THE PARNELL COMMISSION.

Timaru Herald, Volume XLVIII, Issue 4532, 6 May 1889, Page 3

THE PARNELL COMMISSION.

• ■ I (Pkb Electric Telegraph — vjuFiKiuiir.) a (Pan Press Association.) (Received 1.-10 a.m., May 4th.) London, May 3. Mr Parnell, m cross-examination, said that ho had often remonstrated with Mr O'Brien, but nevor publicly repudiated . his utterances. (Received 11.40 a.m.. May sth.) To-day the cross-examination of Mr Parnell was continued before the Special Commission. Sirß. E. Webster, AttorneyGeneral, read several articles m the Irishman newspaper m which persons committing crime m Ireland were highly . eulogised. Mr Parnell admitted that these were calculated to encourage the , use of physical force. He believed that O'Donoran Rossa had never originated outrages, and only boasted of them after they were committed. The outragea . attributed to the Clan-n»-Gael Society were, ha thought, probably the work o £ r scattered organisations composed of IrishAmericanß. If constitutional government for Ireland failed, he might consider his ( retirement from public life. Mr Parnell said that he disapproved of some of the speeches delivered by Mr Dillon, but it was not within his province to reprove him for them. He considered that the martyrs' fund was used for innocent purposes, but that the name given to the c society was likely to cause people to j regard the executed mnrderers as martyrs. c Mr Parnell admitted that the statement made by him m the House of Commons on January 7th, 1881, to the effect that c the secret societies had ceased to exist m j Ireland was intended to deliberately mis- j lead the House aa to his views. Owing to a the rejection of Mr Porster's Habeas Corpus Suspension Act he undoubtedly t had wished to mislead the House but had c failed ua the Act had since been applied, f His statement was b gross exaggeration j and not founded on fact. He intended to exaggerate m order to produce an ( impression of the influence of the National League. (This admission created a l tremendous sensation, which was inten- j sified by Mr Parnell's cynical nonchalance. -| There was aho some hissing.) Mr t Parnell added that secret societies and ; crime had ceased m Ireland after the ( Arrears m Rent Act had come into operation. Thi3 result was largely owing to the ; influence of Messrs DaviU,Egan, Sheridan, ( andßoyton. He assumed that some of the . books of the Land League were m the ( possession of Egan, but the cashbook, the ( letter books, and the ledgers, had dia- ( appeared. Sir James Hannen said that - he attached great importance to tho fact that the books had been lost, and Mr Paruell promised to try and recover them. In reply to a further question Mr Parnell ' said that the accounts of the Land I League had never been audited. ' —^— — — •— — — i