On Tuesday, Mr. Butcher moved to insert words which would
deprive the Irish Parliament of the power to deal with "criminal conspiracy and combination," on the ground that several of the men who would wield the power of the Irish Legis- lature had been " found by a competent tribunal to have been engaged in a conspiracy to obtain the independence of Ireland," and a large number of them, "in a conspiracy by means of coercion and intimidation, to promote an agitation against agrarian rents." Mr. Morley replied that to accept the motion would be a sure way to create friction between the two Parliaments. Mr. Balfour, with great emphasis, dwelt upon the record of the Nationalist Party in regard to conspiracy, and declared that the Government proposed to give the Irish Party the power to establish New Tipperarys all over Ireland. How could they resist a proposal to legalise the " Plan of Campaign " P Their speeches would rise up in evidence against them. Mr. Gladstone replied that the matter was a purely Irish question, and pointed out that the veto or the power of the Imperial Parliament would be the proper means to stop legislation of the kind feared. On the division, the amendment was lost by 41 votes (276 to 317),—the Closure having been previously carried by 32 votes. Sir Henry James next failed to add " sedition " to the excepted subjects, though he showed that sedition and treason could not really be separated. The motions as to intimidation and criminal procedure, which we have dealt with elsewhere, were respectively lost by majorities of 50 and 40.
Previous page
