Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933), Monday 26 July 1886, page 6


MAIL NEWS.

(trom Papers to 12th June.)

THE CLOSE OF THE HOME RULE

DEBATE.

The St James s Gazette thus describes the closo of this debato -

By 341 votes to 311 tho Houso of Commons decided at half past 1 o'clock on Tuesday morn-

ing not to read Mr. Gladstone's Homo Rulo '

Bill a second time. Tho Houso had hcen crowded all night, and the strain and tension were something unprecedented, and cul-minated in o scene of excitomont and passion such as has rarely been witnessed, if ever before, within tho Parliament of the still United Kingdom. Mr. Goschon began the debate with a powerful speech, occupying over an hour and a half in delivery, which greatly fretted tho Prime Ministor and his first lieutenant, the Chancellor of tho ISxchequor, and which at times produced much excitement in the ranks of tho Irish party, Mr. Gladstono was much moved hy Mr. Goschcn's assertion that tho Government wore not going to reconstruct thctr bill The Primo Minister shouted "No, no," with romarkablo vehemence, and, when Mr Goschen paused, Mr. Gladstone rose to explain that what he had striven to repudiate in ono of his inter-ruptions the other day was not tlio notion that ho was going to reconstruct tim bill, but only tho " cool statement " that he had " promised " to reconstruct it. It is not surprising that Mr. Goschen went on to ask whether tho Govern-ment really meant to " stand by their bill" or not, but on this point Mr, Gladstono refused to mako any sign. Mr Goschen had some sharp hits at individual members. The speech of Sir Joseph Pease, for instance, ho described as " an interesting psychological study," and to Sir William Harcourt'» merry making over tho " melodramatic valour " of thosowho objected to the arts of tho dynamiter ho retorted, amid the laughter of the House, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was "tho last man in tho House" who could be moved to mirth on such a point. When Mr. Goschen owned that those who wore " told off to terrify British opinion" were now holding their hands, and added, " but tho devil is still at his work m some part of the world," the Parnelhtes wilfully per verted his meaning, and by their cheers accepted his language as applying to his own lino of action; and the incident was not without its amusing side. The bill ho described as "a hundió of impossibilities," and in the courso of a long and telling argument ho showed how impossible it was to provide under it foi tho retention of tho Irish members at Westminster, foi tho sovereignty of Parlia-ment, or for tho protection of the minority. Mr. Goschon laid himself out in the main for picking up and answering such of the argu-

ments used in the debato m support of the bill

as seemed worthy of attention, and this naturally made his speech hang somewhat loosely togothcr; but it was a singularly tempcrato and able exposition of tho hollowness of much that had done duty for reasoning m favour of the racasuro Towards the close of tho speech Mr. Goschon offered an indignant protest against Mr. Gladstone's as-sumption that only " class and the dependents of class" wero against the bill, and that " tho upright sense of the nation" was in its favour ; and he asked amid loud cheers whether the loyal minority or Mr. Bright, or the Reverend Mr. Spurgeon wero to bo accounted as belong-ing to " class and its dependents " Tho Daily News had amplified Mr. Gladstone's language, and spoken of tho opponents as tho "swaggormg classos," so Mr. Goschen asked, with a quiet humour which convulsed tho Houso, whether tho description was moro applicable to Mr. Spurgeon or to Sir William Harcourt ' The right-honourable gentleman once moro protested against firm government being labelled as "coercion," and predicted that if the dynamiters began their work afresh, even Mr. Gladstono himself would bo lound voting in the sarao lobby w ith thoso who tried to put

