An odd, little incident occurred in the afternoon sitting of
yesterday week, too late for us to record it, before going to press. On the report of the "Prevention of Crimes (Ireland) Bill," the Government brought up the new or amended clauses which they had promised to draft and introduce into the Bill at that stage ; and amongst them was a proviso belonging to the fourteenth clause, limiting the search of the police for arms or documents of a criminating nature to the day-time, and allow- ing them to enter the houses of the peasants at night, only when it is reasonably suspected that the meetings of Secret Societies are taking place there. When Mr. Trevelyan moved the insertion of this proviso, Mr. Cartwright, the minority Mem- ber, i.e., the Liberal Member for Oxfordshire, asked the House to reject it, declaring gloomily his belief that if accepted it would operate not so as to aid in the prevention of crime, but so as to aid in preventing its detection. In vain the Prime Minister pointed out that to force on the Government of Ireland a restriction of liberty which they do not ask for, is almost as objectionable in principle as forcing on the Government a tax for which they do not ask—a proceeding forbidden by the forms of the House —and that the unlimited power of search during the night which Mr. Cartwright proposed to restore, was considered by the Government one of a very dangerous and irritating kind, much more certain further to alienate the Irish people than to improve the prospect of pubishing the offenders. In vain Mr. Bright expatiated on the same theme, and urged that when the Bill was first of all considered by the Committee of the Cabinet, the determination was arrived at not to insert the clause authorising the night search, and that the present Lord-Lieutenant then held the same view as that which he now holds,—i.e., one unfavourable to the clause. The more declara- tions of this kind the Tories hoard, the more eager they were to thwart the lenient members of the Cabinet ; and as a good many Liberals were away, and a good many were eager to snub- the party of conciliation, the Government were defeated, and Mr. Trevelyan's proviso rejected by a majority of thirteen (207 against 194).
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