Pittsburg dispatch. [volume] (Pittsburg [Pa.]) 1880-1923, 1889-03-08
rBY CABLE TO THE D1srArcH.l

LONDON, March, Il Copyright
Smith, to whose appointment it will be re-
membered the Irish members strongly OBJ
jected last year, has from the first sitting OF
the commission frequently behaved in a
manner which afforded ample justification
for the suspicious entertained of his i'm
partiality.
To-day he excelled himself by frequent
displays of temper, rude interruptions OF
the defendants counsel and ostentatious
patronage and protection of the Times
counsel and witnesses. Both Mr.. Russell
and his colleague, Mr.. Lockwood, had sew
eral lively skirmishes with his Lordship,
who, getting the worst of it, took his re-
venge by sharply reprimanding Michael
Davitt for a disrespectful allusion to the
present Government.
HE LAMENTS PIGoTT.
The general feeling is that Justice Smith
has been much upset by the collapse OF
Pigott, for whom, when he was IN the wit
ness box, he showed curious consideration.
1t was strange, too, to note with what joy
Gus alacrity he concurred in President Han
mems amazing ruling at the opening OF to-
evidence was admissible againt the Irish
members. Excepting this ruling and the
Attorney Generals announcement that he
is within q measurable distance of the
close of the Times case, the proceedings
were much more amusing than important.
Coleman, alias Caulfeld, who re-entered
the witness box, proved to be an informer
of the type with which we have been made
familiar during the last few months.
He talked glibly in his examination of
the outrages planned and carried out by the
Land Leaguers and paid for out Of the
League treasury, but, as usual, fell to
pieces in the cross-examination. Six years
ago, in a court of justice, he gave evidence
supposed to cover the same period, the same
persons and the same outrages. He had
forgotten that that evidence was duly en-
tered in the official dispositions, which Mr..
Russell produced to-day with crushing ef-
feet.
Perjury PROVED.
The informer had to choose whether he
had committed perjury in 1888 or to-day,
and naturally got into a hopeless tangle.
Like LeCaron, Coleman seems to have made
pretty good thing out of the informing
business. He was paid literally and regu-
larly by the police, and in 1883, after he had
given the evidence which sent several men
to penal servitude, he was presented by the
grateful Government with 81 900, with
which he went to Canada.
Later in the afternoon Solicitor Soames
was put in the witness box. 1t seemed
quite like old times and the resemblance
was heightened when he began to talk
about Parnell letters. One Thonas Walsh
had tried to make deal with Soames on
the Pigott liue, and promised to obtain doc
umentary evidence of Parnells illicit deal
ings in arms. This man produced letter,
which Soames, amid big burst of laughter,
naivelv declared bore Mr.. Parnell's un-
doubted signature and received ESQ on ac-
count, with promise of $500 more, and
then Walsh vanished never to be heard OF
more.
The story was funny one, and the man.
ner of its telling was comical in the ex-
treme. The Court adjourned until Tues
day, and the Times case will close before
| the end of next week.