Morning journal and courier., 1888-07-24
PREVENTING THE INQUIRY.

PREVENTING THE INQUIRY. Charges Against the Crown Concerning ! she IItcheIlstovER AGa1r-Mr. ParneI Makes a Speeeh-GIadstOne Expressei | Surprise.
 1 LONDON, July 23.-In the house of common to-day Philip Stanhops called the attention of the government to the threatening Ian euage used by the Crown counsel before th, I coroner at MitchellstoWn and to his charging the court with preventing the inquiry in th, Vaudeville case.
 MT. Stanhope asked whether the counse acted so in pursuance Of instructions from Dublin castle and whether the government would order the counsel to assume respect ! ful attitude toward the coroner.
 MT. Balfour replied he had no information on the subject but believed the Crown coun sel did not need any instructions either from himself or from MT. Stanhope daughter an6 cheers) In reply to MT. Clancy MT. Balfou1 said he had asked the home office that the highest and most experienced officers be sent to Ireland to inspect the condition and man. was Dr. Barr.
 MT. Healy asked if 1t was true that Mr.
 Dillon had been brought before Dr. Barr ir Dundalk jail for examination, but refused to submit unless he knew whose agent Dr. Barr was.
 Mr. Balfour promised to inquire.
 MT. Smith moved the seccEsd reading of the bill dealing with charges against mem bers of Parliament. He said the government offered the commission of inquiry upon pre- cedents. He considered that 8 commission with less authority than was proposed would fail to do justice to all persons concerned. The government would not do justice to the accused if it did not give the complainants a chance to clear themselves. He had conf dence in the proposed tribunal. It rested with the House to say how complete the powers of the commission ought to be. Sir James Hannen would be president and Jus tices day and Smith would be the other members of the commission.
 Mr. Parnen said he was glad MT. Smith admitted that it rested with the House what the powers of the commission ought to be. It seemed Mir. Smith had 6 friendly hint from the counsel for the Times in consequence of which the inquiry was to be extended not only into his personal conduct, but into acts of the league in America, Ireland and Great Britain. It was evident that the case as re- gards the forged letters was going to break down. He demanded that the government limit the scope of the commission to what Mir. Smith originally proposed, namely, the charges against himself and the other Irish members It would be proved that each and every one of those letters was barefaeed forgery. The allegations against the league could not come before the commission as affecting him. They were the most cruel and infamous charges ever made against a public man. He did not suppose the Times would have given 41 ,000 for these forgeries to an ex-CommoAer nnless they had been against a public man. He could demonstrate to conviction within a week that the letters were forgeries. He5had never seen Hatford. As for the scope of the inquiry, it would be interminable unless the bill excluded vague aIlusion to other persons and named specif- cally the Commoners charged (cheers.)
 Mir. Parnell admitted that he had commu- nications with John Devoy, but those com- munications were solely in regard to political matters and were open to the fullest scrutiny. He admitted making O speech at Eunis in fa- vor of beycotting.
 He believed that boycotting did good then, but he ceased to advocate 1t after the passage of the arrears bill of 1882 So far his action promoted outrsges, 1t prevented them. To make the inquiry judicial the govern ment ought to definitely specify the charges and ought also to provide for scrutiny Of the documents upon which the charges are based. It was of vital importance to the Irish mem be1s to see these documents before the com mission began to sit.
 Here there was an expectant pause during which calls were raised for the attorney gen. eral. No member of the government re- spending, Mr. Gladstone expressed surprise that the government did net answer Mir. Par nell and Ireland, that there must be an an- swer He would vote for the second reading, but the issues raised must be considered at a later stage before the commission was ap- proved. He was not prepared to give that un- qualified confidence in the commission which MT. Smith appeared to entertain. It was in the power of the government to make a bet ter selection of comnissioners-a selection which would have commanded warm accla- nations from everybody. The government ought to make definite charges against def mite persons There ought to be skulking. The letters were really the only new charge Everything else had passed the order of dis solution of 1885. The letters absolutely con- stituted the main charges. Mfr. Parnell de- mauded an opportunity to examine them and must have 1t in order to face the accusa- tions. The government doubtless had & right to decline to reveal its communications with Attorney General Webster, the counsel for the Times, but a more deplorable error was never committed than when the Attorney General undertook to conduct the case of the Times. Unless MT. Psrnell's conditions were conceded the country would be driven to the conclusion that the proposals were made to be refused.
 Mir. Matthews, home secretary, deprecated, speaking with warmth upon this subject. Whatever Attorney General Webster had said was solely in his capacity as counsel foI the Times. He repudiated the idea that the government had in any sense made themselves party to these charges. The commission surely could be trusted to deal impartially. The solicitor general commented upon the variety of arguments offered by the opposi- tion. He admitted that there was no prece- dent for the proposed inquiry, but held that hitherto there had been no cause where the accused 50 persistently shrank from the legal courts. After a speech by T. P. O'Connor the debate, on motion of MT. Labouchere, was adjourned After the debate on the commission bill was adjourned an urgent whip was sent to the Conservatives and dec- edent Liberals for a division tomorrow night.