Dublin Notes.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVI, Issue 37, 4 January 1889, Page 25

Dublin Notes.

(From the National papers.)

It is satisfactory to have the outspoken declaration of Lord Gran* ville, that, having read the evidence and cross-examination at the inquest, he shares the opinion of the jury that John Mandeville's prison treatment was responsible for hi* death. Lord Granville will now, no doubt, have to go down on the coercion list with Mr. Glad* stone and Mr. Morley, Lord S pence: and Lord Boeebeiy, as % liar aad calumniator and an encourager of crime. It is a big order on the credulity of the Boglisn that every Liberal statesman is a liar, and, if not a criminal himself, an associate of criminals, and an eooourager of crime.

Tbe praise that is poured on that poor weak-kneed Cromwell, Mr. Balfour, may be discounted by the fact that flattery not lest fulsome is lavished by Lord Hartington on th«s vice-regal horse-jockey, Castlereagh, whose knowledge of literature is a betting-book, whose mind has no larger scope than tbe racing ring, aad whom a number of betting men in the police court the other day proudly claimed at a distinguished member of their confraternity. An attocity of almost Bulgarian blickness has been perpetrated to glut Mr. Balfour's passion for coercion. The Mayor of Cork drawl public attention to the fact tnatwhen he visited Cork Gaol on Thursday, October 25tb, in his capacity of justice of the peace, he found little Minnie Griffin, an innocent country girl of fourteen, put ont to exercise along with twenty -one other prisoners, most of whom, it is declared, are prostitutes. It is impossible to fiad moderate words to characterise this piece of rascality. Tnerj is something absolutely revolting about it. When one thinks of the cant about morality and so forth indulged in by Mr. Balfour and his supporters, and then reflects upon bis action in throwing this pure-minded peasant girl into such horrible company, it is hard to avoid the conclusion that the wilful corruption of innocence by brutal contamination is part and paroel of the system which it is hoped will break down tbe spirit of the Irish people. No doubt tbe eminent Christian philosopher who orders these things will not bj able to see anything but comicality in the business, but we gravely doubt if there be many honest minds in Kngland that will view Mr. EUlfour'a treatment of Minuie Griffin as becoming in a preacher of Canstian morality. What wa9 the crime for which this pour child was thrust into such loathsome society ? She had done n jthing whatever but accompany her father aad brother when they re-entered the house from which they had been evicted. It ia a monstrous law which consigns children to gaol /or such an "off -nee "ac this. Children are bat passive 1 ns.ru men ts, as a rule, in buch cases. Tbe law lightly exonerates a wife charged with an rffi nee when she is shown to have acted under the influence of her husbaud. How much more forcible tbe influence uurter which children act in such cases as the Griffins' 1 Warburtou and Cronin are ti.e pair of Removables responsible for this outrage. Tbe next iensational pamphlet may well be one bearing tbe title '• Unionists and Crime." Mr. chesaiute Smyth, the gentleman from Belfast, who confes-sed on Tuesday, October 30, to the witness-box at Wick'ow, as an informer against bis confederates, that he had com* milted forgery upon forgery, that he bad reduced forgery to a system, that he had forged Mr. Fiudlay M'C.ince's name and Mr. Matier'i name, and that, in fact, be did not Irnow how many f jrgeries he had bten guilty of, and all for purposes of iraud — was the appointed Secretary of the Libeial Unionists' Association, under whom auspices the Marquis of Hartmgton, Mr. Chamberlain, and other lights of the Unionist party, htve b^en invited, received, entertained, and feted ia" loyal" Belfas 1 . In fact Mr. Chesnutte Smyth was the Liberal Unionists' right-hand man. The Scottish Leader, in its issue of Wednesday, directs attention to a similar case across the Channel. It B ays :: — •' A rather awkward disclosure for the self-constituted guardians cf morality nas just been made at the Surrey Sessions by a gentleman charged witn the crime of cmb zzlement. In mitigation of sentence be pleade i that ha bad beon on tne election committee of Mr. Goscben and Lord Algernon Percy, and bud driven about in the carriage of Karl Fortescue— a statement that may be variously inter* pretel as showing the demoralising tendencies of Unionism or the criminal associitions of tbe Unionist leaders. If Mr. Gladstoue is the ally of assassius because he supports the cause of Mr. Parnell, and because Mr. Parnell is iv commujicatijn with meu who are supposed to be in league with others who are cnarged witn murder, what, we should like to know, is to be said of tbe statesman who is ia direct and immediate contact witu people who are accused of appropriating their neighbours' money 7 And what, above all, is to be said about the ' party of plunder ? ' Tne «holetb.ng is a very good reduoti* ad ahsurdum, of «be fallacy of • Parnulhsm and Came.' '"

