The Warwickshire Herald. — 1890-02-20 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

THE WARWICKSHIRE HERALD' THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 1890  POLITICAL SPEECHES.  THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL.  ! On Saturday evening the Attorney-General (Sir ! R. \Vitiator) addressed • meeting at the Clarendon Assembly Room, Oxford, under the auspices of the University Strafford Club. The right hon. gentle loan said that the Unionist party stood upon • platform which wee certain, which was sure, which had been the subject of debate before, but which was placed now beyond the subject of debate and of controversy. His tongue was now lowed for tho first time since the judicial utterance on the subjeol of the Commission. The report consisted of two main parte, that referring personally to Mr. Parnell, and that which related to the conspiracy which they had been endeavouring to lay bare for a long time. Neither directly nor indirectly had he hitherto expressed any personal view upon the quimtions which were being debated before the Commission. He rejoiced at the acquittal of Mr. Parnell from the personal charges, and he rejoiced that he had been exonerated from the picions under which he lay with respect to the Phoenix Park murder, and other matters, and which every right-thinking man would, after the decision of the Commissioners, regard as unfounded and unjust. They had now to consider what were the findings of the Commission, what were their bearing on the policy which they had for no long advocated, and so strongly fought, what was the nature of the party with which Mr. Gladstone was found in close alliance. The first allegation which the Unionists made against the Painelltue party, was, that large numbers of them were in active alliance with, in heaity union of feeling, and on the best possible terms with the Fenians and the old Fenian conspiracy, but it was denied. Ile wanted them to understand that for all time it was established by judicial utterance that the connection between the l'arnellite slaty and renianism had been established beyond all question. Sir Charles Ruseell in his speech before the Commission denied that there was any ouch connection, but he (the Attorney-General) asserted that, excepting the exoneration of Mr. Parnell from the personal charges, the connection between the American party, the Clan -na - Gael, and Patrick Ford, a known advocate of crime and the use of dynamite, and the Parnellite party lied teen proved to the satisfaction of the Cf. niniieeioners. Again, Mr. Parnell had denied any connection with the Irishman newspaper, and the leaders of the party had strenuously denied all responsibility for the reports relating to dynamite and assassination ; but he hoped that the Liberals would be satisfied with the finding of the Commissioners on this point. The Commissioners found that they could not place implicit reliance in some of the etatements which Mr. Parnell had made. There was one point to which the Unionists of this country ought to attach, and would iittach, the greatest importance. For a very long time it yeas • great subject of contro•ersy with Mr. Parnell as to whether he ever used words in • speech pitying that he should never be satisfied u , ntil ' the last link" which bound the Crown of England to Ireland was broken. He denied it in the Houses of Commons, but the COIII• ruissioners reported that the evidence led them to the conclusion that he did use the words, and that they certainly were not inconsistent with his previous utterances. They knew now the result of the organisation which was headed by Mr. Parnell, Mr. Devitt, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Biggar, Mr. O'Brien, and others, was largely to increase crime, and it was perfectly obvious that somehow or other the policy of Mr. Balfour had led to a diminution of come; and they were asked to abandon the helpless and the weak to the government of these men. who had been found guilty of encouraging a criminal conspiracy, by a system of coercion and intimidation, to promote agrarian agitation against the payment of agricultural rents for the mirpose of inspoveriehing and expelling the Irish landloide All he could say after reading the report was that if there waa • mingle Unionist as ho would come to the conclusion that the government of Ireland ought to be handed over to die men who had been capable of the conduct that was stereotyped and written down for ever in this report, the Lnionist came was not worth fighting for a single instant.