The McCook tribune. (McCook, Neb.) 1886-1936, 1890-10-31
Gladstone at Edinburgh.

exchange, this city. There was a tre-
mendous crush of people eager to see
and hear the great liberal leader, and
when the hall had been crowded to
suffocation thousands of disappointed
persons were left outside, to return
home or listen to speakers of lesser
note who address overflow meetings in
open air. The audience in the hall
numbered about 5, 900. MI. Gladstone
was enthusiastically greeted on max
ing his appearance. He was in ex-
cellent health and his voice was clear
and strong. He spoke without visible
sign of fatigue.
In opening his address he remarked
that though many questions of import
ance were before the public, the prob
lem which continued to eclipse all
others and to demand the almost I'M
divided attention of those who strove
to promote the well being of the ma
ton, was the Irish problem. The
country had come to recognize the fact
that this question must be settled be-
fore other questions could be dealt with.
1t "a one which affected the health
and vitality of the state so intimately
that, in truth, no other question could
be properly considered while this re-
manned in menace The opponents of
home rule had hoodwinked and deluded
their constituencies before the election
by plcdging themselves not to rely
upon brute force in the government of
Ireland. They had promised to pro-
vide an eli etive system of local self
government for that part of the king
dom. They had put themselves on
record as opposed to any advances from
the British treasury for the purpose of.
buying estates from landlords I'm Ire
land. How had these pledges, upon
which the people had granted them the
reins of government. been adhered to
in the actual history of their admins
tration? The very first important
proposed by the present gov
eminent was a measured for the govern
ment of the Irish people by coercion.
This has been the favorite bantlfng of
the tory fathers. True, a local govern
ment bill had been brought in, but it
was a feeble offspring, poorly nour-
ished, and SO badly neglected that it
was rapidly dwindling into nothingness.
AS to the third pledge, it had appa-
rently been wholly forgotten; for in
the proposal pending before parlia-
ment in regard to appropriation of
Irish Estates, there was a provision by
which f40, 600, 900 pounds of money
drawn from the British people by tax
alton vas to pass into the pockets of
holders of land in Ireland.
Mr.. Gladstone proceeded to discuss
the provisions of the land purchase
bill, and subjected the entire meas
ure to a v e criticism, in which his
well-known skill in financial analysis
was exhibited SO strikingly as to elicit
round after round of applause from his
closely attentive audience. Recurring
to the subject Of coercive methods of
government he remarked that the con-
servatives took credit upon themselves
for setting Ireland right by mean of a
firm and resolute government. Butts o
poorly had they earned the right to
make such a boast, that it might truly
be said that defective though the law
was, the administration of it was worse
than the law itself. Indeed, SO deplor-
able was the state to which affairs had
been brought that he would not hest
tate to declare that the Irish people
ought to hate the law, though he
would not sanction lawlessnes,
even though the Irish people
had constantly before them an
em1lently bad example of lawlessness
in quarters which should be the foun-
tain head of legality. For the govern
ment of Ireland was itself a perfect
pattern of unlawfulness, and its meth
DDS were such as could not fail to pro-
woke among the people feelings of
justifiable resentment. 1t was hardly
necessary to mention particular in
stances of these illegal methods, for
such instances had lately been conspic-
uously impressed upon the public
mind. 1t was grossly illegal to close
the court room against the people.
Trials should be open to the public
view. The appointment of Mr.. Shan
non, one of the trial magistrates, to sit
in judgment upon Messrs. Dillon.
O'Brien and other accused nationalist
was, while perhaps technically legal, a
gross scandal, not merely because he
had been previously called upon to act
as an executive officer in dealing with
the people now brought before him in
judicial capacity, but also because in
the case of Nh. Dillon particularly
there was a personal quarrel between
the men. which it was only fair to as
sumo must create a bias in the mind
of the magistrate. In dwelling upon
the action of the police, in attacking
respectable and %peaceable citizens and
visitors with batons, MI. Gladstone re-
marked that after such conduct on the
part of the police at Mitchellstown,
Tipperary and elsewhere it would be
expecting impossibilities to look for
the maintenance of popular respect of
the constabulary or their administra-
ton of law. Further than this the sys-
tematic brutality of the police was
crowned by the insult of chronic alb