Yesterday week also, Lord Burlington, in making a personal explanation
in answer to Mr. Dillon's challenge, quoted those words attributed by the Times to Mr. Boyton and Mr. Sheridan, who were acting under Mr. Dillon as organisers of the Land
League, which are relied on as connecting that organisation with the commission of crime. Mr. Boyton had been reported to have said on March 5th, 1881 r—" We have seen plenty of land. lords and agents who deserve to be shot at any man's hands. I have always denounced the commission of outrages by night, but meet him in the broad daylight, and if you must blow out his brains, blow them out by daylight." Another speech is attributed to Mr. Boyton in 1880, in which he boasted of the American contributions to be invested in "lead," which were then said by him to have amounted to $20,000 (24,000). There was also a speech of Mr. Sheridan's advising the Irish, if they could not get their demands constitutionally, to wring them out by Minis rifles. After Lord Hartington had spoken, Mr. Dillon explained that the speech of March 5th, 1881, when Mr. Boyton was still one of his subordinates in the Land League, had been "grossly and scandalously" misreported in the official account, and that Mr. Boyton never uttered such words ; while as to the speech in 1880, it only meant that if constitutional agitation were insufficient, the Irish would be justified in open rebellion, for which arms would be necessary. Mr. Dillon put just the same meaning on Mr. Sheridan'e speech as to the Mini rifles. That is, words which cannot be explained as anything but invitations to assassinate, are simply denied ; while words which can be explained as meaning either war or assassination, are explained as referring to the former. Would disaffected Irish Ribbonmen, accustomed to the use of violence in a very different form, have been in the least likely so to understand Mr. Dillon's agents ? Mr. Dillon's explanations certainly hang fire.
