Rock Island daily Argus. (Rock Island, Ill.) 1886-1893, 1893-03-28
STOODLIKE A ROCK.
Gladstone's Majority in the
House of Commons.
ATTEMPT AT oENsURE DEFEATED.

BaIfour Leads the Attack Before Full
Benches and Crowded Gallery-SIor
ley and the q. q. VI. Meet the Onslaught
with ViEor and E:fect-Lord Randy a
Reserve Closes with n Rather BriIlian,
Effort, but the Liberals Have the Votes
and Win the Division
LONDON, March @S.-The galleries and
benches OF the house of commons were
crowded last night at the great debate on
Balfour's motion of censure, of which he
gave notice last Thursday, to the effect
that the Irish executive be censured for
condoning serious offenses and thus bring
ing the law into General contempt. He
made his attack upon the government with
exceptional vigor and evoked repeatedly
loud cheers from the opposition benches
The present deplorable state of affairs IN
Ireland. BalfOur said. was largely the con-
sequence of a compact between the govern
ment and the forces of disorder. The
ministry had made with the Irish party an
agreement by which the administration of
the law was being defeated. According to
the terms of this unwritten concordat, the
government had coquetted with amnesty
and had encouraged dishonest tenants,
through the cvicted tenants commission,
to disown their obligation and to treat
landlords a> law-abiding people would
treat malefactors.
4 Reign of Terror Established.
The government had fomented outrages
by suspending the crimes act and had in
stigated crimes by the release of the dyna-
miters The government had not hesitated
to take steps which were in direct an
tagonism 70 the decisions of the courts.
Had not judge of a high court of justice
declared that the chief secretary for Ire
md had acted Illegally in refusing police
protection to those whose duty it was to
enforce the law against defaulting tenants?
In certain districts the direct countenanc-
ing by the government Of law breaking had
appalling consequences. Such a state of
lawlessness prevailed in them that no con-
yiction should be obtained in cases of
agrarian crime, no matter how clear and
undisputed the evidence. 4 new reign of
terror had been established.
Witnesses Afraid to Testify.
Witnesses refused to appear to testify,
as they realized that the most convincing
testimony would be vain, while they would
incur the vengeance of the criminal popu-
lation. The victims of the outragessalso
preferred to hold their peace rather than
render themselves marked men. Hear,
hearil This was high price for the gov
eminent to pay for Irish support, leaving
the weak to be oppressed by the strong
and the law-abdiug to be at the mercy of
the lawless. Bnt the government had not
hesitated to pay it. The recent outrages
in Counties Mayo, Glare, Limerick and
Kerry had shown plainly how remarkable
had been the recrudescence of crime in Ire
land under the present government. In
one of these counties intimidation had been
carried so far that all the writs We're sent
through the post, as the bailiffs did not
dare to deliver them in person.
No Effort to Stop Disorder.
The practice of boycotting had been re
vived in all its pristine ugliness and vigor.
The government, knowing perhaps the
uselessness of prosecuting offenders, had
taken no steps to protect the victims. Dis
graceful were all these disorders there
was no sign of an effort to stop them. In
fact under the present government they
could not be expected to cease before the
chief secretary for Ireland should rally his
courage, free himself from the trammels
of his previous policy and use in the de-
fence of the law the powers which parlia
ment had entrusted to him. [Long Union
ist cheers.