On Monday, Mr. Balfour, addressing a public meeting of over
four thousand people in St. Andrew's Hall, Glasgow, dealt chiefly with the questions raised in the Mandeville and Ridley inquests. Though relieved by many touches of irony and scorn, the whole temper of the speech was that of burning indignation against the recklessness and injustice with which the Unionist administration in Ireland has been assailed. Especially did Mr. Balfour arraign Mr. Gladstone's statements as to the treatment of prisoners, and complain of their " in- grained and ineradicable falseness." Mr. Balfour described the case of a man named bi`Namara, imprisoned, and doubt- less quite rightly imprisoned, during Mr. Gladstone's govern. ment, who was sentenced to six months, but after three months of the ordinary prison treatment went mad, and had to be released. Mr. Balfour quoted, also, the case of Mr. Harring- ton, imprisoned during Mr. Gladstone's government, and then continued,—" That this man [Mr. Gladstone] could come and address an English audience, and talk about Bomba, after he had done precisely and exactly the same thing, if possible in a more aggravated form, only five years ago, really beggars all the humble efforts at description which I have at command." Mr. Balfour's language throughout his speech was perhaps somewhat too strong, but, as he says, " the blood boils " at the thought of the conspiracy of defamation laid bare at the two inquests.
