THE PARNELL COMMISSION.

Gisborne Standard and Cook County Gazette, Volume II, Issue 236, 18 December 1888, Page 3

THE PARNELL COMMISSION.

DISPENSING WITH UNNECESSARY CROSS-EXAMINATION. London, Dec. 15. In order to fall in with the wishes of the Special Commission not to prolong the enquiry Sir Charles Russell, counsel for the Irish members, has decided not to crossexamine the witnesses at present. CAPTAIN O’SHEA'S EVIDENCE. [abgus correspondent.] London, Nov. 2. The Times-Parnell Commission has given only three days this week to the investigation of the important matters it has at hand. The chief event was the unexpected appearance of Captain W. H. O’Shea in the witness box. He wished to leave for Spain, and for this reason his evidence was taken out of its proper turn. To the Attorney-General Captain O’Shea told an interesting story. He first related the circumstances which led to the famous Kilmainham treaty, giving certain details which are comparatively fresh. First, he supported the opening statement of the Attorney-General by saying that when the question of the release of Mr Parnell was on root, Mr Parnell himself asked that Brennan might be kept in gaol, and that the warrants against Boyton and Sheridan might be suspended. He wanted to keep the former from making mischief, though the two others, with Davitt, might be useful in helping to put down boycotting outrages. He was particularly anxious to have the first say with four men, Egan, Sheridan, Boyton, and Davitt, in order that he might explain hispolicy, and make sure of their support before they were tampered with. For this purpose Davitt’s release from Portland was put off for a couple of days. Mr Parnell was seen, and the warrant against Sheridan was suspended in spite of the fact that the Home Secretary, Sir VVm. Harcourt, knew from the police, according to his own statement, that Sheridan was a murderer, aud a concooter of of murder. Mr Parnell did not object to the manifesto addressed to the Irish people .on the morrow of the I’hoanix Park murdeta, but he did not like Da/St’s bomttastfc phrases, when simpler ones would, have sufficed. Ho thought it hard! thai hjl slkZld have to put his name first urkfcj/ duction, but it was necessary io wider to Davitt’s vanity. The manifAto SyKshowh to Mr Chamberlain by Mr PayneWTand witness and Mr Parnell said he was in great persoual < poHssfprotection. Witness siM SiJ>Wm> Hwfcoart. and protection was fekijted to M<ParJeljL The famous Times’AeWrs wer</haudedT?b witness, who gave 'an emphajW expres/itSn of opinion that they w<A in tie handwriting of Mr Parnell. At tlfe/sWeltiiW Me did not pretend to be an lx\yrt ia hlnHjvriting. Sir Charles Bussell cyoss-exampeu’the witness in the severest and! most searching style. He elicited the fact that Mr Chafaberlain was concerned in obtaining.the evidence of witness for The Times, though Captain O’Shea declared that he was desirous of going into the witness box to refute the spurious slander circulated by Mr Parnell and his-friends, who alleged that he (O’Shea) had a hand in supplying the famous letters to The Times. Mr Piggott, formerly editor of the Irishman, and Mr Philip Callan had also been mentioned in connection with the letters in the beginning of 1886. He stated that Mr Parnell had paid money to allow Byrne to escape after the Phoenix Park murderers were found out. This was told him by a man named McQueenie, an Irishman who had been concerned with witness in canvassing an East End constituency in London. He did not remember the other persons who had mentioned the matter. McQueenie said that the police had taken a letter out of the Land League rooms at Westminster, in which Byrne made an acknowledgment of a cheque from Mr C. S. Parnell. When he inquired into the matter, he found that it was not a fact that the police had the letter. He thought it was not true. McQueenie was an advanced Nationalist, and at a public-house in Wardour street a number of advanced Nationalists presented witness with a parchment address protesting against his exclusion from the Irish party. In the winter of 1885-6 he heard that certain Irish-Amaricans were in London, who were hostile to Mr Parnell, but he was not told that they had any compromising letters with them. He told Mr Parnell of their presence. He believed that Mr Parnell was absolutely free from crime, and certainly opposed to the policy of dynamite outrages. Up to the middle of 1886 he believed that Mr Parnell was a man of the highest aims, and he was greatly astonished to learn from correspondence with Mr Arnold Forster that Mr Parnell had been in constant communication with Sherid n at the time the latter was organising crimes. It was McQueenie who gave him an impression of the hostility of the Irish-Americans just alluded to. One of them was General Carroll Davis. Another ol them, Hayes, an engineer, threatened McQueenie when the latter visited him at a hotel in Covent (Garden. It was all on account of the address presented to witnes-. He had heard that Hayes was supposed to be implicated in the attack on London bridge. After the breach in 1886, witness did not himself threaten Mr Parnell. It was some months earlier that he turned Mr Parnell out of his room at the Shelburne Hotel, Dublin. He did not remember saying anything about being revenged on Mr Parnell, but a man said many things when he was angry. Certainly he had never taken any revenge. Some of the witness’ friends in County Clare were known as “Hill-side men.” They were physical force men, but they had the greatest horror of assassination. Like the old Nationalists before mentioned, they were strenuously opposed to Mr Parnell’s policy, and so were the Fenians. He urged the Clare men not to join the Land League party, because the League was hostile to himself. Here Sir Charles Russell led the witness back to the Kilmainham negotiations, and we had somewhat of a sensation. Naturally Sir Charles was anxious to mitigate the suggestion that Mr Parnell had wished to keep Brennan and others in gaol as dangerous. The matter, said witness, was discussed with Mr Chamber!iln. “Have you any memoranda J” asked Sir Charles. No, was the answer, because the bulk of the memoranda was destroyed in 1883, at the time when there was a danger of a Select Committee of the House of Commons being appointed. This was done not on the suggestion of Mr Parnell or Mr Chamberlain, but Sir William Harcourt told him that it was Mr Gladstone’s wish that he should be as reticent as possible on the matter. It was politically expedient, and upon that they destroyed the documents. If Mr Chamberlain’s local government scheme had been passed it w,s possible that witness might have been Chief Secretary for Ireland. The morning after She Phoenix Park murders he carried to Mr Gladstone Mr Parnell’s letter offering to retire from political life, he was so shocked by the crime. Witness believed that a more cruel blow at his policy could not have been struck. He received a great many letters from Mr Parnell during Several years. From what he knew of Mr Parnell’s writing he had a strong opinion that the letters put in by the Attorney-General were Mr Parnell’s letters. He was absolutely certain that Mr Parnell asked witness to get police protection for him.- Witness admitted that his election for Galway, where he had the support of Mr Parnell, was bitterly opposed by Messrs Healy and Biggar, who attacked him and denounced him in every possible way,