them down

Mr. Farnell spoke for an hour, with somo warmth at tho outset, but afterwards in his studiously calm and measuicd tones Ho sneered at Mr Goschen as "ineffective," ond as usually defending "lost causes," but ho joined with that right honouiablo gentleman in denouncing outrage as " cowardly and dis graceful " Ho was very angry with Lord Randolph Churchill and Sir Ohambeilam for "using reckless languago about tho affairs of a country not their own," and as to which thoy had "not oven tho paltry excuse that it was any business of theirs;" but after this out burst tho leader of the Irish party calmed down considciobly. Though tho Irish peoplo would, ho owned, havo preferred a revival of Grattan's Parliament, ho pledged his word for them to accept the present settlement as " fanal," without any leserve. But, as to Ulstei, ho peremptonly warned the Government and the Houso against making any exceptions m favour of that province ; for, ho said " wo cannot give up a single Irishman We want tho energy and patuotism and talent and work of every Irishman to insure that this great experiment shall be a success ; for tho best Government is that which is the resultant of all tho forces in a country, and w o cannot spate tho talent and influcnco of the Irish Protestants, who, as one of tho ordors of tho future Irish Parliament will exercise a mode-rating influence upon the making of our laws." A little latoi ho produced quito a sensation in the Houso, for, admitting that he bad once declared himself in favour of an Irish Parlia ment which should establish the policy of "protecting Irish industries," he went on "That speech was made when a Conservative and not a Liberal Government was in power, and when we had every reason to know that the Conservative party, if they should be successful at the polls, would offer to Ireland a statutory Legislature with a right to protect her own industries and accompanied by a settlement of the land question on a basis of purchase on a much larger scale than that now proposed by the present Government " This statement, which greatly moved the House for the moment, was loudly cheered by the Ministerialists and Parnelites, and caused some commotion on tho front Opposition bench, where Mr W. H Smith took a hurried note of it, which he subsequently handed to Lord Randolph Churchill when that noble lord soon afterwards entered the House. But later on Mr. Parnell's tactics, like the some what similar tactics adopted by Mr. T P O'Connor the other day, were shown to be faulty, in so far as the honourable gentleman, when challenged for the proof of his assertions, had none forthcoming. Mr Parnell closed his speech with a cynical passage which ought to have unnerved Mr. Morley and sent a cold shiver through the massive frame of Sir Wil

ham Harcourt. For the honourable gentle-man, while protesting that he waa not indulging m a "threat," warned the House that if the Bill wero rejected " Lord Salisbury was quite right in supposing that thero would have to bo a resort to coercion." That was a policy which would become "inevitable,"and even the best, intentioned Radicals" would be found voting in favour of " drastic measures " The severe coercion of the last five years, severe as it had been, would have to be renewed, " and more

besides."

For tho next hour or so the debato was somowhat lifeless , but Mr. Cowen gave it a new animation by a magnificent burst of the ininti» stoned emotional rhetoric with which ho on raro occasions electrifies the House and charms it m a way which puts him in the very first rank of our genuinely eloquent politicians. Mr. Oowon of courso spoke strongly in favour of tho bill ; and after him, soon after 10 o'clock, carno tho leader of the Opposition, who spoko for an hour and twenty minutes Sir Michael Hicks Beach made a vigorous and powerful speech, which at ono time led up to a dramatic incident that produced a perfect tornado of excitement It was when ho carne to deal with the serious statement put forward by Mr Parnell as to tho action of the late Government in promising a Homo ltulo Bill of their own. Having com racntcd upon this, he went on, amid a storm of cheers-"Upon that remarkable statement I must for myself and my colleagues state, m tho plainest and most distinct terms, that I utterly and categorically deny that the late Government ever had any such intention " Whon the cheering had subsided, Mr. Parnell rose to ask "Docs the right honourable baronet deny that that intention was communicated to mo by one of his own colleagues, a Minister of the Crown '" and hero the cheering was tak n up by the Minis tcnalistsand Parnelhtes, who at once jumped to the conclusion that some terrible and possibly disgraceful revelation was about to be made. But tho leader of the Opposition, standing proudly erect, and looking Mr Parnell full m the face, did not flinch for a moment " Yes," ho said, " I do deny it, to the best of my knowledge and belief , and if any such statement was communicated by any one to tho honourable member, I »ra certain that ho had no authority to make it ' " Hero thcro wero fresh cheers, mingled with shouts of "Name, namoi" while one or two impulsive followers of Mr. Parnell pointed to Lord Ran-dolph Churchill, who sat genuinely amazed, and cried "Ask him." Sir Michael went on, "Will the honourable member do mo tho plcasuro to name to the Houso this Minister of the

