After these speeches, a great part of the interest of
the debate, as a debate, collapsed. Mr. Courtney gave vigorous support to the Government, though he wished to see the Local Government Act extended to Ireland, with special pre. cautions, such as the granting of powers to suspend the local government in any district where it was abused ; and in spite of the imperfections of the present Irish Govern- ment, he maintained that a great system of justice working for equity and freedom does, in fact, exist in Ireland. Colonel Saunderson on Tuesday made one of his vigorous speeches, in which, being repeatedly interrupted by cries of "Pigott !" he declared that, in his opinion, the person. referred to had shown conspicuously his qualifications for becoming a member of the first Home-rule Government for Ireland. He insisted that it is quite as justifiable to punish a man for making a speech in a disturbed Irish county which he might make with impunity in an English city, as it is to punish a man for lighting a cigar in a coal-mine which he might light with perfect impunity in an English street. He showed how a speech of Mr. Davitt's in Limerick in favour of boycotting "land-grabbers" was followed within two days in the neighbouring county of Kerry by Fitzmaurice's assassination, and he quizzed with great humour the melodramatic night attack of the Lord Mayor of Dublin on the Chief Secretary's slumbers in reference to Mr. O'Brien. Mr. Dillon insisted that the improvement in Ireland is due to the successful working of the "Plan of Campaign," on which he continues to pride himself above measure, and still more to the hopes in- spired in Irishmen by the alliance with Mr. Gladstone and his friends. Mr. Dillon further maintained that all the boycotters, moonlighters, and other malcontent offenders against the law, poor or rich, are political offenders, and should have their personal dignity respected, and not be compelled to associate with criminals. In other words, a moonlighter who fires into a tenant-farmer's legs for paying his rent, is to wear his own clothes and beard, and to be permitted to refuse all association with the criminal who has only stolen a quartern loaf. Mr. Dillon further entered into a long and singularly minute con- troversy with Mr. Balfour as to the grounds of Mr. O'Brien's conviction, and the prison treatment he had received.
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