NOTES IN PARLIAMENT.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume VIII, Issue 416, 1 April 1881, Page 18

NOTES IN PARLIAMENT.

The following paragraph, taken from the London correspondence of the Daily Expretx of Monday. January 17. gives strong proof of the close attention which our active Irish members are giving to their Parliamentary duties — an attention which is considerably annoying our British neighbours :—: — There are forty-two questions preceding the regular debate in the House of Commons to-day, of which twenty-one are by Irish members. Mr. Healy has two questions which fill more than one of the laree pages of the "vote paper, into which he has imported bodily verbatim reports, extracted from local papers, of two cases tried at the last assizes. As lEr. Bealy insists on reading his questions in a slow and solemn manner, causing every word -to sound fully on the ears of his audience, and as he allows plenty of time to claps« between each sentence to permit the House to follow at his heels, the cause of obstruction will be greatly promoted by even Mr. Healy's labours. Mr. Parnell has four questions, one of them, about the Tralee Land Leaguers, being longer than Mr. Healy's longest question. Mr. T. P. O'Connor has three questions ; Mr. Bipgar, one ; Mr. G-ray, two ; Mr. O'Connor Power, one ; Mr. T. D. Sullivan, one ; Mr. O'Shea, one (about the Boers) ; Mr. Dawson, one ; Mr. Lalor, one (about Mr. Hoaly, M'P.); Mr. Power, one; and Mr. M'Carthy, one. As the contention of the Parnellites is that more than one-half of the agrarian outrages are threatening letters (most of which, they say, have no serious meaning), and that of the other half the greater portion are fictitious, or next to it, several of the questions — notably Mr. Healy's— are directly aimed at the returns. The Pall Mall Gazette thus describes Mr. Biggar. as a questioner, upon the scene :—: — Mr. Biggar supplied the one incident which lightened up question time. With that intrepidity which distinguishes him even from the other members of the Irish party, he asked if the Prime Minister were going to prevent the further evidence at the Dublin trials of police constables who had admitted their incompetency as shorthand writers. Mr. Gladstone was tart ia reply, and, of course demurring to the charge of incompetence, answered the querist in the negative. The Hou«e was highly delighted with the punishment to which Mr. Biggar was thus subjected, but the member for Cavan rose as briskly as ever, and, to the general horror and indignation, declared that he was about to move an adjournment. Mr. Parnell, however, was observed to be in conference with him. and perhaps it was owing to this that he somewhat relented ; for, after proceeding for a short time, he announced his intention ef raising the question on the estimates. Then was the extraordinary spectacle of the House cheering Mr. Biggar, for an escape from a motion for adjournment was so refreshing as to drown all other feelings ; and even Mr. Gladstone was observed to smile graciously and how thankfully to the terrible member for Cavan. Speaki ng of Mr. T. M. Healy's reply to Lord Hartington, the Pall Mall Gazette says :—: — Mr. T. M. Healy , the latest addition to the Home Rule ranks, made his maiden speech in a bitter attack on Lord Hartington, complaining in no measured language of the character of the magistracy and the police of Ireland, and giving pretty strong proof thus early that the newest recruit is at least as bitter as auy of his colleagues. The London correspondent of the Freeman says :—: — The action of the Government in withholding returns as to agrarian crime in Ireland shows that they are not by any means certain if they presented the figures now that they would be such as to justify them, even in the eyes of their own supporters, in seeking for extra powers. On Friday Mr. Sexton moved for a return of all agrarian offences specially reported to the constabulary for the week ending the 7tb January. Sir Arthur Hayter, one of the Junior Lords of the Treasury, immediately opposed it, and it accordingly fell through. It is of the greatest moment that before the House takes such a serious step- as suspending the constitutional rights of the Irish people it should have before it the very latest facts obtainable as to the state of the country, and these facts the Government have disingenuously refused to produce. It is pretty clear that Mr. Forster made up his mind on the question of repression when he saw the agrarian returns for December, and the spirit which prompts him to keep back the figures for January, which it is confidently believed would show a material decrease on those of the preceding month, is not at all commendable. I believe that Mr. Sexton purposes renewing the motion day by day upon this subject, and will in addition, this afternoon ask a question bearing upon the same important point. The Freeman correspondent writes :— Major Nolan has resigned his position as whip of the Home Rule paTty. His resignation has no connection whatever with recent political movements, but is merely a renewal of his decision, announced at the Dublin meeting, to retire from his seven years' arduous labours. A, more popular or energetic whip will not easily be found.