Crown ?" and hero ho sat down. Thcro woro stormy cries from both aides, and Mr, Parnell sat for a moment irresoluto ; but at last ho roso-not to givo tho information tho House was clamouring for. but to beat an undignified rotreat. " The right honourable baronet," he

said, " has asked mo a question which ho t knows must bo a very safe one. I shall bo very ' glad to communicoto the name of his colleago . whon I receive his colleague's permission," nnd though tho cries of " Nimie" wero redoubled, and there were many " Oh, oh's," ho would go no further, but sat silent under the taunt which

the Opposition leader at once flung at him- j " insinuations are easily made, butproof ¡savory diffcront thing, and I havo observed that ' tho

codo of honour' of honourable members below | tho gangway stops ot the point when proof

becomes necessary." i

Mr. Gladstono roan at half-past 11, and spoke for upwardo of an hour and a half. The right honourable gentleman began in a cheery and confident tone, which conveyed to many minds tho impression that the reports from the whips wero reassuring. Possibly they were, for never boforo perhaps was there so much uncertainty as to the result of tho division up to the very last moment. Mr. Gladstone would " not interfere" in the personal question botwecn Sir Michael Hicks-Bench and Mr. Parnell, except to express a pious hope that it might bo "carried further," and ho spent somo time in drawing subtle distinctions in his old peculiar fashion between "promising that a bill should not he reconstructed mid not promising that it should bo reconstructed"-distinctions which, asusua], left matters very much as thoy were, but which formed a very pretty controversial exercise. He turned contemptuously from the " constitutional thoories of lawyers," which happened to be against him, and which he dismissed as " astounding to an ignorant layman," and he tartly accused thoso people and nowspapors who had talked of " unionists " and " separatists," of indulging in " tho merest slang of vulgar conti oversy." Ho fairly rioted in historical and geographical excursions to the ends of the world to show that various peoples had had their local independence acknowledced without it being followed by nny " 80verance," and ho declared it " impossible to stand upon tho legislation of this Houso as a whole sipec the Union," urging that what tho Opposition had described as " confiscation" in the Land Act and "sacrilege" in tho disestab-lishment of the Church, they were now hold-ing up as proofs of " matice dono to Ireland." Ho bantered Mr. Chamberlain with unde-niable humour for "not fearing a dissolution," for tho right honourable gentlemnn had " boxed the compasa," and made himself quito safe, whatever might happen, and from which-ever quarter tho wind might blow. Mr. Glad-stone closed his speech with an eloquent and glowing peroration of tho familiar " time is on our side" pattern, and then, at five minutes past 1 o'clock, tho question was put and the division taken.

SERIOUS RIOTING IN ULSTER.

Tho defeat of tho Home Rule Bill was a thorough surprise to tho disaifeoted portions of' Ireland, where tho people lind been taught to regard its success as certain. Among the Loyalists there wero great rejoicings and tho enthusiam displayed on oithor sido has led to serious rioting. During a demonstration at Lurgan on Tuesday night to colobrate tho defeat of the bill a Loyalist waa attacked by another man ; but the latter waa eventually compelled to rotreat, and ho took refuge on tho promises of a person named Arthur Don-nelly. Tho mob made an attempt to wreck lho houso, whereupon five shots wore iired from within. Pour or five men were shot, two of thom being dangerously wounded j and in retaliation the Protestants wrecked the houses of several Catholics, whilsta Catholic mob wrecked tho houso of a widow, who was severely ill-treated. The Loyalists wero largely reinforced from the country dis-tricts ; but shots were exchanged by tho op-posing crowds till far into the night, whon the soldiers appeared. A Protestant named Thomas Gallagher was shot dead, and it is said that scarcely a police-man escaped injury, Tho rioting was renewed on Wednesday night, when a number of persons wero wounded and over forty houses wrecked, including the rcsidenco of Mr. G. Haslett, Crown Solicitor ; Dr. Maginnis, J.P.; William Macoun, town commissioner, and several large business houses. Thoro is said to have been "heavy firing" in some of tho streets. So strained aro tho relations between tho Protestants and Roman Catholics, that in several factories policemen have had to be stationed to keep the peace amongst the work-people.

