Tue principal topic of the week whose papers were brought by the Melbourne was again the riot at Tipperary. Mr. John Morley has been giving his account of what he saw there in a speech at St. Helens, and, moderate man as he is, being primarily a literary man and only secondarily a politic ian, he spoke very forcibly of the action of the police. In his view the resort of the police to their batons was "+a deplorable outrage, a lawless outrage, a cowardly outrage, and a wanton and unprovoked outrage." According to him there was no mob needing evercion by the police at all, but here the times makes rather a point How is this statement to be reconciled with the unparalleled interest with which, as we are assured, not all Munster only, but all Treland contemplates the State trials which are dooming the Government to speedy and irretrievable ruin? On the whole we prefer the evidence of the Mr. Morley of four years ago—the statesman still shadowed by the responsibilities of his high office -to that of the itinerant tator who visited Tipperary because "he does not play golf and must do something.' We with the ex-Chief Secretary who thought it "shameful to give credit to mobs for breaking the law and for defying the police," and shameful to condone attacks upon the force, simply because the assailants choose to look with disfavour upon the political views of the Chief Secretary of the day." Nothing that has yet occurred in the whole sad history of the last four years, demonstrates to our mind so convincingly the rapid contagion of demoralization in the ranks of the English Separatists as this Tipperary escapade of Mr. Gladstone's last Irish Secretary. In 1886 he could himself declare, with no shadow of doubt as to the truth of the statement, that upon one point, at all events, there was'no difference between Liberals and Tories, and that was in their resolution to maintain onder and enforce the law." To: day the author of these words is not ashamed to follow in the train of men whose lives from their youth up have been one long conflict with authority, and to lend them the aid of his talents wud position in their struggle with that legality which it was once his pride and his duty to defend.
Mr. Morley is a wi with such reputation that it is rather difficult to di credit his evidence altogether, but the Times seems to manage it by saying that a very good man once, but is entirely demerol ning the Separatist It shows Jing still runs over the Home Rule question that the Times, which used to be a model of moderation even in dealing with its opponents, should accuse the ex-Chief Secretary of cooking his evidence to suit his new friends. The St. Jones's, from which, as a thoroughly partisan paper, we expect a one-sided coniment, attributes Mr. Morley's evidence to his being actually in a fright, as a quiet literary man might well be in an Irish row, Tt says judge from Mr. Morley's speech, he does not appear to be a particularly good witness, Mr, Morley is a scholarly writer on histo: and philosophical subjects, master of a sound academic style, and when his pen is in his ud, an! a politician of the last century to be' written about, he can be not only incresting, Int fair.' AM that is good and much to Mr, Morley's honour; but it would make hint a competent judge of a glove-fight, nor does it constitute him an authority ona row. what was wanted the other day was precisely a good judge of a high Morley was not in his library, with peaceful pen in hand and harmless state: Fapers on his table. He was in the middle of a shindy. Patriots were yelling, stones flying, sticks waltzing. Shiill Tipperary cheers and shrill females abounded. Honest Join Dillon and the high-strung O'Brien were foaming and prancing. Mr Harrison, of Balliol, was so far showing himself an Englishman that he actually" got his head broken. It was all very noisy and rough; and of course no time was left for the rounded sentence, the artful pause for cheers, In the middle of it all poor Mr. Morley be-. came flustered. He was conscious rivalled critical acumen, but he was phy. sicelly uncomfortable. Stout men, with upraised sticks and angry faces, were howling savagely, and a great din was in his ears. Mr. Morley saw gigantic spectras of horror walking in the fray, as he peeped from behind political ladies, and the impression thus made on his nerves was great. It was not effaced when he twittered out his dire experiences to his friends at St, Helens. The terrible figures of the Irish constabulary, fellows of immense length of whisker and the most san.uinary ferocity, teeth-grinding, athirst for blood, haunted him still. But so shattered was Mr' Morley's judgment by his dire experience that he actually asked why Mr. Dillon should not enjoy the freedom he revelled in himself at St. Helens.