We are glad to learn that Mr. J. E. Rjdmood, M.P., on his releaie fiom TulLmore Gaul, fi ids himself none the woise for hist five weeks' imprißoumiiit. It is tiue he is lighter by a stone weight than when be was committed, but Mr. Haiti ur is welcome to ah the advantage

which that result gives him and his policy. It is his sole gain from the prosecution of Mr. Redmond. The people, however, do not forget the circumstances under which Mr. Kedmond was sentenced, or, at the Bemovables on tbe occasion expressed it, under which he was " disposed of." He delivered a speech at Scarawalsh, in the County Wexford, on July 22. The meeticg took place in his own constituency, and it was held to give expression to tbe deep-seated indignation felt in the district at a series of evictions of the most savage kind. Mr. Bedmond sought in what be said to induce the landlord to deal wih some measure of fairness and justice to his tenants. For tbii he was prosecuted under the Coercion Act. There has not baen since the Act was passed a more wanton attack upon freedom of speech, and upon the right of a Member of Parliament to address his constituents. Mr. Bedmond took the most dignified—in fact the only conrse consonant with bi9 position. He called no evidence. He allowed the prosecution to proceed, and awaited with interest, as every one else did who watched the proceedings, to see if a conviction could possibly follow his utterance. The Bemovables had no difficulty in makiog up their minds. But their decision has made one thing undeniably and unquestionably clear. Mr. Redmond's offence was not cognisable by the ordinary law. No jury in the kingdom, Who respected their oaths, would have found him guilty of the charge of intimidation. " Let no one," said Mr. Bedmond in his short and most effective address to the Court, " be deceived by the claptrap of those who assert that my offence is an offence under the ordinary law." No one can be deceived after the triumphant illustration which Mr. Bedmond has made in his own person. Mnch indignation has been felt in many districts of the country at portions of tbe Attorney-General's statement in opening tbe case for the Times. We have not felt it desirable, for the present, to do more than mention (he fact, but we think a complaint which reaches us from Mitcbelstown is entitled to some special attention. The Attorney-General, at the close of his statement, said — "It ia not necessary for me to do more at tbe present time than to say that evidence will be laid before your lordships as to outrages which occuirtd in the month of December, 1886, before the riot which ultimately gave rise to such discussion." The public generally, we think, know something of what Sir Richard Webster calls the riot. They know also that it occurred in September, 1887, and that it could have about as much to do with whatever took place in the nature of alleged outrage in 1886 as the last new moon has to do with the approaching Presidential election. But we have received a letter fiom a Mitchelstown man, Mr. James G. Skinn*r, who writes in reference to the Attorney -General's statement — " No outrage occurred here in the month of December, 1886. What the Attorney-General refers to, and how any Buch evidence can be produced, is a mystery to the people here. The Plan of Campaign was not adopted h^re until January, 1887, and remained in force until February, 1888, when the Countess of Kingston and her tenants came to a settlement. For many years previous to the adoption of tbe Plan of Campaign Mitchelstown was well en evidence in the land agitation, etc., and in the Pian of Campaign struggle took a most prominent part, and during this trying period not a single outrage, such as murder, houghing cattle, moonlighting, incendiary tires, etc., occurred in the Mitchelstown district, or even in a radius of miles around, if I except the burning of a few tons of hay belonging to a car proprietor in a yard in which several local bailiffs resided. Daring the progress of the Pian our repiesentatives and the leaders of the movement congratulated the people on this happy state of things, and expressed their utmost gratification that not a single stain had disgraced tha movement or district." Mr. Skinner suggests, in view of similarly unfounded charges having been made against other locali ies, that the secretaries of the local branches of the League iv the various specified districts should forward to Mr. Lewis, solicitor for the Irish members, all tLo particulars they can obtain as regards bogus outrages. As he recalls, it is not long since a bailiff complained th it his house was fired into, nud be claimed police protection. The constabulary investigated the matter, and found, It is reported, that the wadding used in the gun was a bill for goods supplied by a local rader to the bailiff himselt !

