Widnes Examiner. — 1884-11-08 (Widnes, Cheshire, England)

HEALY. The new Irish Secretary had, he contended, begun badly by announcing that the suspension of Mr. George Bolton was to be removed, Mr. Bolton being a man who had on more than one occasion received strong rebukes from Irish Judges for his treatment of his wife and his withholding testimony in a murder case in Sligo. In conclusion, Mr. Healy dealt with Mr. French's letter, remarking that if the memoir of that individnal were not shortly published to the world, the inference he (Mr. Healy) should draw would be that French was to be paid £2OOOO out of the Secret Service Fund in order to purchase his silence. Mr. O'DoNNELL said he believed they were now entering on a new era and phase of what was known to British law as treasonable agitation. Lord LYMINOTON regretted that the Government had thought fit to retain the services of Mr. George Bolton. He hoped the Irish members would challenge Mr. Bolton's salary when the estimates were under consideration, and promised them a good share of support from that (the Liberal) side of the House.--Dr. Cueretnes thanked Lord Lymington for the modicum of sympathy be had extended to the Irish members.--Mr. CORSET strongly deprecated the system of jury packing, which he maintained had clearly been shown to prevail in Ireland.--Mr. O'KELLY animadverted on the course pursued by the Irish Government` in constantly setting aside Catholic jurors and in empannelling Orangemen.---Sir P. O'Bninte ridiculed the constant assertion by the Irish members that nothing had been done by the English Government for Ireland, and asserted, on the contrary, that within his own time the whole condition of the country had been greatly changed for the better.---Mr. T. P. O'Corneon complained that no member of the Government had risen that evening to answer the statements of his hon. friend, and deprecated the silence of the new Chief Secretary. He accused the Government of having employed a female spy in the House last session. Sir Wet. flatworm., who stated that the silence of the Government was not due to disrespect but to the fact that they had left it to those charged with the administration of Irish affairs to answer the Irish members, urged in excuse for the reticence of the newly-appointed Chief Secretary, that he could not be expected to speak on matters that he had had as yet no means of becoming familiar with. In replying to the statement of Mr. O'Connor as to the employment of female spies he said he had listened with the greatest interest 16 the hon. member's romantic narrative, and was of opinion that the literary faculty of the hon. gentleman had never been displayed to greater advantage. For his own part, and on behalf of his right hon. friend the late Chief Secretary, he could only say that beyond the fact of the receipt by the right hon. gentleman of of the mysterious £l5 which had been referred to by Mr. O'Connor they had never heard of the lady who was said to have paid it, nor of the transaction of which it was supposed to be the outcome.  Mr. JUSTIN MCCARTHY, referring to the charge against the Government of employing female spies, regretted that an accusation which was' at any rate, believed in Ireland, had been so lightly passed over.—Mr. REDMOND followed in the same strain. Mr. WARTON was unable to concur In the wholesale charges made against Irish juries ; and Mr. Car.rmsr, who cited a number of cases in which in asserted that jury packink had been resorted to. Mr. Pansztr. rose amid cheers from the Iriah members. He maintained that the right of the Irish peasant to live free from the dread of imprisonment or even death, under a system which brought into play the evidence of informers and the establishment of a secret examination, was of far more importance than the pretended extension of a sham constitutial right to a section of the Irish people. The Government had failed in attempting to govern Ireland without such measures as the Crimes Act, a re-enactment of which measure was even now threatened, he could not say how such a proposal would be met, but he could assert that it would not only be a serious thing for Ireland, but a serious matter for England also. Ireland had now been governed under a united Parliament for 84 years, and he asked the Government whether they ceuld honestly say they were any nearer the end they had in view than at the beginning. (Irish cheers.) For the amendment, 34; agi!.'hst, 140.