Stockton Herald, South Durham and Cleveland Advertiser. — 1890-01-25 (Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland, England)

LIBERAL MEETING AT  DARLINGTON.  Mr Stephenson Brown presided over a crowded meeting of Liberals held in the Harrogate Hill Reading-room, Darlington on Wednesday, the object being to listen to an address by Mr H.J.Wilson, M.P. for the Efolrafirth Division.—Mr W. W. Wrxemorr proposed the grist resolution, as !ollows: —" That this, meeting expresses its strongest condemnation of the harsh and unstatesmanlike policy pursued by the Government towards the Irish nation and its Parliamentary representative; it expresses its satisfaction at the rapid and continuous progress which is being made by the Home Rule policy, and reaffirms its perfect trust in Mr Gladstone, the leader of the Liberal rarty—(cheere)—and its belief that no wise or durable settlement of the Irish question can be effected except by the ' establishment of an Irish legislative body for the managemmat of exclusively Irish affairs." (Cheers.) —Mr FLYNN seconded, and Mr 11. F. WILSON supported the motion. The latter gentleman's speech was chiefly devoted to an interesting narration of: what he had personally witnessed in Ireland on I the occasion of many visits there. The result of his observation and enquiry on the spot was to convince him that the National League had been a great blessing to Ireland. (Applause.) The speaker outlined the Mitchelstown affair, showing conclusively that the police and the; " Removables " were directly responsible for the cowardly murders of three unoffending inhabitants. He described bow he was treated at Longhree, where an open-air meeting, which was to be addressed by Mr William O'Brien, was roughly dispersed by the constabulary, and how he was nibjected to polite!) espionage in his walks &bond. Ile quoted instances to demonstrate the inlora:table spirit of the Irish people; and asked if it was not egregious folly to suppose that that spirit which had !sustained itself during a long period of harshness and extreme suffering, and when all the English parties were against them waa likely to be broken now that the people of Ireland knew they had on their side a good proportion of the English ; constituencies, and a still larger proportion ef the ! people of Scotland and Wales. (Applause.) Money was at the bottom of the whole difficulty in Ire- I land. The entire machinery of government was being directed, at an enormous cost to the British taxpayer, to the terrorising of people to pay rents; to the landlord to which he was not entitled ' because they were unreasonable. (Applause.)— The resolution was unanimously carried, amid cheers.—Mr Theo. Fay, M.P., said the blame of ; all these things lay at the door of the miscalled ' Liberal Unionists, because without them the Salisbury Government would at once fall to pieces. (Applause.) Every person who voted for these alleged Unionists at the next election would render himself responsible directly for a continuance of this wretched and disastrous policy; but he was fully convinced that, when the dissolution of Parliament came, the men who were doing such dark work for Ireland would be ignominiously thrust aside and made powerless for further mischief. (Loud applause.) The hon, gentleman moved the following resolution:—" That this meeting heartily endorses the programme of the Liberal party as set...forth at the National Liberal Federation at Manchester, and its approval of free education, a free breakfast table, an alteration of the liquor laws, and the principle of one man one vote." —The resolution was seconded and carried, and the usual votes of thanks concluded the meeting.