GEEAT BRITAIN. 



365 



The mineral statistics of the United King- 

 dom were as follows in 1874: 



The session of Parliament for 1875 was 

 opened by commission on February 5th. The 

 speech was read by the Lord-Chancellor. It 

 commenced with the assurance that friendly 

 relations continued to exist with all foreign 

 powers, and with the expression of a hope that 

 the peace of Europe would remain unbroken. 

 Reference was then made to the conference 

 held at Brussels on the laws and usages of 

 war. Spanish affairs, on the question of the 

 recognition of King Alfonso XII., were men- 

 tioned. The slave-trade on the East-African 

 coast, Chinese and Japanese difficulties, the col- 

 onies, the Gold Coast, Natal, and Feejee subse- 

 quently were reviewed, and this portion of 

 the speech was concluded by reference to an 

 abundant harvest in India, which consequently 

 had averted an expected calamity. After re- 

 viewing the finances of the United Kingdom, 

 reference was made to the measures to be in- 

 troduced during the session, including the 

 transfer of land, the reconstruction of the ju- 

 diciary, improvement of the dwellings for the 

 working-classes, "friendly societies," a mer- 

 chants' shipping act, and the questions of ap- 

 pointing a public prosecutor, trade-unions, and 

 agricultural tenancies. A few days before the 

 opening of Parliament, on January 15th, Mr. 

 Gladstone had published a letter, in which he 

 announced his retirement from the leadership 

 of the Liberal party, and on February 3d 

 Marquis Hartingdon had been elected his suc- 

 cessor. The new leader of the Liberals made 

 the usual criticism on some portions of the 

 speech in the House of Commons, and the 

 Earl Granville performed the same duty con- 

 nected with the leadership of the Opposition 

 in the House of Lords. Addresses in reply to 

 the speech from the throne were then in both 

 Houses agreed to. 



The election of John Mitchel as member for 

 Tipperary led, on February 16th, to a discus- 

 sion as to whether an unpardoned convict 

 could hold a seat in the House. Papers re- 

 lating to his conviction and escape from custo- 

 dy were put in. Mr. Disraeli, on February 

 18th, moved that, owing to Mr. Mitchel being 

 an unpardoned convict, he was incapable of 

 being elected or returned as a member. After 

 numerous amendments had been rejected, it 

 was resolved that a new writ should be issued 

 for Tipperary. This rejectipn of John Mitchel 



by the House of Commons caused great popu- 

 lar agitation in Tipperary. At a meeting of 

 the Nationalists, held on the 21st of February, 

 it was resolved to reelect him. Charles J. 

 Kirkham, one of the Fenian leaders of 1865, 

 published a letter advocating that course. Mr. 

 Mitchel's electoral address was as follows: 

 " Electors of Tipperary You have made me 

 your representative. I sincerely thank you. 

 The British Parliament has pronounced me 

 disqualified to represent you. Is this verdict 

 yours? If not, vote for me. I stand again, 

 unpromised and unpledged." On March llth 

 Mr. Mitchel was elected for the second time 

 as member for Tipperary, but before the House 

 of Commons had another discussion on the 

 question of his admission he died at Newry. 

 On May 26th the Court of Common Pleas, to 

 which the appeal in the case of the Tipperary 

 election was referred, unanimously decided 

 that the late John Mitchel was disqualified, 

 and that Mr. Moore was entitled to the seat. 



Another remarkable election for the House 

 of Commons, which took place in February, 

 was that of Dr. Kenealy, well known as the 

 defender of the Tichborne claimant. He was 

 elected on February 16th for Stoke-upon- 

 Trent, by nearly 2,000 majority over his near- 

 est opponent, a Liberal and (so-called) work- 

 ing-man, Mr. Walton. Dr. Kenealy did not 

 stand as either Liberal or Tory, but his election 

 was simply a popular demonstration in favor 

 of the claimant and his counsel. It showed 

 that a multitude of Englishmen still believe 

 Arthur Orton to be Tichborne. On April 23d 

 Dr. Kenealy brought in a motion that a royal 

 commission be appointed to investigate the 

 circumstances attending the Tichborne trial. 

 In a powerful speech in support of his resolu- 

 tion, Dr. Kenealy alluded to the growing dis- 

 satisfaction at the result of these trials and 

 the manner in which they had been conducted 

 by the bench. Nothing short of a royal com- 

 mission of inquiry would content the people of 

 England, who were convinced that justice had 

 not been done. He stated that he had received 

 many letters from America to the same effect. 

 The discontent had grown into a torrent which 

 was pouring over the land. The late ministry 

 partly owed its downfall to its conduct in re- 

 gard to the Tichborne case. He asserted that 

 he had positive proof that the Chief-Justice, 

 Sir Alexander Cockburn, in society, while the 

 trial was in progress, said he would give the 

 claimant fifteen years' imprisonment. He spoke 

 in severe terms of the Pittindreigh forgeries, 

 and stated that the claimant was unable to 

 call more witnesses for lack of funds. The 

 penalties for contempt of court had been di- 

 rected against one side only. The witnesses 

 were browbeaten, and the partiality of the 

 bench was patent throughout the proceedings. 

 Dr. Kenealy declared he had sacrificed him- 

 self to his sense of honor. and duty, and had 

 been irretrievably ruined in his profession. 

 He believed the motion before the House would 



