THE PARNELL INQUIRY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume XXVI, Issue 9322, 27 March 1889, Page 5

THE PARNELL INQUIRY.

SENSATIONAL EVIDENCE. LE CARON AND THE FENIANS. THE FORGED LETTERS. EVIDENCE OF THE TIMES' SOLI". CITOR AND MANAGER. London, February 15. The Special Commissioners are engaged in taking evidence as to the genuineness of the letters published by the Times. The crisis of the case has at last been reached, and to-day the remarkable testimony of Le Caron is forgotten in the interest caused by the latest phase of the Inquiry. But it is as well to take things in order, and to return to the cross-examination of Le Caron. On Friday he gave us some further personal details. He then declared that the Fenians in the American organisation were to-day more numerous than ever. Bradley, of Philadelphia, was the chairman of the executive, and Patrick Egan was a member of it. Ho did not deny that there was a certain hostility between the Fenians and the open movement in Ireland, and that the former feared that tho latter was likely to weaken thoir own force. At one time an attempt was made to break up tho Land League. He, however, acknowledged that he had never got any documents which made any sort of reference to the alliance between Mr. Parnell and tho Fenians. When pressed to say how many of Mr. Par nell's meetings, held in America in 1880, wore arranged and directed by the revolutionary organisation, ho could only speak to three ; those at Cincinnati, Chicago, and St. Louis, which he himself attended. Incidentally, Le Caron was asked about Senator Jones, and he replied that lie was the man who introduced the Fenians to the Russian Minister at Washington to arrange about making war on England in India. Touching a conversation which witness had with Mr. Parnell in England in 1881, Le Caron said that at that time tho Irish Republican Brotherhood were very bitter against the open movement, and especially against Mr. Parnoll. Thoy got their supplies from America, and were jealous of every cent sent to tho Land League. Mr. Parnell complained of this opposition, but said that by the end of the year there would be £10,000 in the treasury of the Land League, and added, "you folks ought to do as well as that"—meaning the Fenians, of course. In answer to Mr. Reid, Q.C., Lo Caron said that he had been present at secret meetings of the Fenians, at which the policy of dynamite and outrage was dismissed and adopted, chiefly in 1881 and 1883, and not sinco 1886. He always voted on the side of the majority for dynamite. Mr. Davitt declined to crossexamine this witndss, and Mr. Lockwood stated that Mr. Sexton, now .Lord Mayor of Dublin, denied having aided in the eucape of Brennan from justice. The president suggested that Mr. Sexton would give a denial in the witness box. In tho course of re-examination by the AttorneyGeneral, LeCaron handed in a photograph of Mr. Parnell give:) to him by the Irish leader, and bearing his autograph. He also produced a letter from Devoy, dated June, 1881, purporting to be a reply to an invitation brought by the witness from Mr. Parnell that Devoy and others should go to England. Sullivan was one of these, and he returned to America. He told witnoss that it was intended to continue to send ovor men, and continue the active campaign, that of dynamite. Sullivan was tried for murder in the United States, bub got off because the sheriff packed the jury. It was only on Tuesday afternoon that LoOaron left tho box, having boon before the Court for nearly five days. On Wednesday the solicitor for The Times, Mr. Soamos, was called, and instantly the interest in the case rose to tho highest point. The witness began by proving various documents obtained from some person unnamed, who. at the time lived in Drumcondra Road, Dublin. Thero was some speculation jus to the identity of this individual, and a little later the name of Phillips, a former clerk and accountant of tho .Land League, slipped out, as if accidentally, from the mouth of (ho AttorneyG'oncral. Seven alleged Parnell letters were produced. Mr. Macdonuld, tho general manager for The Times, (irst showed them to witness. Mi'. Houston, of the Irish Loyal and Patriotic Union, later on gave them to him, and Mr. Houston had them in turn from Richard Pigott, of the Irishman newspaper. Numorons admittedly authentic letters by Mr. Parnell were pub in for the purpose of comparison. Mr. Inglis, an expert, had carefully examined all the documents, and Mr. Soames was able, in spite of the objection of Sir Charles Russell, to convey to tho public in Court, that Mr. Inglis was of opinion that they were genuine. Mr. Soames explained, concerning an attempt made to foist forged letters upon him in order to discredit him, that this fraud was promptly detected by Mr. Moiser, formerly of Scotland Yard, who was sent to America for the purpose. At the beginning of the cross-examina-tion, Sir Charles Russell elicited from the witness that the articles on " Parnellism and Crime," published in the Times, were written by Mr. Flanagan, a son of Judge Flanaghan, of the Landed Estates Court in Ireland. Large sums, amounting in the aggregate to nearly £5000, had been paid by tho Times through Mr. Houston and others for getting up tho case, including the purchase price of the letters, amounting in itself to nearly £1000. Professor Maguire, of Trinity College, Dublin, had given assistance in the preparation of the case.

