The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1890-03-07
WEBSTER CALLS A HALT.
HE TEINKs BE HAS STOOD HIS
SHARE OF ABUSE.

that the CHARGES Were Well Found
ed-The Debate stIl Before the
House of Commons.
LONDON. March Elm the House of
Commons this evening the debate on the
Parnel commission report was resumed by
Prof. Bryce, who praised Messrs. Parnell
and Davitt for rendering service to England
in bringing about better feeling between
the two countries. He was not surprised,
he said, that Mr.. Davitt, early in the period
of the agitation, desired absolute independ-
ence for Ireland.
Sir Charles Russell said he could not re-
gard the commission judges as men free
from prepossessions and prejudices, nor as
men who ought to have been asked to deal
with many questions referred to them.
[Hear, hear.l He was justified in speak
ing thus, for the judges themselves had
confessed that they had not found within
their mandate given them by parliament
direction to report upon that part Of the
subject without which il was impossible
for anyone to judge Of the moral character
OF the acts imputed to certain mem bers.
PRECEDENT.
A precedent had been made in the selec-
tion Of three judges to decide questions
having chiefly a political aspect. he had
the greatest respect for the opinion of the
judges ON questions that were capable of
direct disproof, but not when they began to
draw inferences. The whole case was
vitiated by political bias. 1t was conducted
with pertlnaclous rancor by the attorney
general-a manner III which it would not
have been conducted If the political
character of the commission had
not swept away his judgment.
Opposition cheers.l After commenting
on part Of the evidence as leaving the origin
Of the conspiracy against Mr.. Parnell still
obscure, the speaker urged both sides to
abandon discussing the great Irish question
on the ground of the personal character Of
the men who were for or against home rule
Were there no men on the government side,
he asked, magnanimous enough or states-
men enough to lift the question beyond the
lower region Of personalities into the proper
sphere Of natural justice and national prin-
ciple. [CheeTs.1
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL KICKS.
Sir r. e. Webster, attorney general, said
he thought that Sir Charles Russell ought
to have acted himself upon his advice to
avoid giving the debate personal charac-
ter Both the debate and case before the
commission had teemed with personalities
he bad been represented throughout by the
speakers of the opposition as the villain
Of the piece, although only doing
his duty as counsel. 1t had even
been suggested that he ought to apologize
for certain remarks upon the ParnellItes,
Y ct the Parnellites had allowed themselves
the greatest license In personal criticism.
AS an instance of this he mentioned Sir
Charles Russelps calling LeCaron a living lie
although the commission declared that it
believed LeCaron against the oath of Par
nell. [Oi OF and cheers.1 Proceeding to
comment upon the fact of the leaguers with
holding their documents, he asked the House
why the leaguers who were invincibles,
such as Sheridan and Brennan, could not
face the commission.
HARRINGToN's TELEGRAMs.
As for the kilograms which Mr. Harring-
ton quoted during the debate, they were
sent in order to obtain evidence for the
defense in Mr.. Parnells libel action against
the Times Throughout the case no step
had been taken in behalf of the Times.
The government had aimed solely to throw
the clearest possible light upon the doings
Of the leaguers. Truth, not misrepresenta-
ton, had been their aim. 1t was contended
that the findings of the commission ought to
be set at naught; that all that was new was
not true; while all that was true was well
known.
The commission had shown, what the re-
spondents denied, that there was an inti-
mate connection between the Clan-na-Gael
and the Irish leaguers through the Ameri-
can league; it had traced the affiliationi of
crime with the existence of the league, and
it had provided impartial minds with evil
cence that justified the bulk of the accusa-
tions against the. Parnellites.
PARNELL AND THE DYNAMITERs.
Continuing, the attorney general said
that Mr.. Parnell was unable to produce a
single speech in which he had denounced
the use of dynamite. Mr.. Parnell had made
only one remark in parliament that showed
disapproval of the policy Of Patrick Ford.
The commission had found that it was Mr..
Parnelps custom to address the fenians
through the I-iShmdn, which Mr.. Glad
stone had described as a miserable and OBJ
scure paper, but which bore Mr.. O'Brien's
name as editor. The Parnellites advised
the people to avoid land courts 1t was
cant to claim, then, the land act of 1881 was
a charter, the outcome of the league agita-
tion. 1t was not for him to say much
about the forged letters, but it was not true
that only one expert had been consulted
He rejoiced that the accused members had
been cleared of more heinous charges.
He regretted that many charges
had been made that should not
have been made. But exoneration scarcely
touched the great political issues, to the
gravity Of which he was unable to shut his
eyes, 1uo udU
their case, but the fact was that the more
witnesses were called the more the Times
case was being proved. 1t was not his prov
ince to indulge in eloouence such as that
of Sir Charles Russell. 1t was only his
duty to reply to accusations as the repre-
sentative Of the Times, and leave the mat
ter in the hands of the house.
SAUEDERsoN's SARCASM.
Maj. Saunderson thought the Parnellites
ought to subscribe for monument to Pigott
in return for the sponge he has given them
with which to obliterate, if possible, all
charges against them. Nothing in the
whole inquiry had struck him with such
and caused such sorrow and re-
gret as the recklessness with which the Times
had accepted Pigott's evidence. The mo-
ment he heard that Pigott was the authority
Of the Times he said that the letters might
as well be burned, for nobody would hang
a dog Oh Pigott's evidence. He regretted
that the inquiry of the commission had
been limited. If they had gone further
back they could have made stronger re-
port. be described at length what he called
the duel method of the Parnelites 1t was
their custom, he said, to collect dynamite
funds in America, and to crate ON the
"union Of hearts" at home.
GIVEN THE LIE.
Continuing, Mai. Saunderson accused Mr..
Dillon OF indirectly encouraging tue maim-
ing Of cattle, whereupon a Parnell-
ito member shouted, "Liarp The