Wichita eagle., 1889-03-14
PARNELL SPEAKS.
The Great Irish Chieftain Addresses 8
Meeting at London.

LONDON, March 13-Mr. Morley presided
over tremendous mass meeting in honor
of Parnell at st. James hall tonight. Mr..
Gladstone was absent on account of deli
cate health. In closing bitter denuncia-
tion of the London Times conduct in the
Parnell case and of the conduct Of Attor-
ney General Webster, Mr.. Morley remind
ed his hearers that the whole matter
rested with the nation and that
triumph depended upon each one making
himself center for right ideas. If we
do this" he declared, "the time is not dis
with front of Tory brass and feet of dis
sentlent clay trampled in the dust under
the feet of the honest citizens OF England,
Scotland and Ireland" Loud applausel.
When Mr. Parnell stood up to speak the
singing of He's jolly good fellow" pre-
vented his speaking. After the singing
had abated he spoke as follows: = am un-
ception given me. Such meetings Will
do more for the union than twenty centu-
ries of the present government. This great
meeting is assembled to protest against
the petty and malignant policy of MI
Balfour's government in Ireland. The
chairman expressed the hope that would
be a privy councillor. On that point L
it is legitimate to inquire whether there is
not something rotten in system OF gov
ernment which compels the ostraclsm
from the affairs of your empire OF eighty
six of the 1O3 Irish members. That is
one of the first results of seven centu-
ries Of firm government, much hrmer
than we are ever likely to Sc again. lCheersl
A government under which it was only
necessary to get up forged letters against
man and not to prove them to enable to
the lord lieutenant to have him beheaded.
Fortunately they cannot do such things
nowadays"
After denouncing the imprisonment as
common felons Of twenty-fOur Irish mem-
bers of parliament for Offenses unknown
to the law of England (mainly for speak
ing and writing in newspapers Mr.. Parnell
proceeded to speak on subject of the charges
made by the Times. In a seathing ar
raignment of the course of the government
he declared that, even when the charges
were first started, Lord Carnarvan was
writing the Nationalist to confer as to a
new constitution to be given to Ireland.
why" he continued. when Lord Car
narvan was driven from office, owing to
the failure of his colleagues to carry out
pledges he had given us, with the charges
strengthened by the proofs of forged let
tiers, did not the government
undertake the job? And you must
substantiated by the Times was unknown
to Lord Carnarvan and Lord Salisbury
when they entered into their negotiations
with us, so they could not plead ignorance.
Why again did not the government, in
stead of fighting behind the petticoats of
the Times, say boldly: We think these
matters worthy of clearing up and will
ourselves be responsible for the proceed
ings, and we shall ourselves prosecute the
parties who may be found in the result
worthy of prosecution That
would have been a govern
ment worthy of Englishmen. [Cheers.l
But no, they had recourse to every sub
terfuge and dodge. Indeed, they pretend
ed that they had established the commls-
sion to enable me to disprove the letters:
But they so carefully framed the terms of
the act that the Times was enabled to com
pei us to appear in court day after day for
nearly six months, for fifty-two actual Sit
ting days of the commission, while every
charge, every allegation devisable by the
cupidity and ingenuity of informers and
Jail birds, against everybody but ourselves,
was brought forward and investigated
until at length they approached the
letters most unwillingly and gave
us for the first time an opportunity. The
skill Of Sir Charles Russell and other gen
tlemen was promptly used for exposing
what without disrespec5 to the judge l
shall venture to call one OF the most scan
dalous wastes of public time and money
ever instituted under the guise of judi
cial investigation. [Cheers.l l think
we are entitled to ask all thinking
and rejecting men and women in
England to consider this: Is it right
that the future and the liberties
of Ireland shall be dependent upon cas-
ual publication of a forged letter in the
Times? ICries of mol 1t had been ad-
mitted on oath by the manager Of the
Times that the publication was purpos-
ed to effect the division" LCries of
Shame
Mr.. Parnell closed with an eloquent and
touching reference to the cruelty of the
eviction policy in Ireland.
At the conclusion of his address he was
given magnificent ovation.