Mr. Balfour has been attacked for two days this week
on the "shadowing" by the police of Irish boycotters, and he has alleged in reply that such " shadowing " is essential to prevent the much more effective " shadowing " by National Leaguers of those whom the League has boycotted. Mr. Balfour had no difficulty in showing not only the very effective "shadowing" by Leaguers of men suspected of not observing the orders of the League, but that Mr. Gladstone's Government had " shadowed " suspected boycotters, in mach the same fashion in which his own Government has done so ; but all this makes no sort of impression on Mr. Gladstone or Sir George Trevelyan, who are extremely irritated by any reference to their own procedure in that matter. Eventually, the motion for the reduction of the vote for the Irish Con- stabulary was rejected on Tuesday by 291 votes against 219, majority 72, a very fair majority for a Government pronounced by Sir W. Harcourt on the following day to be in artieulo mortis.
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