The debate, first on the Address, and then on the
report on the Address, has crawled on during the week, but without eliciting any very remarkable speeches, with the exception, perhaps, of that of Mr. Sexton, the Home-ruler, and one or two very thoughtful and painstaking speeches from both sides, like Mr. Gibson's and Mr. Plunket's on the Conservative side of the House, and Mr. Chamberlain's, Mr. Lefevre's, and the Irish Attorney-General's on the Liberal side, and the Prime Minister's on Thursday night. Yesterday week, Mr. Gibson insisted that the Protection Act in Ireland bad been used weakly, instead of strongly, and that the Land League should have been pro- claimed illegal,—illegal under the common law,—many months before it was, and even before the Protection Act was carried. But the Government wanted to play off the Land Act against the Land League, and so give a political instead of a moral colouring to their use of the Protection Act. Mr. Gibson con- cluded a very able and, on the whole, a very moderate speech, by saying that he took no desponding view of Ireland.
