One hundred years ago
Lord Salisbury on Friday week made an unusually temperate speech at Leeds, in which he endeavoured to explain his indiscreet utterance about 20 years of repression. He declared that he had not recommended anything to be made punishable except proved breach of the criminal law. 'Our coercion was directed against the criminal classes, against murders, against robberies, against mutilation of beasts.' To 'com- pare that coercion with Mr Gladstone's coercion, when he imprisoned a thousand men without trial for a politic- al object, is to juggle with words.' We have not recommended political coer- cion.' He denied absolutely that the Tory Cabinet — and he spoke in the hearing of 14 persons who knew the facts — ever entertained a proposal for the constitution of an Irish Legislature, or ever told Mr Parnell they did. And, finally, he denied the charge of wishing `to exterminate the horny-handed sons of toil'. He had wished to assist willing emigrants, and thereby increase the wages of those who remained. Spectator, 26 June 1886
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