The daily morning journal and courier., 1896-02-18
DEFENDS THE PRESIDENT
SIR WILLIAMHaRCOURTSPEAKS ON
 REPATRIATION INTERESTS.

ARBITRATION INTERESIS.
 It Was in Regard to an Amendment by H..
 Atheriy Jones-Every Effort Ought t. be
 Made to Remove All Causes of Irritation
 Between the Two Countries.
 London, Feb. 1.-The house to-day took up the debate on the amendments to the address in reply to the queens speech moved on Friday by Timothy Harrington, Parnellite, favoring the re- lease of the Irish political prisoners.
 John E. Redmond made an impas- stoned speech in which he said that the feeling throughout Ireland was in flavor of amnesty for the Irish political prisoners. The use of dynamite, he said, had originated with Irish Ameri- cans who were regarded by Irishmen generally as being mad and reckless. All Irishmen now concurred in the be- lief that the time had arrived for the exercise of clemency toward the Irish political prisoners. He appealed to the government to hasten the day of the release of an old and dead moment of passion and madness. tCheers.)
 Professor LecSy, the historian, was loudly cheered as he rose to make his first speech in the house, urging clem- ency for the Irish prisoners.
 MT. Balfour moved closure, which was carried by vote of 27O to 107, and Mir. Harrington's amendment was re- jected, 279 to IF.
 l.. Atherly- Jones, radical moved an amendment to the address in reply to the queens speech deploring the addi- tion that the whole boundary dispute with Venezuela will be referred to ar bitration in accordance with the sug- gestion of the United States. In speak, ing to his motion MT. Atherly-Jones de- clared that Great Britain had seven times changed the boundary between British Guiana and Venezuela and ask ed how it could be claimed that the ter ritory in dispute could be outside the pale of arbitration. He reviewed the question in all its aspects since 1874.
 Before the motion could be seconded MT. Balfour, first lord of the treasury and government leader in the house. appealed to the house on his responsi- bility as minister of the crown not to continue the debate. He declared that he was of the opinion that the continu ation of the debate would not serve the purpose Mir. Atherly-Jones had in view, as it would not make an honorable so- lution of the difficulty easier. He hop ed that the house, realizing how grave were issues at stake, would not further discuss on this occasion the policy that had been pursued or that would be pur- sued
 MT. William Allan, advanced radical, then seconded the amendment. The whole matter, he declared, was a tenn pest in tea cup. Gold, as usual, was at the bottom of the trouble The whole country in dispute was a nest of yellow fever and was not worth fighting for
 Henry Labouchere, the radical lead- CT said that after the statement made by INT. Balfour. it was impossible to continue the debate. (Cries of "hear," "hear.'o He hoped he might take it that the dispute would be speedily set tied to the satisfaction of both coun- tries.
 John Dillon, anti-Parnellite, followed MT. Labouchere. He said he trusted that no appeal from the government would induce the mover of the amend ment to withdraw his motion. The American people ought to have some indfca ton of the intensity of the feel ing existing in the house of commons against the mere suggestion of a war IL v,,st <@E the American government had been most patient and forebearing and it ought to be made known to the Amer jeans that Lord Salisbury's dispatch to Secretary Olney did not represent the feeling of the people of this country He was glad to note the recent improv- ed tone of public opinion. Even Lord Salisbury had turned his attention to insulting a somewhat smaller nation than the United States.
 In the view of nine-tenths of the peo- pie of Ireland, the whole question ought to be submitted to unlimited arbitra- tion. If the ministry tried to plunge the country into a war for an unjust cause by refusing to grant arbitration he had the right to claim that there would arise from millions Of English men and Irishmen voice of the strong est possible condemnation. (Cries of "hear," "hear.D
 Sir William Vernon-Harcourt, the lih- eral leader in the house, said he was moved in the interests of arbitration, but he did not thing he could insist that the amendment was the best way to attain the end in view. Of course, such an amendment could not be ac- cepted by the government and must, if pressed to a. division, be lost by large majority. If that happened, it would go forth to America that the house had pronounced against arbitration, al- though he was convinced that that was the end that all wished to be attained. Cries of "hear,' hear.'0 What the house had to do was to show there was no difference of opinion on the subject. He was perfectly certain that both in- side and outside of the house the con sensus of opinion was in favor of peace ful arbitration. Their main object ought to be to express such an opinion. It could not be done by joining issue on the amendment.
 He took the opportunity to deprecate the language sometimes used alleging that President Cleveland had acted from election motives. There seemed to be a tendency in certain quarters to think that the United States had acted in q sudden offensive manner. As a mat ter of fact they had been pressing for a settlement of the question for the last ten years, always in a most friend