THE PARNELL COMMISSION.

Otago Witness, Issue 1928, 2 November 1888, Page 14

THE PARNELL COMMISSION.

(Peb Pbess association.} London, October 24. Sir R. E. Webster, at the opening of the Times-Parnell Commission, charged Mr Parnell and his friends with approving of and allowing a system of terrorism which absolutely necessitated murder. Mr Parnell clearly was aware that Sheridan promoted outrages, while Egan supplied the funds which enabled them to be perpetrated. Egan had threatened to resign if the league's funds were devoted to the discovery of the Phoenix Park murderers. What The Times declared was that Campbell wrote the body of Mr Parnell's letters. His (learned counsel's) clients were willing to disclose the sources from which they had received the

letters if they were released from the pledg© of secrecy which had been given. One of the duties before the commission was toelicit what had become of the missing books, ! of the league. Sir R. Webster announced his intentionto call as witnesses some of the persons convicted of the perpetration of outrages in. Ireland. The Attorney-general said that the moneysubscribed in America in aid of the Land League was withheld until Mr Davitt could induce Mr Parnell to approve of the violent programme that had been drawn up. Sir R. Webster reiterated his statement that the Parnell letters were authentic, and admitted that they were purchased by The Times. Proceedings have been opened in the action Parnell v. The Times in the Court of Session at Edinburgh. October 27, Sir R. E. Webster, in his opening address before the commission, produced the original of the famous letter. He intimated that he proposed to call witnesses to prove Mr Parnell's repugnance to sign the manifesto condemning the Phoenix Park murderers, and stated that he was in possession of certain documents supplied to a clerk who had until recently been employed in the central office of the National League, which would prove that the outrages were paid for, and that Mr Forster's name was mentioned. Ore of the letters was subsequently read to show that it was ingeniously constructed in order that quite another meaning could be attached, and that nothing like personal outrage was suggested. Altogether there are 400 witnesses to be examined. The Pall Mall Gazette declares that the documents in possession of the Attorneygeneral came from different sources, and that whilst partly genuine they are partly bogus productions. The vendors being uncertain whether The Times would keep their names secret, offered the documents to several London papers for £1000, and The Times closed for a higher figure. The Parneli defence fund amounts to £11,000.

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