In continuing his evidence to-day, Mr. Soames said further, in cross-examination by Sir Charles Russell, that it was only after the hearing of the case O'Donnell v. The Times that Mr. Houston released Mr. Macdonald from the pledge of secrecy. Pigotb had obtained the letters from Mr. Houston in the middle of 1886. He went to America and Franco sevoral times, to Spain once, and again to Italy, in order to obtain them. Witness did not know where the letters were obtained. He was still in ignorance on the subject, and he believed that neither Mr. Macdonald nor Mr. Houston knew, Pigott having always said that ho was pledged to secrecy in this respect. Mr. Soames next put in some letters by Patrick Egan, found in the house of James Carey, two of which were undoubtedly authentic. Other letters by Davitt were also put in. On being closely questioned upon the letters, Mr. Soames said that he could not for a moment admit the suggestion of Sir Charles Russell that Pigotb had forged the letters. It would require a very clever forger to successfully imitate so many handwritings. There was much fencing between counsel and witness upon the details and discrepancies of the Parnell letters admitted and disputed. The Frank Byrnq letter, relating to a cheque given by Mr. Parnell to facilitate Byrne's escape, was sent to Mr. Maodonald anonymously in a registered envelope. Witness knew that about that time this letter had been in the possession of Mr. Quinn, M.P., and might, possibly, have come from him. Pigott received nothing from tho Times with respect to the letters. I'igotb had never said that he had a grievance against Mr. Parnell, but Pigott told him of interviews he had had with Mr. George Lewis and Mr. Labouchere, M.P., and that Mr. Labouchere had given him several sums of money. Further, Pigott had told him to go to Mr. Lewis, and that Mr. Labouchere had offered him £1000 to go into tho box, and say that he had committed forgery. Witness repeated that uo arrangements had been made with Pigott, although he had been told that the Times would not see him ruined for going into the box and telling the truth. It was true that Pigott had asked Mr. Houston for £5000, because he would not dare to live in Dublin after this trial, and must make some provision for himself. .Egan had sent one O'Brien, alias Robertson, as an emissary from America to Mr. Labouchere, and Robertson, Pigott, Lewis, and Parnell had met at Mr. Labouchere's houso. Finally Mr. Soames stated that he was more than solicitor for the Times, since he was practically its treasurer. Mr. Macdonald, the manager of the Times, was next examined. He said that having received a communication from Houston in the middle of ISB7 as to the existence of certain letters, five letters by Pat Egan were brought to him in the following autumn. No bargain was made about paying for them, this question being put off until their legal value and authenticity was settled. The O'Kelly and Davitt letters cat." into his hands at about the same time. Houston did not say anything about) Pigott. Witness was told

' afterwards, and gave a pledge that the letters should be regarded as confidential. Houston was paid £1780, the amount he represented he had expended in obtaining the letters. Houston told him that the practice of the leaders of the Land League was to put three handwritings into each letter, the body being written by one hand, the signature by another, and the envelope addressed by a third. That was the actual fact. He thought that the handwriting in the body of the Parnell letters was disj guised, but he did not think that the signatures of Mr. Parnell were disguised. He had heard that the letters were offered to Lord Hartington for £1000 before they were offered to the Times. He had never heard of their being offered to the Pall Mall Gazette for £1000. The investigation of the authenticity of the documents occupied six months. He thought that Mr. Parnell's Kilmainham letter, containing the words, " Make it hot for old Forster," was a sort of letter Mr. Parnell would write, and ho selected the date for the publication of the facsimile with reference to the discussion on the second reading of Mr. Balfour's Crimes Bill.