There has also boon serious rioting in Bel-fast. It began on Friday in last week, and aroao out of a dispute between some navvies at Alexandra Dock. A Protestant workman, named Blcakoly, was told by ono of the navvies, tho majority of whom wero Roman (Jatholics, that very soon not a single Protes-tant would bo allowed to carn a crust of bread in Ireland. Ho was afterwards assaulted, had his_ leg cut with a spade, and was ovcntualty obliged to leave tho dock. On the report of tho attack reaching the 25,000 Protestant workmen employed in Messrs. Harland and Wolif's shipbuilding yard at Queen's Island, thoy vowed revenge. Accordingly, whon the dinner-boll rang on Friday afternoon they marched in procession to the workBattheAloxandra-road, armed with bludgeons andiron bars. As soon as thoy appeared in sight tho navvies prepared for action ; but the fight was short, tho navvies taking to flight. A youth named James Curran, oged 17, who ran with his brother-navvies towards tho riverside, was drowned by the upsottingof a raft on to which ho and others had retreated. The shipwrights loft off the chase, and when the boll rang to recommence work they returned to their em-ployment. Theriotingwasrenowcd when Curran was buried on Sunday. The funeral procession, it is estimated, numbered about 12,000 persons. On the way to the cemetery tho processionists and a largo Protestant assemblage carne into collision. Stones wcro thrown, shots fired, and windows smashed. A body of con-stabulary quickly separated tho opposing parties. Further on the road another serious skirmish occurred, and the houses of Protes-tants wcro wrecked, On the return home from tho graveyard several encounters took place; the most remarkable being in an opon field whore a hand-to-hand fight carno off, lasting for about half an hour. Stones and othor weapons were freely used on both aides. Many poraons wcro more or less injured ; ono man

rocoived five or six stabs.

It was while parties in Belfast wore in this excited state that the news of the defeat of the Home Rule Bill arrived. The Orangemen paraded the town in large bodies, and woro not long in coming into conflict with Roman Catho-lic mobs. In a great many places fights took place, and large numbers of persons wero in-jured with stones, As tho night wore on matters became worse. The mob fired on tho police, and, after aoine onduranco on thoir part, the police were obliged to fire on the mob. Upwards of a hundred houacs wero wrecked. Colonel Forbes, a reaident magiatrato, was severely injured, and an inspector of police was shot in tho thigh and lies in a critical con-dition. But on Wednesday night the rioting assumed a moro serious character. The police had to fire upon tho mob ; twelvo persons aro reported to have been killed, and it was found necessary to call out tho military. In tho Shankhill-rond district tho polico woro unable to disperse the mobs, and eventually the Riot Act was read, and the polico fired. The mob returned Ero on tbo police, and a continuous fusillade was kept up for twenty minutes. The riot, it is stated, «'as commenced by the Pro-testant mob, who wrecked a public-house owned by Sirs. O'Hare, who is a Roman Catholic. Not only was the shop pillaged, but the furniture and bedding wero hurled from the windows into tho street and destroyed or carried away. The house was afterwards sot on fire. Tho mob having drunk freely of liquor taken from the public-house, tho excitement increased, and tho police on their arrival wero attacked ; paving-stODCs, bricks, bottles, and othor missiles being hurled at them from side-streets aa they mado_ their way to tho wrecked premises. Tho police repeatcdlylcharged the crowd with their bayonets, but finding this insufficient, the Riot Act was read by Mr. M'Lcod, R.M., and subsequently by Mr. M'Carthy. R.M. This action, instead of having the eifect desired, seemed only to infuriate tho mob, which now numbered several thousand, and stone-throwing was so severo that tho police wero ordered to retire to the barracks. The mob then attacked tho barracks, hurling stones and othor missiles through tho windows, and vowing vengcanco on tho constables who had used their batons on tho previous night» Several of the polico being injured, and the mob continuing to increaso in numbers, tho officer in charge determined to resort to extreme measures in repolling tbo attack. The police took up their position in the second story of tho building and opened firo upon the rioters. A tcrriblo scene ensued. Exasperated to tho last degree, tho mob stubbornly held their ground, fighting desperately and attempt-ing to force open the back-doors. Por nearly twenty minutes tho deadly conflict raged.; the screams of women and shouts of rioters mingled with the crash of broken glass and the

