The Speeches (In Full) of the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., and William O'Brien, M.P., on Home Rule, Delivered in Parliament, Feb. 16 and 17, 1888. — John Shaqi
The Speeches (In Full) of the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., and William O'Brien, M.P., on Home Rule, Delivered in Parliament, Feb. 16 and 17, 1888.Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)
History
The Speeches (In Full) of the Rt. Hon. W. E. Gladstone, M.P., and William O'Brien, M.P., on Home Rule, Delivered in Parliament, Feb. 16 and 17, 1888.
Gladstone, W. E. (William Ewart)
Home rule -- Ireland; Ireland -- Politics and government -- 1837-1901
Now I shall tell you briefly the circumstances under which my advice was
given, and the results of that advice. I will ask any candid man in
England, after he has heard me, whether that speech of Lord Salisbury is
not calculated to convey to the average Englishman an impression, so
false, so misleading, that I am afraid I should be obliged to travel
beyond the region of parliamentary epithets to characterize it. Now, on
the 2d of August, this House had, practically speaking, passed the Land
Bill, enabling over a thousand people of Mitchelstown, who were
leaseholders, to have their rents revised. On the 8th of August, word
reached me that the police and the military were gathering in
Mitchelstown to carry out an eviction campaign. The effect of that
campaign would have been to forestall all the operations of the Land
Bill, and, practically speaking, to defeat the intentions of Parliament,
and to fling these poor people naked upon the world before the relief,
which was actually entering the door, could reach them. (_Opposition
cheers._) That was technically legal for the landlord for a few days
longer, but I hold that if ever there was a crime committed against
society, it was that which was being attempted the day I went down to
Mitchelstown. Well, but what was to be done? If the right honorable
baronet, the late member for West Bristol (Sir M. Hicks-Beach), were
still Chief Secretary, at all events, in his early manner, we might have
had some hope that the Queen's troops would not have been made
accomplices in such an act.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account