Widnes Examiner. — 1883-03-31 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

THE EXAMINER.  *SATURDAY, MARCH 31, 1883.  The member for Westminster, Mr. W. H. SMITH, is one of the most cautious of speakers on the Opposition benches of the House of Commons, and for that reason whatever he has to say is always listened to with respect, but even he, poor man, in his anxiety to damage the Government has been led into an indiscretion of which by this time he has, we hope thoroughly repented. The ther evening he addressed the Westminster Constitutional Association, and in the course of his observations remarked that the members of the present Liberal Administration had "brought matters to such a pass that they could harldly walk the streets of London or sleep in their beds without the most vigilant attention on the part of the police," and he went on to add that "this state of disturbance, of repression, of anxiety, of alarm, and of destruction of property is all connected—apparently inseparably connected —with a Liberal Government." These extravagant and, we will add, untruthful statements, seem to have been too much for a Mr. HUGH SHIELD, who straightway Communicated with the Home Secretary, Sir W. V. HARCOURT, inquiring whether in 1867, when a Conservative Administration was in power, a state of things prevailed not less grave than the present as regards the danger to which the Queen's Ministers were believed to be exposed and the precautions adopted for their protection. This is a matter, it will be no'Liced, involving a question of fact alone, about which there need be no dispute; and that Mr. SMITH should be so utterly ignorant of the facts, or what is much worse, should for party purposes deliberately close his eyes to them or distort them—because we do not believe he can be so blind to the truth—is unpaTdonable in an ex-Minister of the Crown. And what are the facts? Sir Wm. HARCOURT, in his reply to Mr. SHIELD, points them out very clearly, and we commend his historical narrative to the careful perusal of Conservative politicians more especially. in the early part of 1867—in which year the DERBYDISRAELI Administration was in power— occurred the Fenian raid on Chester Castle, in the spring of that year took place the abortive Fenian rising in Ireland, in September the murder of the policeman in Manchester was recorded, followed by the Clerkenwell explosion in December. It is generally believed by our Conservative friends that it was this _explosion which led to the disestablishment of the Irish Church, from which, it is often said, all our recent troubles in Ireland have sprung; but we would remind those who are of this opinion that two years previously Mr. DILLWYN had moved a resolution in the House of Commons affirming that the Irish Church was in an unsatisfactory condition, and that in the debate which followed Mr. GLADSTONE delivered a remarkable speech which segmed to foretell a time when the disestablishment question would have to be dealt with. The Clerkenwell explosion was the means undoubtedly of calling public attention to Irish grievances, and, at the same time, it was the means of opening the nation's eyes to the disgraceful neglect of Irish interests by a Conservative Government. Mr. SMITH tries to make a point of the protection that it is necessary to give to Ministers at the present time, but the HOME SECRETARY shows that in 1867 Conservative Ministers had also to be protected; further, that it was necessary to increase the metropolitan police force by 1,000 men, vastly in excess of the actual augmentation now judged necessary, whilst, in addition, thousands of special constables were sworn in to assist in the preservation of the peace, and in affording protection to life and property. All this took place towards the close of Mr. DISRAELI'S first Administration; and it is within the recollection of all of us that at the close of his second Administration he warned the country of the dangers brewing in Ireland as something worse than 'pestilence and famine." How, then, can it be said that a state of disturbance, of repression, of anxiety, of alarm, and of destruction of property is all inseparably connected with a Liberal Government ? The two Liberal Governments which preceded the