discharge of firearms, imparting to the sceno tho most tembló surroundings After each discharge from tho barrack windows persons m front of tho mob wcro observed to staggor and fall, but although it was apparent to all that the bro was taking fatal effect, tho fury of the crowd was m no way restrained. Ultimately a message was convoyed to the gan ison, and 250 men of tho Highland Light Infantry and Northumberland Fusiliers wero despatched to the place On tho military making their appeal ance the mob retired into aide streets, carrying with them thoso who had been killed an(I wounded. Order

was soon afterwards restored

Twenty persons wero convoyed to the Royal Hospital suffering from bullet wounds, sorao of thom of a serious nature, and a large number of persons who wero not dangerously wounded received private surgical treatment No arrests vi ero made In anothoi district of tho town a Protestant mob attacked the Albert creicnt Bairacks, smashing the windows Tho police turned out and iircd three rounds of

buckshot and dispersed the mob, wounding ono

person

RIOTS IN PBSTH.

The fiscal dispute between Austria and Huncary has given rise to rioting, which threatens to become serious There is between the two States a formal commercial treaty, which is renewable every ton years. The le newal has iust been arranged on tho same terms as before, vv hich wero highly favourable to the Hungarians A duty varying from 5 florina to 10 florina was imposed on refined petroleum, and one of a florin and a half on the unrefined or raw article This scale was evidently based on the supposition that relinmg was a costly process which would go fal to wards equalising the prico of tho two kinds when they came into tho market for conaurap tion But it has practically turned out much to tho advantogo of the Russian importer Tbo Gahcian merchants, unable to compete with their mala under these condition", cry out for a lovision of the tariff They havo received unexpected assistance in the Austrian Reichsrath Dr Suss, one of the German Liberol members for Vienna, pioposod an amendment to the Tin Yiars' Ireaty, increasing tho duty on r\w petroleum nearly up to the lovel of that on re lined petroleum and thus defeating the in genuityof the Russian impoireis This w»s supported not only by the Polish deputies-a compact body of fifty eight-but also bv the Czechs and tho Loft Centre and the UltraConservativo or Clerical group Count Taaffo, the Prime Minister, however, resists it, not because ho thinks it intrinsically unfair or im politic but because ho doo» not caro to risk a quarrel with Hungary about it He announced accordingly that if tho amendment wcro carried tho Cabinet would either dissolvo or rcsigr Thus wo havo tho precise situation which has boen foreshadowed as a likely result of the establishment of an Irish Parliament Negotiations between the Polish members of tho Austnan Reichsrath and the Government have resulted in a compromise The former agreed to refuse theil support to Dr Sims s motion, and to bring forward instead a

motion raising tho duty on raw petroleum I from 1 12 11 in gold to 2 fl The Committeo of the Rcichsi ath agreed to this, and the Finance Minister undertook to submit a proposal to that effect to tho Hungarian Government But from Pesth it is reported that the latter will only accede to tho proposed increaso of tho petroleum duty in caso it is able to obtain concessions in return on other points of tho

tariff.

There havo been disturbances in Pesth for some time past On Sunday night thoy he carno more serious A mob assembled and marched through tho streets uttering erics against General Janski, M Tisza, and the Archduke Albrecht, and insulting people sit ting in the public gardens, always running olf as soon as a few pohcomen made their ap pearanco Latci on thoy broko the wmdowa of some houses in the poor Jewish quarter Thoy nevt marched to tho aristocratic part of tho town, but wcie dispersed by tho police At this point a cartridgo winch had been placed on the tiamway line exploded, and tho polico, behoving that a rioter had fired on thom, charged the crowd with their bayonets, many persons being wounded and ono killed Thirty-ono onosts weie also made A numhei of students hanged Archduko Albrecht m efhgy On Monday night four or five thousand workmen paraded the streets shouting and singing The police did not in torfero until the mob arrived in front of tho Central Police Station and attempted to mako a demonstration, when, assisted by a heavy downpour of ram, the polico had little difli cultyin dispeismg the noters Tho demon strations wei o continued on Tuesday A laige crowd, composed chiefly of working men and the lower clniscs, assembled before the rest

denco of M. Ugron, a deputy of the Extreme Loft, who addressed tho people, adv ising thom to abstain from disturbing the public peace Tho crowd, however, proceeded through the Anzec Strasso, and committed various excesses On the appearanco of a detachment of mounted polico the mob took to flight, breaking the windows and streot lamps as thoy went.