ON THE TRAIL.

New Zealand Tablet, Volume XVII, Issue 4, 17 May 1889, Page 29

ON THE TRAIL.

(The Nation. March 23.)

Thb existence of a deep and close conspiracy batweei the Times and her Maj^ty'u Government baa, by dint of incessant inquiry and crossexamination oi Ministers in the House, been at last fully established. Tbe Opposition are on the trail, and the bi'tden details which will prove up to the hilt the Government's complicity will assuredly be unearthed. As it is, many most c improiniaiug particulars have been discovered ; and they are such as to leave no shadow of a doubt in the mind of any person that the w iole public service has been piostituted to the service of the Times. Heads >f depaitments anl minor functionaries alike have been employed to further tbe case agains 1 the Irish members, not oaly with tbe approval but at tbe instance of Minister?.

Mr. Balfour, in spile of shuffl ng and evasion, has been forc3d to admi' what, of itself, is evidence, trumpet-tongmd, of this con piracy. After the Act was passed which constituted the Commission, and previous to the opening of the • ommisniou, it transpires that two iv sdent Magistrates, by tbe direct order cf the Government, wre tngaged iv txammtn? papers and tabulating statistic wi h a v cw to elucidate subjects < f mquiry. Mr Home and Mr. Joyce, in preparing this information, werr, of course, acting altogether out'-ide the ordinary sphere i f ti eir duties, and they did so on tbe authonty of their official superiors. And as a reward for his excellent services in the compilation, \he former has been promoted over the heads of others who, for tbe discbarge of regular duties, had strong claims to the promotion. What is infinitely woise, however, still remains Tbe result if their iesearchtp, their figures and their tabulations, like Dr. Barr's t-candalous letter, were " sent on to the Times. ' Mr. B ilfour, wi b bin customary t-ub le y aud ingenious minipu ation of la> guaue, attempe > to ru.<ke it appe-ir th it these had been luinUned a>- legitimate information, only in lesoonse to the f imil at plication <f tbi limes as pie*ciiU.<i by h <ct. Bitheciuld nffer no e\p'anation a 9 to how th. 1 Times became aware that such irfoimation wa9 procurab'e. Of coarse what iccmrud is only too pan fully cleat . 'Jh-Attoruey-General, a* a nvmberof the Cabinet, had knowledge of what records existed, and was in a posi ion, therefore, in his other capacity as counsel for th; Times, to avail hims-lf of them.

Nor is this the only case in winch (iffijial d cjm -nts have been S ) disc osed. The revelation exfortpd tn>m the Home Secretary wiih legard to Lecu-on exposes another fl vgrant abuse. 8 cret communications extending over wvcuty ytats were deliberately handed over to this informer f,r iu°e at the C>mm<sson. to lefresh nis memory and give force to hta eu leacc. It do j s no 1 al er tbe ugly complexion of the f.£hir that Mr. Anderson ihe Scotland Yard Superintendent who did so, acted without the c )gnisance of tue Hoth Becr<*tary. Tbe latter ha 9 since s' imped the action with the heal of his public approval, aid so shaie* the responsibility for it ns an accessory utter 'he (>ci . And, in any case, it displays therotten condi ion of the department when secrtt papers of such importance, of which Sir WilhrtoQ Ha-(ourt even never bad the remotest suspicion, c >uld bed<a!t with as they were. 'Jhedjfuice which Mr. MutLe*a thought to sm np is a most lidiculouspemesion of an ordinary po.nt of law. To contend t. at altttir, above all an official, or at mot even s mi-<fficial docum nt, remains the property ot the sender alter remission, becmse legally the copyright ot the le'ter remains bis is the ve>y acme of stup'd absurdity. But Anders >n's connection with the Times' cmc does not end here with the providi g of the papers. He md m re lhan that f<>r tbe " old friends" ot the firtt Lord of the Trensuiy. It appears from the Times itself that he aia>rargd an introduction between Le Caron and tbe Foig<T's jackal, Mr. Houston, in a letter wherein he described the latter as "a gentleman on whom you can thoroughly rely." The connection thus clear. y betrayed, through the medium of Houston, forges securely another hnk.to connect the Times' calumniators and the Cabinet.

Thauks to Mr. Healy's indefatigable zeal and pertinacity, the systematic violation of the prison rules in the interests of the Time* stands exposed in all its nakedness. Not only was Mr. Hoames admitted into cenrict prisons as he pleased and when be pleased, bnt, more infamous still than that, Pigott was permitted to visit the convict, John Oaly, to work up his case. Pigott had an interview with this dynamitard in Chatham, at a time when he was the hired witness of tbe Times, an J after, it mast not be forgotten, their soli? citors had received his warning letter that a cross-examination would demolish him. This visit, which, as events may show, the Government should have cause to remember, was allowed wi hoat Pigott bei>g armed wi h)ut any warrant or credential whatever. So the Home Secretary admits, and th* natural suspicion which arises is that the prison officials were well aware of his standing and of his purpose, and s> pHcel no obstacle in his way. There ar» other circunntinces, too, which deounl explatttion. Irish police officers and magistrate* we -a for m mths a way from their d stricts and loctted in L i.tdon t • oblige the Times. And their constant, occupa'im there was coachia^ up witnesae* and cooking their evidence. Crown Prosecutors were similarly engaged, and, worst point of all, the tiisjhest anl best pd 1 law offi ;ial of the Crown, the English Attorney-Gene' al, to the exclusion of public business, has been earning his £10,000 salary as the champion of the Tines I'hese are but a few of the dettils in the conspiracy : more ye are to be discoverel. And they will be d scovered, and witb their exposure will come the destruction of tha Pitrottist G >vernment.