GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND. 



343 



metropolis, were obliged to sleep in the streets, 

 gave the Socialists an opportunity to preach 

 their doctrines, and address petitions to the 

 authorities. Trafalgar Square, where the des- 

 titute chiefly congregated, was made the scene 

 of several demonstrations, until finally, at the 

 solicitation of the business people of the neigh- 

 borhood, the police forbade its use for the pur- 

 pose on the ground that it was the property of 

 the crown, and had never been given to the 

 public as a park or thoroughfare. Mr. Glad- 

 stone had shortly before, in connection with 

 the Mitchelstown disturbances, enunciated the 

 doctrine that the people have a right to deter- 

 mine whether the police are justified in inter- 

 fering with them, and, if there appear to be no 

 justification, may lawfully resist. The Social- 

 ists and the unemployed determined to carry 

 out this principle, and hold their meeting 

 in Trafalgar Square in spite of Sir Charles 

 Warren's proclamation. Mr. Gladstone re- 

 canted the. doctrine that he had upheld in his 

 speech at Nottingham, and counseled the peo- 

 ple of London to give way to the police pend- 

 ing the trial of any legal questions that might 

 be raised. On the Sunday set for the meeting, 

 November 13, Sir Charles Warren, using the 

 tactical knowledge that he had gained in war- 

 fare, placed strong guards at all the points of 

 approach. The processions attempted to make 

 their way through with no success. In the 

 collisions with the police many persons were 

 hurt. The Socialist leaders and orators, and 

 Cunninghame Graham, a Scotch member of 

 Parliament, in sympathy with them, were ar- 

 rested and tried on charges of resisting the 

 police or making incendiary speeches. Many 

 of them, including Mr. Graham, were con- 

 victed, and sentenced to imprisonment, in most 

 cases for one or two months. 



The Parliamentary Session, The second session 

 of the 12th Parliament of Victoria was opened 

 on January 27. The speech from the throne 

 alluded to the Bulgarian difficulties ; to the 

 task undertaken in Egypt " which is not yet 

 accomplished ; but substantial advance has 

 been made towards the assurance of external 

 and internal tranquillity " ; and to operations 

 conducted in Burmah by the troops " with 

 bravery and skill for the purpose of extirpating 

 brigandage." The condition of Ireland was 

 said to still require serious attention, for though 

 "grave crimes have happily been rarer during 

 the last few months than during a similar pe- 

 riod in the preceding year," yet attention would 

 be called to proposals for reforms in legal pro- 

 cedure which seem necessary to secure the 

 prompt and efficient administration of the 

 criminal law, because " the relations between 

 the owners and occupiers of land, which in 

 the early part of the autumn exhibited signs of 

 improvement, have since been seriously dis- 

 turbed in some districts by organized attempts 

 to incite the latter class to combine against the 

 fulfillment of their legal obligations." The 

 legislative programme comprised, besides the 



promised coercion act for Ireland, bills for the 

 improvement of local government in England 

 and Scotland, to be followed, if circumstances 

 should render it possible, by a similar measure 

 for Ireland ; a bill to cheapen private bill legis- 

 lation ; measures to facilitate the transfer of 

 lands, to secure allotments to small household- 

 ers, and to provide for the readier sale of glebe- 

 lands; a bill altering the method of levying 

 tithes in England and Wales ; measures for 

 the reform of the universities, defining the 

 powers of the Secretary of State, and amend- 

 ing criminal procedure in Scotland ; and meas- 

 ures for the regulation of railway rates and 

 for preventing the fraudulent use of merchan- 

 dise marks. 



As soon as an opportunity occurred Lord 

 Randolph Churchill explained his position in 

 the crisis that preceded the convening of Par- 

 liament. He said he was pledged to a policy 

 of retrenchment, and resigned his post as Chan- 

 cellor of the Exchequer because he was asked 

 to agree to an expenditure of 31,000,000 on 

 the army and navy, which was 6,000,000 

 more than the average between 1874 and 1884, 

 besides large supplementary estimates. He 

 took exception at the wasteful methods pur- 

 sued in the army and navy administration, and 

 at the adventurous foreign policy that was 

 sanctioned by the other members of the Cabi- 

 net. There were other matters of grave im- 

 portance, he said, on which he differed from 

 Lord Salisbury, yet they were susceptible of 

 accommodation. 



In carrying through the new coercion act 

 the Government had not merely Mr. Parnell 

 and his party to contend with, but Mr. Glad- 

 stone and the main division of the Liberal 

 party. After a struggle which lasted over two 

 months, when only six clauses had been con- 

 sidered in committee, closure was applied by a 

 majority of 108, and the bill was passed by 

 the House of Commons without further de- 

 bate, and in substantially the same form by 

 the House of Lords. The law revives and 

 strengthens the power of the authorities given 

 under the former crimes act to hold prelimi- 

 nary inquiries and examine witnesses though 

 no person be accused. The Attorney-General 

 may direct any resident magistrate to make 

 such inquiries when an offense has been com- 

 mitted in a proclaimed district, and to bind 

 the witnesses to appear at the court of sessions. 

 A witness is not excused from giving evi- 

 dence tending to criminate himself, but his 

 confessions can not be used against him in 

 criminal proceedings. Summary jurisdiction 

 is given in cases (1) of taking part in a crimi- 

 nal conspiracy to induce any person not to 

 fulfill legal obligations, or not to let, hire, use, 

 or occupy land, or not deal with, work for, or 

 hire any person, or to interfere with the ad- 

 ministration of the law ; (2) of using violence 

 or intimidation to cause any person to do what 

 he has a legal right to abstain from doing or 

 to abstain from any lawful act, or toward any 



