The Seattle post-intelligencer. [volume] (Seattle, Wash. Terr. [Wash.]) 1888-1914, 1889-02-22
FENIANS FOR SALE
Money a Magic Key to Their
Secrets.
THE cLAS-sA-GAKL's LETTERS.
Informer Pfgsss. in . Better Mo-
ment. Confessed His sin 80
Archbishop waish.

&&t- ~ = t<cSkAk-Q lfl1t De n1u an inter
view with Eugene Davis at Lansanne
January 8 He pretended he Pieottl
wanted 10 write = pamphlet on ths
league. and desired to emac<sy signcs,
/ documents in it Davis declined 10
furnish documents. saying the Feniar
Brotherhood was boand to Parnell ne,
TO interfere with his plans till after d
certain time. Finally Davis, for xloDg
furnished witness the principal facts
with the understanding that they be
written. but not published till Ger.
tain time Witness at once wrote out
this information and gave il 10 Hous-
ton This Was the statement read
/ yesterday.
/ subsequently. in Paris, a man NAM
ed Morris Murphy offered sor $500 Ia
furnish witness the documents which
I he had tried 10 get from Davis. They
! were IN bag. and consisted of five or
SIX OF Egan letters. some of ParneIl s
and some old accounts. Witness read
the letters and made a memorandum
but did not copy them. Pigotf here
Identiiled SIX letters OF Egan, five of
Parnel, including the letter which ap-
| peared IN the Times, aud scraps of ac-
counts produced in court. as the con-
tents OF the bag, Pigott said he did
not know Parneil's writing when he
looked CT the bag. He knew his sig-
nature. He believed the signature at
taehed TO the letters that of parnell.
de had no idea as TO who wrote the
body of the letters.
Witness returned 10 France April 10
and told Murphy he would accept the
oiter. After long discussion MUIR
/ ply told witness it would be utterly
impossible TO obtain the letters unless
witness went to New York. Witness
consulted with Houston and went 10
New York and there saw Breslin to
whom Murphy had given him letter.
breslin handed witness q sealed letter
which he said witness was TO deliver
to Murphy in Paris. Witness con-
tinued: II returned 70 London and
told Houston what had occurred. He
believed the letter contained authority
TO deliver the bag. I went TO Paris
July 20 and saw Murphy ut the Hotel
st. Petersburg. | handed him the
letter. He said it was all right, but he
could not give me the letters until he
had seen other people.
Two evenings later Murphy in
ylted me to cafe in the Rue ST. Le-
nore- He conducted me 20 a private
room where five men were seated
around table These men, he said.
represented the Clan-na-1sael. He
made me swear on a Catholic PRAYER
book that under no circumstances
would reveal the source from which
/ obtained the document. | also
swore | would not mention names,
and If any proceedings followed the
publication of the letters l would not
testify.
Pigott did not get the documents
that night. Witness knew Egau's
writing and signature. and was con-
vInced that Eagan wrote the letters
ascribed to him. Murphy was dis
pleased with the refusal to return the
letters
Pigott, resuming, said he first heard
OF the existence of other letters at the
beginning of 1883. His informant was
Thomas Brown, q member of the
Clan-na-GaeI. Hayes introduced
Brown and witness in the Cafe Roy
ale. Rue st. Honore, Paris. Brown
produced the letters and witness sent
70 Houston copies OF two of Pa-nell's
letters and one of Egan's. Pigott had
not the slightest doubt the signatures
were genuine. In July, Isss, he heard
of other letters. A person in Paris
who declined to reveal his name of
fered to surrender them for $500. He
was paid 600. of which witness re-
eeived ESQ back.
Pigott continued: "A man named
o'Brien visited me in Dublin under
the alias of Sinclair. He said ParnelI
had sent him to try to get me 10 as
sist Egan. Labouchere, he said. was
acting for Egan and would pay me q
very high price il had any letters of
Parneli's to sell. Sinclair suggested
that | should see Labouchere in Lon
don, and gave me E5 with which to
pay my passage. went to the: place
mentioned, but Labonchere was not
there. declined to hold converse
ton with Sinclair. afterwards wrote
TO Labouchere without Sinclair's
knowledge. Labouchere replied and /
had an interview with Parnell and La
bouchere at the latter's home
Continuing, Pigott said that at the
meeting referred to, Parnell told him
he held prima facie evidence that wit
ness had forged the letters, and
Labouchere proposed thst witness ad-
init the forgery. Lewis entered dur
ing the intery:sss and said II witness
followed his directions he would be his
best friend, but il he failed to obey his
instructions Lewis would prosecute
him mercilessly for perjury aud
forgery. Afterwards witness saw La
bouchere alone outside of the room.
Labouehere said he was prepared TO
pay 1900. but that money matters
must not be mentioned TO ParnelI.
Witness induced Labonchere TO think
he would accede to his proposal. but
on returning To the room he said
nothing would induce him to swear
the letters we're forgeries. Lewis then
asked witness TO write to the Tfmes
that he twitness) believed the letters
to be forgeries, when the Times would
withdraw the letters.
The following day witness asked
whether Labouchere' 3 offer would hold
good If witness induced the Times to
withdraw the letters. Lewis said
Yes On the day after witness acci-
dentalIy met Parnesl and Lewis. The
latter denied he had given witness any
assurance. Parneli's manner was
threatening. He reiterated that wit
ness forged the letters, and also ac-
cused him Of having committed rner-
czntlle forgeries. Witness denied the
allegations.
Acknowledgement Webster read
long correspondence between Pigost
and Lewis In his letters Lewis
ayerred that he and his associates
we're aware Pigott was forger before
he saw him. He suggested thai Pr
gott meet Parnell again. Pigott re-
piled that be was prepared 70 meet
any proceedings and declined 20 meet
Parneil again.
Witness, continuing. said Labou-
chere repeatedly wrote him in Dublin.
pressing him to testify. and Offering
10 paw his passage. At tue end OF
January he received letter contain
ing flo. He was anxious TO avoid tes-
tifying. He was aware il vAs danger
Gus to offend the Clan-na~Gaei, and he
might be murdered Sir Charles Rus
sell cross-examined Pigoss- Pigoft
said he had corresponded with Fcrs-
ter from 1851 to 1854.
He wrote sir q. o. Trevelyan, ask
| ing for money on account OF his sup
port OF the government but osf not
Offer 10 furnish information. he de-
MED in his statement 70 Lewis that he
said the publication OF letters oy The
! Tsssss had alarmed him. and that DC
had therefore asked Archbishop
| Walsh, because he regarded the arch
bishop IS his confessor. He denied
/ that he knew the articles On ''Parneli-
| - ~ra r.vfnsess uere hesug prepared.