Mr. Courtney made a curious speech at Torpoint, Cornwall, on
Thursday. He has been travelling in Ireland, and has come back more convinced than ever that the Union must be maintained. He believes that, substantially, Mr. Parnell is in favour of the Land-Purchase Bill, and he urges that the Bill ought to be passed by the efforts of both parties. But he thinks the Tipperary prosecutions unwise, and advises the Government, now that the principal alleged misdemeanants have escaped, to abandon the prosecution. That is to say, Mr. Courtney, though he admits that there is reason for prosecution, considers it a purely political act, levelled at political foes alone. That is precisely what the Govern. ment deny. They say—and say truly, we believe—that they are prosecuting a conspiracy to coerce an indivi- dual, and have no more right to pick and choose among defendants than they have to prosecute little men, while allowing Members of Parliament to go free. They are not fighting anarchy as an Executive by decrees, but are bringing to bear on it the steady pressure of the law, which has only so far been specialised that Magistrates instead of juries decide upon the facts.
Previous page