Things are becoming rather lively oa the Kinmare esta'e. Killarney was on last Monday evening, November 12, literally swarming with contingents a o( the Royil liish, several of whom surrounded tha establishment of Mr. D. O'Connor, T.C., in College Btreet. Afier a brief, but, of course, Iruitless search hal b c 1 made in bis premises, Mr. O'Connor was put under arrest. Sub*equantly Mr. J. D. Shee an, M.P,, was anested — the former gentleman being chart; .'d with inciting the tenants on the Kenmare estate not to pay their rents unless on the reductions asked for, and the latter being accused of using intirnidatory language to Mr. Rodger?, District InBpector. Next day Mr. Sheebau was brought up before Removables Cecil, Roche, and M'Dermott.

It with *oon be a criminal offence to evei look at a police officer in tins countij. Children have been arrested, and young ni< n sent to gaol for ni-nply laughing in the vicinity of a policeman, and now a Member of Pailiimeut hasb>ei sentence! to a month't imprisonment for being present when "bojs" were given for Balfour in face of a district-inspector. Tbe charge against Mr. Sh ehan really amounts to that. According to theevideuce of two t>ub-coustablei be called out " 800 for Ba f jur," as Inspector Rogers was leaving his hotel. According to the evidence of Mr. M. Healy, Towq C eik, and of Mr. Thomas Condon, M. P., the wot'ds cjtuplaiued i>f were used by persons in the crowd which had assembled round tha hotel wnile Mr. R 'gers was ranking a search in it. The Bench, however, wtiieh consisted of Mesbrs. C^cil Roche, J. M'Dermott, R M., and four others, notwithstanding the confl cting character of the testimony, and tne bupericriy of mat for the dc fence, decided that Mr. Sbeeban did make use of language calculated to lead to a bre'tcn of the peace, aad oideied him to find secaritici to be of goo I behaviour or to go to g ol f>t one month. Mr. Sheehan selected the latier aid was r_muvi'fi io Tralee Gaol amid tre cheers <,f immense crowds.

At a meeting of the Hackney Radidl (Jlub in London, [on Monday, November 12. Lord Ripon delivered an interesting address,

in the course of which he said it was for the country to decide whether the House of L>rds should ba endel or mended. Ia any case, hi* lordship a lnaitte I t*\u tha Qpj»r Uumb ;r needsi reform. It was not the Irish question alone, be continued, th«t blooked the way; Referring to Irelind, ha poiutol oui the absurdities of the administration of tho law in that cjuntry. Mr. Bilfour had, rather injudiciously, drawn a pinllel bjtwaen the laws ot India aid Ireland, remarking that ia tbe form jr cjsj cbay were m >re severe. When he (Lord Ripon) was ia offnj, mietmjs wera hell in Calcutta to denounce the action of the Government, ani yet these proceeding* were never interfered with by th} authorities. His lordship thought the people of Ireland would bj well coatantel if they were trailed with similar tolera ion. L>ri Bipoa concluded with a hops that Lonion would be soon arousjd to the importanca of emancipating th*) toiling millions of tbe lanJ.

Our Roman carrespon lent senJs us imporUnt njws. Ho inform* us that it is reported iv ecclesiastic tl circle) in Rjmu that the Irish bishops have presented a numorial ii which, while expressing their devotion to the Holy Sic, they ask that all matters regarding then may be communicUed through the 3acrad Congregation, and not through extraneous chainela. Tho rumour lacks confirmation ; bat should the news prove to bd true, it will show that the Irish bishop* are determined to maintiin the independence of the Irish Church, and to preserve that direjt aad imaaeliitj rotation with the oeatre of Ecclesiastical authority tj which, by history and precedent, it is entitled. The fewer iaterme Jiaries, the less the daiger from officious intermeddlesomeneis.

