The Warwickshire Herald. — 1887-09-29 (Birmingham, West Midlands, England)

CHAMBERLAIN AND THE MITCHEL STOWN AFFRAY.  Mr. Chamberlain presided at a largely attended meeting of the executive of the Birmingham Rad ical Union, and spoke at some length upon the resolution passed by the Birmingham Liberal Association respecting the Mitchelstown affair. He believed that in this matter the Liberal Association executive did not represent the feeling of Birmingham. The position of affairs was most critical. The events of the next few months would have most serious consequences, the importance of which they could not overrate. The executive of the Liberal Association had passed a resolution expressing the opinion that the arbitrary interference of the Government with public meetings in Ireland was injurious to the maintenance of law and order, and condemning in the strongest terms the conduct of the Government in attempting to justify the action of the police at Michelstown. He characterised such a resolution as an impertinent absurdity. It was the paramount duty of the Executive of the country to maintain and to enforce the law. The law under Democratic Government was the law of the whole people, and the Executive in supporting it were entitled to the support of the people. If that was not to be the case, there would be an end of social freedom. The conflict which was going on was one between the written law of the land and the unwritten law of the National League. He believed that the National League was dying a natural death ; but with the array of agitators, whose living was dependent upon it, they could not but expect that it would die hard. The conduct of the policemen at Mitchelstown was the subject of judicial inquiry, and he would not go into the question of their culpability. On the whole, however, he believed they acted with forbearance and In a splendid manner. They were told to defend their house, and they did so. It was not until the  place had been stormed and stoned that they fired. With regard to the attempt to clear a way for a Goverment reporter, it was necessary that One should be present, as in such cases they could not rely upon the newspaper reports if a prosecution was necessary. He himself had found that if one quoted a newspaper report against an Irish speaker he at onoe got up and denied its accuracy. When he was a inember of Mr. Gladstone's Government they had a sworn reporter at all the Land League meetings then held. He thought that blame attached to the Government for not proclaiming the meeting as soon as it was called. Mr. Gladstone's Government were continually proclaiming meetinge. He found that they proclaimed 130 meetings, whereas the present Conservative Government had proclaimed only twelve. The present Government were rather to be blamed for their extraordiu ary leniency. In conclusion, Mr. Chamberlain I dwelt upon the capital which the Gladstonians I were making out of the bloodshed in the Michelstown affray. They were stumping the country, denouncing in the strongest language the action of the police on that occasion ; but—and he called particular attention to this--they were entirely dumb about the cruel and unprovoked murder of Head-constable Whelehan. He died a victim to duty, but the Gladstonian orators had no word of sympathy for the widow and her children, and no word of reprobation for the action of the League, which led up to the outrage.