Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1889-02-28
PUBLIC OPINION.
PARNELL INDICATED.

From the Cincinnati COmmercial-GazeJte.
1t may be accepted as a fact that Par
nell has defeated the London Times be-
fore the special Commission of Parlia-
ment The Times published a series Of
sensational articles under the head of
"ParnelliSm and Crime" the accusation
being that Mr. Parnen was involved in
the moral responsibility, if not in the ac-
tual conspiracy of the Phoenix Park muir
ders. The Times relied upon the history
of violence in Ireland, and of menacing
utterances in the United States, to sus-
tain the general proposition that The
League" in Ireland had prompted dyn-
amite Outrages and planned the assassin
alton of Lord CavendiSh and his Secre-
tary-and at length published what pur-
ported to be fac Sjmae letter from Mr..
Parnell that was Interpreted to lmplcate
him. Fifty-tive days have been spent by
the Commission in taking testimony, and
the case finally turned upon the testimony
of one Richard Piggott, formerly an Irish
journalist. and one among the most fierce
of those who some years ago made the
Irish press revolutionary. lie seems TO
have furnished the material to the writer
of the Times articles on ParnelilSm and
Crime, especially the letter that was al
legged to connect Mr.. Parnell with crimi-
nal proceedings. When the Times produ-
ced its Parnell letter and gave the points
upon which inquiry had been based, Mr..
Patrick Egan was enabled to identify Pig
gott as the party who must be behind the
publication. and at once spotted him as a
traitor and fOrger. There was coincl-
dence of phrases, and a correspondence in
dates, and complication with regard to
addresses and names in Paris, that gave
Mr.. Egan the key to the mystery. This
brought at once the whole power OF the
friends of Mr.. Parnell into activity to fur
nish the material for the destruction OF
the testimony of PiggOtt, which it was
known would be the bottom of the Times
case. and the record shows that they sue
ceeded almost beyond example in dlScred-
iting him. and the Times case breaks down
before the public opinion that conYlctS
the informant and the purveyOr OF the let
terS upon which the Times relied, of SyS-
tematic and most OpprobriOus lying, and
lOng-drawn fraud, terminating in forgery.
1t is hardly sufficient to say it has been
shown that the letters were fabricated
They bear upon them the marks if not of
not of forgery, of absolute falsitcatlon;
and the cloud passes away from the fame
of the Irish leader.
UnQuestiOnably this must have an i'm
portant effect upon the politics OF Great
Britain. 1t strengthens the Irish cause
immensely. 1t gives Mr. Gladstone mo-
mentum that may enable him to over
throw the Salisbury government. 1t IS
hardly too much to say, that it has won
the cause of Home Rule for Ireland; and
there is this to add, that not only the To-
ries are defeated, but the dynamiters also.
There is reason to hope that there may be
no more stains of blood or evil reputation
of sinister outrage upon the Irish name.
The testimony elected by the Commission
has shown that the fatal weakness of the
cause of Ireland has been the tendencies
to assaults upon civilization associated
with it. Mr. Parnell and Mr.. Gladstone
can now stand together, with an Overbear-
| ing influence for peaceful methods, and
are in position TO command the Sympa-
thy of the manhood of England and the
good will of the enlightened people of the
earth. The true friends of Ireland are to
be congratulated, not merely upon the
completeness of their triumph, but that
it is one of the victories of peace-one of
the high and most worthy achievements
of craftsmanship.