Brighouse & Rastrick Gazette. — 1888-07-14 (Brighouse, West Yorkshire, England)

STATEMENT BY MR. PARNELL.  At a morning sitting, Lr. W. H. Smith informed Lord C. Beresford that the Government had come to the conclusion that it was not expedient to enlarge the Royal Commission on the administration of the army and the navy by the addition of a soldier and a sailor.  Mr. Parnell made a personal explanation with regard to certain charges seriously affecting his character as a member of Parliament, which had been made against him in the recent trial of the action of Mr. O'Donnell against the Times. Premising that he had attended the court for the purpose of answering on oath any charges that might be made against him, but that he had been deprived of the opportunity of doing so by the unexpected turn which the case took, he proceeded to refer to the letters purporting to have been written by himself and other persons, which had been read by the AttorneyGeneral. With regard to the allegation that he had supplied Mr. Frank Byrne with MO prior to his departure froth England,Mr.Parnell denied that he had ever paid Byrne any sum at any time. The majority of the letters he declared to be palpable and undoubted forgeries, to which credence could only be attached by supposing that be had deliberately put himself in the power of a great number of people who were concerned in the Plnenix-park murders, and that he had written from Kilmainbam Gaol an incitement to the assassination of Mr. Forster with the almost absolute certainty that the let ter would fall into the possession of the Government. With a few trifling exceptions, which he pointed out, he maintained that the inherent improbabilities and absurdities of the letters must be palpable to every fair-minded man. Mr. Justin M`Carthy explained that he paid the £lOO to Mr. Byrne by his owu cheque for the purpose of enabling him to meet bills against the Home Rule Confederation, and in exchange for cheques and postal orders received on account ot that association, which were passed through Mr. M`Carthy's bankers. The subject then dropped. Mr. Bradlaugh moved the adjournment of the House for the purpose of calling attention to the harsh enforcement by the Treasury of certain orders kr coats made in December last by Mr. Bridge at the Bow street Police-court against men who had brought charges of assault against the police in connection with the Trafalgar-square disturbances. After some discussion the motion was withdrawn on an assurance being given by Mr. Matthews that he would inquire into the character of the bills of costs and the ability of the persons to pay. The consideration of the Local Government Bill having been resumed in Committee, an amendment, moved by Mr. Shaw-Lefevre, to Clause 21, to provide that the grant from the probate duty should be allocated upon the basis not only of indoor pauperism, but also of ratabh value and population, was discussed, and negatived by 200 against 183. Progress was then reported, and the sitting was suspended shortly before 7 o'clock. The evening sitting was devoted to the discussion of a motion by Mr. Fenwick in favour of the payment of members of Parliementoi hich was supported ty Sir G. Trevelyan, and opposed by Sir J. Gorst, on the ground that the questton was not 'yet one of practical politics, and that no Government ought to accept an abstract proposition unless they were prepared to propose measures for giving practical _effect to it. Mr. Gladstone pointed out that the terms of the motion merely urged the matter upon the consideration of the Government, and left the question perfectly open for their decision. Upon the general principle he contended that it was unfair to impose a pecuniary burthen upon constituencies which chose to return working-class representatives, whose presence in the House was of the utmost value to the country and the Empire at large. Mr. Matthews insisted that the motion was intended to commit the House to the principle of payment to members, and argued that a conversion of parliamentary service into a paid profession would tend to the degradation of politics. • On a division the motion was negatived by 192 against 135. The House adjourned at 1 o'clock.