The Worcester spy. [volume] (Worcester, Mass.) 1898-1904, 1898-10-02

| chuSetts is subordinate to Washington
| in national affairs
Parnell accepted the bill in behalf
of the Irish people, and great debate
followed which lasted till the 18th of
June when the vote vas taken on the
second reading. The result stood Sl3
in favor and S4s against.
Gladstone Immediately appealed to
the country and was badly beaten
at the polls. The balance of parties
when the elections were over was
anti-home rulers, 393:-Gladstonian
| liberals and Irish nationalists 275. Lord
Salisbury and his nephew Mr.. Balfour,
took over the reins of government
with a majority of l1S behind them
The next great crisis in Farnell's ca
reer arose when the London Times be-
gan its crusade against him in its eff
| fort to convince the British people that
he was not the constitutional leader
he was looked upon as being, but that
| he was an ally and supporter of the
| perpetrators of the crimes and outra-
| ges that had stained the pages Of Irish
history for the ten years preceding. All
through the year 1885 series of Par
nellism and crime" articles appeared
| in the Times, and attracted a
great deal of attention. They were ev-
| Identity written by an Irish journalist
who knew enough of inside Irish poll
| tics to enable him to give his menda-
cious articles tinge Of truth and
authority. Parnell never noticed the
charges those articles contained and
ne pursued the even tenor of his way
as if those libels never saw the light
OF day. But there came a time when
| forbearance ceased to be a virtue and
the Irish leader determined to try con-
illusions with the great London daily
| The Times appeared one morning
with what purported to be fac smile
copy of a letter which Mr. Parnell had
written to one of the alleged planners
! of the Phoenix park tragedy, expressing
his appreciation of the murders and his
full sympathy with the men who com
nitted them. The Irish leader at once
| denounced the letter to be a forgery.
and he called on the government to in
stitute proceedings against the pro-
prietors of the Times Reluctantly the
| government took up the challenge but
| instead of instituting the inquiry Mr..
Parnell had asked for, they appointed
| a special commission, composed of
| three Judges, to inquire into the whole
subject matter contained in the article
| on "Parnellism and Crime" This
brought Parnell into court, not as the
prosecutor of the Times, but as a man
on the defensive with the burden of
| proving his innocence thrown upon
him.
! Parnell accepted the issue as thus
made and the great duel began. He was
aided, as his chief counsel, by Sir Chas.
| Russell (now Lord Russell lord chief
Justice OF England and the first Irish
Catholic ever appointed to the office)
The trial had not gone on for many
days before Russell discovered who was
the author of the 'Parnell and Crime"
article. He was fellow named Richard
| or IF n,,IIt T.,
| newspaper, who had palmed off on the
| astute London Times managers his
tales of gauze and clumsy forgeries,
| getting generous payment in return.
Russell, in cross examination, made
Pigott unveil himself and admit his for
geries and lies. The court adjourned
While Pigott was on the stand On its
re-entrance Pigott could not be found.
A hunt was begun for him by the Lon
/ don police and while the country was
ringing with the sensation of his con-
| fession and disappearance, the news
came over the wires from Spain that
the wretched fugitive had shot himself
dead in Madrids
| The Times soon got its rich deserts.
The paper was damaged beyond repair
in character and prestige and its dupes
| OF owners were out Of pocket money
thousands of pounds in brides and dam
ages. The three judges sent in unani-
nous report to parliament completely
| generating Mr.. Parnell from the
charges the Times brought against him.
Mr. Justin Mccarthy describes as fol-
lows Parnell's first appearance in the
house Of commons after the issue of the
report of the judges:
1T was late when he came in and
the house was crowded The mo-
/ ment he appeared the whole liberal
party, including the occupants Of the
|
feet and, standing, cheered him again
and again. Some even among the
tory ranks Joined in the demonstration.
1t was felt to be an honorable testi-
monial Of sympathy offered to a man
who had been cruelty illuminated and
who had obtained a verdict Of acquit-
tai from a tribunal created by his po-
litical opponents to inquire into the
conditions and character of his
whole career. Not often has
such scene been witnessed
IN the house of commons and whatever
different persons may think of Mr.
| ParnelFs politics, there are very few in
deed who win not say that it was a
generous and manly tribute; which
did honor to the house Of commons.
Mr. Parnell himself seemed embar-
raised and confused, by this totally I'M
| expected exhibition of feeling. He was
by nature a shy and retiring man, and
as he settled into his seat he said to a
| friend who was next to him: Why
did you fellows all stand up? You al
most frightened me-
That scene, continues the historian,
was the zenith Of Mr.. Parnelps parlia-
mentary career.
Soon afterwards came the famous
| divorce suit of O'Shea vs. O'Shea and
Parnell in which the great leader suf-
fered judgment in default to be re-
| corded against him. Then his troubles
began to grow like mushrooms in the
night. Mr.. Gladstone wrote letter to
Mr.. Justin Mccarthy advising him that
Parnelps resignation as leader of the
| Irish party had become necessary on
on account of the sensitiveness Of the
non-conformist conscience on the mat
| ter Of social scandal The heads of the
/ Catholic church in Ireland took a SINH
lar position
| Parnell refused to resign. He began
an heroic but pathetic struggle for the
maintenance of the magnificent politi-
cal supremacy, which he so we'll and SO
nobly earned. But the odds were too
great against him, and in a few
months, broken-hearted and crushed,
he passed away in the prime of life.
/ leaving behind a record Of political
service to his people, which cannot be
obliterated from the pages Of history.
He was the latest Of that brilliant
line Of Protestant Irish leaders. the
memory of whose love and sacrifice for
native land will live forever in the af-
rections Of the children of the Gael
Henry Grattan, Robert Emmett, VIII
liam Orr, Wolfe Tone, Henry Joy Nc
Cracker, John Mitchell, Isaac Brutt and
Charles Stewart Parnell--Protestants
all-are cherished names in the hearts
Of millions of their Catholic country
men wherever they abide; and in the
monument to O'Connell, the Catholic
~ L.