4 SEPTEMBER 1886, Page 2

Sir Michael Hicks-Beach, who in all his Irish speeches has

shown very good temper, great moderation, and yet considerable firmness, replied by pointing oat how impossible it was to assume the correct answers to questions which were being very carefully investigated by the Commission, and of which no one yet knew the exact truth. He entirely exonerated the Mayor of Belfast, Sir E. Harland, from the charge of any sort of partisanship And he criticised as very quaint Mr. Sexton's impatience to get rid entirely of Home-rule in Belfast and to put order in Belfast directly under the authorities of the Castle, as a preliminary to establishing Home-rude in Ireland and putting Ireland under the very regime which, in the commercial capital of Ireland, he finds unendurable. Mr. T. Russell put the Protestant view of the Belfast riots before the House in reply to Mr. Sexton's Nationalist view, though he did not attempt to exonerate the Protestants so completely as Mr. Sexton attempted to exonerate the Roman Catholics; and after some remarks from Mr. Dillon and Mr. T. D. Sullivan in defence of Mr. Sexton's view, and from Mr. Ewart on the other side, the debate was adjourned till Thursday.