DEBATE.
Further Talk About the Proposed Com
mission.

LONDON, July 25.-In the house of COM
mons this evening Mr.. Labouchere re
sumed the debate on the Parnell commits
sion bill He had, he said, a low opinion
of the bill, but it was not as low as the
opinion apparently entertained by Mr..
Matthew, who seemed to think that the
Times would plead privilege respecting
certain letters on the ground that they
had not been published in the Times. but
had only been read by Sir r. E. Webster
in court. Parliament, Mr.. Labouchere
continued, was the proper tribunal
to pass upon the matters in
question. The commission proposed
merely a shipping commission. intended to
evade the real issues Mr.. Egan and Mr..
O'Brien could not appear before the com
mission, yet in their absence that body was
to investigate them. Never, he declared,
had the effrontery of the government been
SO complete as when it said the commits
sion was granted st the wish of the Par
nellites while all the time the government
was arranging with the Times as to what
sort Of commission to have appointed
and what was to be its scope The opposi-
ton demanded an inquiry, it was true,
but the inquiry they demanded was con-
corning the murder at Mitchelltown and
regarding the treatment of Vaudeville.
|Parnellite and Liberal cries of "Hear
hearn']
Mr.. Labouchre said that he had propos-
ed moving the second reading of the bill
this day, but Mr.. Parnell, anxious to
bring about an investigation, had urged
him not to do so. Though he had no hope
that the bill would be revised in commit
tee, the question would be seriously con-
sdered at it's third reading whether Mr..
Parnell and his friends ought to be allow
ed to walk into a trap.
Mr.. Chamberlain said that Mr. La
bourche was, as usual, cynical in imputing
to his political opponents mean and I'M
worthy motives. He (Chamberlain) had a
high opinion of Mr.. Parnell's character,
had aided in securing his release from
kilmainhamf Jail and would be slow to
accept the charges made against him. The
only thing that could shake him in conf
dence was Mr.. Parnell's reluctance to face
them. [Cheers and shouts of MOL Why,
Mr.. Chamberlain asked, should Mr. Par
nell not trust an English jury? Surely
such a jury could be trusted to do justice
If not Mr. Parnell could have gone before
a Dublin jury, and it was surprising that
he did not do so. How were Mr.. Parnell's
friends to prove his innocence of the crimes
charged unless the inquiry covered his re-
lationS with members of the house and
the outsiders accused of crime?
Regarding the idea of definite charges be-
ing necessary, Mr. Chamberlain said that
to formulate specific charges would make
the government party to the incident and
whatever the Parnellite members might
say in the heat of debate, he did not be-
leve they thought the government party
to the Times accusations
Sir William Harcourt said that in the
defense of the bill offered in behalf of the
government there was the least possible
reference to the letters. The government
had evaded the question of the letters and
tried to render the inquiry so as to make it
an attack upon its political opponents. He
argued in favor of specific charges, and de-
clared that if Mr. Webster believed on sim
gle charge which he had tried as counsel
for the Times to affix to Mr.. Parnell it was
his duty as government counsel to indict
Mr. Parnell He denounced the bill as
now framed, as violation of every form
of judicial inquiry.
Mr. J. b Robinson, solicitor general for
Scotland, replied to Mr.. Harcourt. reprov-
ing him for the imputations he had cast
upon the competence of the commission.
MIR. T. NJ Healy said the Irish members
must not allow fishing inquiry.
The bill was read a second time without
division and the committee stage of the
bill was fixed for Monday next.
DR.. Mackenzie's report on the illness of
Emperor Frederick is ready for publica-
ton, and only awaits the consent of
Dowager Empress Victoria
A dispatch from Rome TO the Chronicle
says it is asserted that the italian govern
ment has been officially notified that En-
peror William will visit Rome and that it
is probable that Emperor Francis Joseph
will come at the same time.