The Irish standard., 1889-03-02
4 TINE rOR REJOICING.

Charles Stewart Parnell has: been vim
dlcated. Richard Pigott, forger and
blackmailer. has confessed his guilt and
is q fugitive from justice. Where he
has gone there seems to be no lnforma-
tion, but that he has fed from London
and indeed from England there can be
but little doubt. All efforts to blast the
reputation aud character of Parnell
have failed ignominously. 'Che infam.
Gus plots and designs Of the Tories have
come to aught and the great leader of
the Irish forces stands to-day In the
eyes Of all people greater and more
respected than ever before.
During the long and tedious trial the
Times has been able to make good
showing through hearsay evidence, but
as soon as the real subject Of the inyes-
tigation was croached before the COM
mission the weakness Of it's case was at
once revealed and both that paper and
the Tory government can we'll be held
in scorn for the stupidity which they
have displayed. Mr.. Soames, solicitor
for the Times, and Macdonald, it's man
ager, revealed by their testimony that
letters published early in 1887 in a
series OF articles headed "Parnellism
and Crime' was forwarded to them
from Richard Pigott, q man who has
shown himself to have been a scoundrel
Of the deepest dye and who at one
time published 3 newspaper in Dublin.
The letters III question mad nc envel.
ope to show whether or not they had
ever been mailed. -Four or five Of them
bore Parnell's signature, while others,
80 all appearances, were written by Da
witt, Eagan and O'Kelly. How they
were obtained no inquiries were made,
and the proof Of their genuineness was
left to single expert in handwriting,
Pigott and Houston reaped the benefit
Of being roundly paid for letters which
had been forged. With such docu.
ments as these it was expected to prove
that Parneli was an accessory to the
Phoenix Park murders
The brazen Pigott came to the front
st last and testified that he had obtained
this batch of letters from lrish-Ameri-
cans III pavis, who, the scoundrel
claimed, swore him to secrecy on a
Catholic prayer book--and these were
men whom he had seen never before
nor since. 1t was here that Sir Charles
Russell showed his great powers and
the proof of Pigott's own infamy was
soon at hand. Then and there he ad-
mitted himself a forger, blackmailer
and unprincipled wretch, and few there
were who doubted that the real forger
OF the Parnell letters was then testify
ing knowing that his villainy had
been discovered he thereafter made
voluntary confession to Mr.. La Bouch-
ere that be had written the letters.
This confession was sent to Parnell's
lawyer, who returned it to the Infamous
Pigott, as Parnel] refused to receive as
slstance from such source. The gov.
ernment and the Times, both disgraced
and both driven to the wall, ended the
drama by helping the man who turned
his back upon his country and her cause
for British gold. to fly to another cline.
1t IS a gladstone day indeed. The
exposures which were TO prove Chas.
Stewart Parnell a criminal may be the
means Of wiping out the Tory gov ern-
ment. Who will say that the great
ause Of home rule will not profit from
he oceedings Of this great trial. The
,despicable course of the government is
on every tongue. Public opinion, slow
. form, IS changing everywhere with