The inquiry into the Times allegations has not advanced much during the past week, ending November 10. Only twj points have to be noted— the evidence of Heid-Oonstible Irwin, and the decision of tbe President, Sir Jame* Haaaea. Heal-Oonstable Irwia declared that he knew tbe organisers of outr iga and the members of seciet societies to be opposed in cortai i districts to the Land League and National League. This ia moat remark ible testim>ay on the question of the direct relation between thj Lind League and outrage. Sir James Hannen's decision bears upon another sort of relation which it is sought to establish — the conspiratorial relation. He has declared that the worls of a speaker are not sufficient guide to the spoaker's intent ; but that the state of the district must ba taken into account in deciding the question of alleged coanectioa between his words and events that may have followed them. This seems to us to show ft most dangerous tendency in tne mi ads of the Tory-constituted Commission. Take, for instance, the ca3e of Mr. O'Brien going down into Kerry to wean the people from outrage and to substitute the weapon of open combination for that of midnight assassination. If he did not succeed, and if oatragas continued, would that fact be taken as evidence that Mr. O'Brien intended to foment outrage. According to this decision, it seem 9 it would. We cannot see tbe grounds, ia common sense, for this maxim of legal pedantry. Mr. Justice Smith's reported surprise that the Tenants of Mr. Lewis shonld have aotei ill a body is also minatory. Public opinion will have to be alert. Counsel for the Times have been continuing their parade of crime during the week ending November 17. They are raking up every ghastly outrage committed by an exasperated peasantry since 1879, and causing it to be narrated with the manifest purpose of ascribing to a whole people tbe wanton villany of a few. As yet they have not establishei a single link of connection between tbe persioi charged with conniving at these outrages aid the perpetration of them. The President of tha Court has declared that the fact of outrage is nothing unless connection be proved. But it is rather curious that the proceedings are being turned into a me l.urn for the propagation of slander, and that the proof of connection has not yet been demanded. Mr. William Redmond, M.P., was to b 3 a witness in the case of the Coolroe men, which came up on appeal before Dr. Darley, Q.C., at the Quarter Sessions, held in New Ross, on Wednesday, November 7. But a cer lficate of tha doctor came instead, sayiag that Mr. Bedmoid was unfit to travel the short journey from Wexford to New Ross. Tne certificate is a proof of the extent to which the brutalities tnat Mr. Redmond has been mad* the victim of, have undermined his strength. He has been repeatedly confined to the punishment cull and put upon punishment diet for refusing to associate with criminals. Tne result may be read in the doctoi'ti certificate of ill-health. His case is another example of the atrocious system established by Mr. Balfonr.

Mr. Gladstone's visit to Birmingham was attended with tbe utmost success. The hearty and spontaneous character of the ovatijQ tendered him by almost all classes of tue community points to the conclusion that the Chamberlaimte citadel has been takea by storm. The extraordinary receptijn accorded to the ex- Premier in what was suppose! to be the very stronghold of Liberal-Unionism has not only puzz'ed but bewildered all these journals, the editors of which would nave us believe that Mr. Gladstone and h's party are politically moribund. Ole of these newspapeis k-*, but in vain, to get out of the dilemma by making a superfine distinction between Mr. Glidstooo and h s principles, adding tba 1 tie crowd might well cheer the man himself while detesting Ins opinions. What a logical way to wriggle out ot a i illogical and untenable position, i've lory Press is forced to pay Mr. Gladstone the tribute of their admiration for the physical energy and ei'thus a-soa w neb hj displayed in the Birmingham campaign. Everything points to thj tacc that the success whi^h Mr. Gladstone Ins borne off in tha city will be followed up e'sewaera at a very early date. Vision-) of his Midlothian triumph are, probab y, tinting through the O d Ma i's mm 1, and are impelling him to outrival that ons. aught on the Tory hosts.

Mr. GUdstune'd journey irom Hawarden to Birmingham was a \eii table march of tiiutnph — crowds greeting him at all the intervc nog railway statio is. His reception in Birmingham was all tba£ could be desire 1 by even the most enthusiastic Liberal, despite the fict that the iraitoio to the Lib ral cause, j lined by the Toned, h*d Ik'cq working might and tna.n for days previously l« poison pub io o^imo i iv ti a" Luwu against tie Homj Rule c tuje by umirchiug itie dead walls with ghadly and grotesque p jsccrs depicting, or essaying