The Daily News takes the Home Rule view of the matter, and it is just as unfair in its way. There appears to have been just such a row as the average Englishman always thought the natives of Tipperary delighted in, and thought life dull and ssninteresting without, but unfortunately English members of parliament have now taken to being present at these rows, and they spoil all the fun by taking them seriously. The Daily Neves says More than even the usual interest was naturally felt in Mr. John Morley's speech to the Liberals of St. Helens last night... Mr. Morley has been to Ireland. "He has geon for himself not only what he went to see, but a great deal more" His intention in paying his Visit was to inquire into the condition of the parts which are threatened with scarcity has been called on to witness one of these scandalous scenes of police violence on the one hand and prostituted justice on the other which are characteristic of Mr. Balfour's administration He has himself only been saved from suffering from the illegal violence of a pies ruffian by the interposition of the friendly arm of an Irish member of Parliament. The whole country has rejoived at his escape—the Tories because a personal injury to so distinguished an Englishman would have brought home too vividly to all Britain the character of the Balfour tyranny; and all Li-Derals because it would have been intolerable instituted mind that even a great political advantage should be bought at such a But Mr, Morley's experience has, as last night, given him one, and but one, thing to talk of. The whole country looking for his account of what he saw, and is gocustomed to believe him, when he speaks. No wonder the Tory Press is angry with hin: for going. The one thing the Coercionists read is that their methods should be known in England and Scotland. They hate the even go and 800 for theneeives, Here is, tu light, and for the old reason.. They will not
Mr. Morley's words, "the gaunt shadow of hunger creeping over the west of Ireland. Everybody to whom he spoke—landlords, agents, clergy, anti-Nationalist and Nation: alist—agreed in describing the prospect as of the blackest. Yet of the two members of the Ministry responsible for the government of Ireland, one, the Chief Secretary, is play-golf on the east coast of Scotland, and the other, the Irish Lord Chancellor, is. holiday. making at Boulogne. They will neither to Ireland themselves, nor let other people go there. Mr. Morley calls this a dog in the wriger poli That is a charitable view of The public will be more likely to regard.
a sign of fear least the truth should be known, The Pall Mult Brdyet, whose froutispiece this week is a photograph of Mr. John Morley, and whose cartoon represents Mr. Balfour wondering how he shall play it, it being Mr. Morley's hend ina hole Inbelled "Tipperary rather sorry that Mr. Morley was not mangled, not that it wishes any harm whatever to. its former editor, but that if he had been injured, the blow would finally have revolted the English people against Mr. Balfour's methods The English public knows Mr. Morley. It is aware that he is a quiet and well-conducted son, and about as likely to be menacing, Majesty's heyes as her Majesty herself, There are half a dozen other features about
miserable, and sickening to any fair-minded the Tipperary, affair which ate mean, and Englishman, The men on their trial are arraigned for offences which are not offences this side of the water, and which, if offences, should have been dealt with months Of the two ex-policemen who are sitting in jud; ment on them both are outrageously" disqual fied to deal with the men before them. Irwin has already sat in judgment on Mr. O'Brien three times." Shannon, who was Mr. 'T. Russell's bear-leader on the Tipperary visit the other day, has taken a conspicuotis part in the local struggle. The procedure is the most equivocal, and, to Bnglish nostrils, a most malodorous one—procedure for constructive conspiracy. Lastly, the measures which were taken by Colonel Caddell to break up peaceful crowd of citizens displayed the maximum of brutality on the minimum of provocation, But all these features are so vid that they have become stale; our conscience is flaccid to them. It was only the presence of Mr. John Morley which created such a splendid opportunity from the point of view of the Nationalist cause. Ifhe had suffered it would have been a little too much for our stomachs. If only, we repeat, Mr, Morley had been mangled
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.