Weekly News. — 1890-02-20 (Blandford, Dorset, England)

POLITICAL SPEECHES.  THE ATTORNEY-GENERAL.  • On Saturday evening the Attorney-General (Sit R. Webster) add d a meeting at the Clarendon Assembly Room, Oxford, under the auspices of the University Strafford Club. The right hon. gentle. man said that the Unionist party stood upon a plat. form which was certain, which was sure, which bad been the subject of debate before, but which was placed now beyond the subject of debate and of isontroversy. His tongue was now loosed for the Brat time since the judicial utterance on the sub. feel of the Commission. The report consisted of two main parte, that eeferring personally to Mr. Parnell, and that which related to the conspiracy which they bad been endeavouring to lay bare for a long time. Neither directly nor indirectly had he hitherto expressed any personal view upon the questions which were being debated before the Commission. He rejoiced at the acquittal of Mr. Parnell from the personal charges, and he re forced that be had been exonerated from the suspicions under which he lay with respect to the Phcenix Park murders and other matters, and which every right-thinking man would, after the decision of the Commissioners, regard as unfounded and on. just: They had now to consider what were the endings of the Commission, what were their hearing on the policy which they had for so long advocated, and so strongly fought, what was the nature of the party with which Mr. Gladotone was found in close alliance. The first Allegation which She Unionists made against the Parnellite party, was, that lug!, numbers of them were in active alliance with, in hearty union of feeling, and on the beet poesible 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 conneotion between the Parnellite party and Fenianism had been established beyond all question. Sir Charles Russell in his speech before the Commission deeded that there was any such connection, but he f 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 had been proved to the satisfaction of the Commissionera. Again, Mr. Parnell had denied any connection with She Irishman newspaper, and the leaders of the party bad strenuously denied all responsibility for the reports relating to dynaniito and assashinotion ; but be 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 statements which Mt. Parnell had mod,. There was one point to which the Unionists of this country ought to attach, and would attach, the greateet iniportsacs. For a very long time it was a great subject S controversy with Mr. Parnell as to whether he •v•r used word. Ins speech saying that he should be satisfied until "the last link " which bound the Crown of England to Ireland was broken. He denied it in the House of Commons, but the Corn. missioners 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 Leaded by Mr. Parnell, Mr. Levitt, Mr. Dillon, Mr. Biggar, Mr. O'Brien, end 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 crime; and they were asked to abandon the helpless and the weak to the government of these men, who had been found guilty if encoursiging•oriminal conspiracy, by a system of coercion and intimidation, to pron.oto agrarian agitation againrt the payment of agricultural rents for the plateaus of imrascAsoru after i expellingandr g the pt w t t irsehlnarii di de i‘ that ll if there was a single Unionist who would come to the oonclusion that the government of Ireland ought to be handed over to the men who had been capable of the conduct that was stereotyped and written down for ever in this report, the I nionist cause was not worth fighting for a sing:o 11,atalut.