Morning journal and courier., 1888-02-18
News by Telegraph FROM ALL QUARTERS. PARNELL VOTED DOWN. Strict Party Lines In
 Commons. THE MINERS STRIKE OFF. Work To Be Resumed
 On Monday. THEE. H. WEAVER AGROUND. Congress In a HumOr For
 Wrangling.
THE E. H. WEAVER AGROUND.
A LIVELY TIME IN COMMONS.

LIVELY TIME IH COMMONS. BaIfour Makes a Spirited Defense of Hls Coercive Policy Parnell's Party Vote.
 LONDON, Feb. 17-In the House of Con- mons to-day Mr. Balfour, chief secretary for Ireland, resumed the debate on the address in reply to the Queens speech. He com mented upon the vehement character of MT. O'Brien's attack last evening and said that still it was nothing but what he is aceustorn- ed to from the same source in the weekly at tacks in United Ireland. His palate for such stuff was jaded by his having had to consume diet of the same kind for some time. He
 had been told he took 8 strange pleasure in mere purposeless human suffering which to
 his languid life imparted delicious excite ment There was much more said about him in the same strain. He consoled himself with the reflection that attacks of worse character had been made upon Mir. O'Brien's present allies. United Ireland, MT. Balfour said, has compared Sir G. O. Trevelyan to a skunk, 8 cuttlefsh and hangman. MT. O'Brien had likewise drawn a comparison be- tween Gladstone and Judas Iscariot and for continuous weeks United Ireland had in-
 
 Trevelyan and Earl Spencer had conspired to shield men guilty of most horrible and nameless crimes (cries of ''hear, :" "'hear'0 Mr. O'Briep-I never did. I stated that the result of their misguided action was to shield those persons, but never alleged that they did so wilfully.
 MT. Baltour said he could refer to the words of United Ireland to prove his statement. (Cries of "Quote.'O NIT. Balfour replied, "Certainly not" He said be would never think of sullying his lips by repeating such language (cheers) as had been used toward Sir G. O.Trevelyan and Earl Spencer in July, 1885. Blame from the source whence such foulness proceeded was indeed the highest praise [Cries of 'shear,' ''hear') Referring l next to the allegations that the Earl of Carr narvon favored Dublin parliament and had opened negotiations with MT. ParneL with the knowledge of Lord Salisbury Mr. Balfour quoted the denials of Lord Salisbury and the Earl of Carnarvon. The latter declared he nev CT had said one word inconsistent with union. He hoped the denials would satisfy Mir. Par- nell; they would at least satisfy Parliam ant. Proceeding to compare the crimes acts of 1882 and 1887, MT. Balfour maintained that the latter did not, while the former did, create new crimes. For instance, the provis- | ion known as the curfew clause of the act of 1887 aimed to give the executive letter pow CTS to enforce existing laws and the facts proved how beneficial were it's operations. MT. OBrien had boasted that his advice to the people of Mitchellstown combined with ! @ portion of public opinion in England had saved the people from wholesale eviction. Government action, MT. Balfour declared, I had been modified by neither. It was noth | ing new for the Irish party to preach resist ance to evictions. That was their settled policy It had never been disavowed.
 MT. O'Brien rose to explain that his advice to the Mitchellstown people applied to a special case. He denied that he had in any other instance counseled resistance to the | law.
 MT. Balfour next referring to the impris- 1 onment of members of the House twitted Sir G. O. TrevelYan with making weak remark I to the effect that it was sickening thing for l members of Parliament to be imprisoned It was sickening thing that they should de- serve it, said MT. Balfour, and it would have l been much worse if the government had given the leading violators of the law a special privilege to defy it with impunity. A child- ish fuss had been made over their prison clothes which was hardly worth noticing. Complaint had been made of letter he wrote during MT. O'Brien's imprisonment at a time when Mir. O'Brien's friends were spreading every kind of ealumny regarding his treatment with the object of stirring the passions of the British democracy. All the letter stated was that MT. O'Brien was suffer- ing from weak lungs and an excitable disPo- sition. Regarding the alleged tS4tures he requested the English prison inspectors to make special inquiry with the result of showing that it was utterly untrue that there was any harshness. As matter of fact MT. O'Brien's health improved in prison (cries of "hear! hearl'D He was two pounds heavier when he left than when he went in.
 Mr. O'Brien-That is inaccurate. I was five pounds lighter.
 MT. Balfour said he could lay upon the table of the House the official reports on the rise and fall of MT. O'Brien's weight Qaugh- ter) Turning to the operation of the crimes act, Mr. Balfour contended that the condi- tion of Ireland had improved as compared with it's condition during the period of Mir. Gladstone's government.
 Mr. Gladstone followed MT. Balfour. He said he found little in the chief secretary's speech that tended to assist them in getting at the truth of the question before the House. This was the question whether the Conservative leaders had communicated with MT. Parnell on the subject of home rule. The denials made by MT. Balfour did not get rid of the Irish members assertions. Mr.Parnen had stated that he found himself in entire agreement with Lord Carnarvon on the home rule question; that had not been denied. It ! was stated that Lord Carnarvon spoke for ! himself; but he was viceroy of Ireland at the ! time for the Conservative government, which ! now held that home rule in any shape meant ! the separation of Ireland from the empire. MT. Balfour interposing said the letter | from Lord Carnarvon clearly implied that he did not express an opinion upon home rule | to MT. Parnell.
 l MT. Gladstone replied that Lord Carnarvon had never explicitly denied Mr. Parnells statement. If he did where were his words ! in denial? Continuing he said the Liberals were called separatists because they wished l to give effect to the national aspirations of l Ireland while having supreme regard for the unity of the empire-4sSpme of the remarks of | Mir. Balfour, MT. Gladstone said, had appar- ently been levelled at himself. His Noting ham speech had been absolutely misrepre-
 sented as to the statement regarding the Irish | executives practice of obtaining Information by permitting the police to concoct crime. ! He protested then now against she prac- 1 tioe as dangerous to society and odious in itself. He had never uttered words over l which he felt more rejoiced than his words | about Mitchelstown. He used them for the
 sake of preventing enormous mischief and suffering, probably bloodshed. It was the | agents of the law that were the breakers of diseraceful bloodshed, almost without ex- | ample, Mr. Balfour had become by implica- tion a breaker of the law, for he gave the act I his authoritative approval as 1t 1t were to be the model rule for the conduct ot the police. MT. Gladstone declined to accept as authentic the government statistics of crime under the coercion act until the cases cited were thorouehly investigated. The only case
 given in detail had been met with point
 blank contradiction. Supposing the gov
 ernment had @ mementary appearance
 of success fron the operation oi
 the coercion act; were they going | to forever legislate on the same line? He had
 never heard the ministers express confidence
 in their ability to make permanent resistance
 to the policy of home rule. (Parnellite cheers.
 He did not disguise the strength of the com
 bination against home rule. which included
 nearly the whole wealth and all the elements
 of the social strength belonging to high ranl
 and station in the country. But the Irish na
 ton and the growing English popular feeling was on the side of home rule. To delay tn
 settlement of question of this kind between nations was dangerous in the extreme. I the resistance to the national voice of Ire land was pushed too far those who nov
 guided the m1nd of that nation might los their power and be displaced by ruder ant
 more dangerous spirits: Let the governmen
 bethink themselves and consent to legislat
 for Ireland as for England and Scotland ii
 accordance with the oonstitutionally ex
 pressed wishes and permanent convictions o
 4I,a ,,oo,Io khue Ak laak T1rasents+ th