to depict, what were called the Land League murders daring the Reign* of Terror in Ireland. The flaunting of all these gory prints throughout Birmingham on the eve of Mr. Gladstone's arrival showed not only the bad taste, but the indecency of the followers of Mr. Chamberlain. Among those who greeted the distinguished visitor at the station were Sir Walter Foster, Mr. Childers, and Mr. A. C Osier, President of the Birmingham "Two Thousand." The exPremier's drive to the Town Hall was through a surging mass of rple, cheering lustily in honour of their illustrious guest. When reached that building there were at least over four thousand people congregated within its precincts to hear what he) bad to say on the Irish question. Ihe platform was wreathed with fleers, and the word " Welcome " was inscribed on the panels of the gallery in front of the speiker. After Mr. Gladstone's entrance into the hall had been honoured with salvoes of applause, lasting over ten minutes, he was presented by the Liberal Association w.th an address covering bis pages of vellum, and ornamented with sundry devices, among them being the emblems of knowledge, law, and industry, the arms of Birmingham and the Gladstone family, and medallion portraits symbolical of classics, theology, science, literature, and art. Mr. Gladstone's speech on this occasion was a masterpiece of fervid eloquence and withering sarcasm. Lord Hartiugton and Mr, Balfour came in for their proper share of the right hon. gentleman's biting satire, while his too generous references to John Bright touched the heart of the great audience. It is only necessary for us to obsarve in this column that his utterances rang not only with enthusiasm, but were impregnated with the most forcible logic. His reference to the diminution of the Unionist majority from 116 to 96, and his dignified rebuke to Mr. Balfour for his cruelly flippant remarks on the late John Mandeville, were not the least noteworthy features of his speech. On the whole, the Birmingham campaign bids fair to compete in success with the heroic campaign of Midlothian.

The correspondence published between Mr. Phelps and Lords Sackville and Salisbury throws a lurid light on the slavish attitude of the Premier towards the great Republic of the West. Lord Salisbury is brave enough in bullying and in attempting to coerce a defenceless people ; but he has a holy and wholesome horror of treading on the toes of f>uch a formidable antagonist as Uocle Sam. Lord Salisbury bears the snub which ha has received and grins. The prestige of the Tory Cabinat has beea dealt a blow from which it will not readily recover.

It is feared that Mr. J. Douglas Pyne, the member for West Waterford, has been drowned in the passage from Holyhead. Ha is known to buve left London for Dublin, he has not been seen fcince Saturday night, November 10 and in the luggage of the gentleman who is misting Irom the m^il packet tickets of admission to the House of Commons have been found. All these circumstances would point to the melancholy fact that it is Mr. Pyne who was lost. The son of a Surrey rector, he was one of these Englishmen whose residence in this couutry and acquaintance with its miseries have made more Irish than the Irish themselves. His sympathies were for the people of his adopted c untry, and their cause has lost in him a staunch supporter if, as is only too probable, the rumour of his death be true.

Mr. William Redmond, M.P , wason Monday night, November 12, uncondi ionally released fromW^xfjrd Gaol three weeks before his term would have expiie 1. Mr. Redmond was released on the recommendation of Dr. Harden on rn»dic tl grounds, in which Dr. O'F.irrell, of the Prisons' Board, is saul to have concurred. Afier hisrele-se the hon. member was waited upon by a number of Catholic clergymen and prominent citizens, In the course cf conversation, he th inked the Mayor and Corporation, as well as other public bodies, tor the kind resolutions pat-sed by them in his f ivour during hrn uiipnsviment. We beg leave to tender our heartiest congratulations to Mr. Redmond on his restoration to liberty. Like oiher ex-" criminals," he purports remaining impenitent.

On Tuesday a depuiation of the Mayor and Corporation of VVexford waited on Mr. Kedmond, to present him with an eloquent address on the occasion of his release from the county gaol. In his reply, Mr. Redound, who is far from bjing in his usual health, thanked the deputation for their reception and the various League branches and Buards of Guardians lor their sympathetic lesolutious Referring to tho Cool roe evictions, he said that '.he teoants effe-ed to pay all they were able to pay, and the Resident Magistiate and Sheriff who conducted the eviciiag party declared their proposed compromise reasouable and fuir. He cous.dered himself tree from thetuntct crime iv encouraging tl.e Wexford men to defend their homes, and, thougo imprisonei an 1 clothed as a felon, he refused, in spite of punishment, to associate in the prison yard with the outcasts of society. Mr. Redmond subsequently left for Dublin, and at Ennisconhy, Gorey, Arklow, aad at a ions along the route was met by rtprfsentitive Nationalists, an I conpratu ated on bis release. Several mem I era of me p.uty were at the Dublin terminus to receive h ni and do honour to Mr lialfour's " crimuia!."