The effort to obtain a legal inquiry has as yet
broken down, the Parnellites who prosecuted retiring from the Court, alleging as their reason that the Bench was packed! The case took the form of a summons for assaurt against the police, and on Thursday the hearing commenced before eight Magistrates, four of whom are "Resident,"—i.e., are like the London Stipendiaries. Mr. Harrison gave his evidence, which was, in the main, that he struck nobody, but was struck by a policeman unknown, and that the police exceeded Colonel Caddell's instructions, which he himself heard. Mr. Patrick O'Brien was then placed in the witness-box, and testified that he took a photograph of the scene. The Chairman objected to the reception of this evidence until the photographs were produced, whereupon Mr. Healy refused to tender any further witnesses, declaring that he did not know how Mr. Gardiner became Chairman ; that the Crown had sent up Resident Magistrates instead of trusting local Justices; and that, as he implied, and some of the prosecutors afterwards repeated in words, he distrusted the Court. The case was there- fore "dismissed without prejudice." We suppose scenes of this kind have their effect in Ireland, or men like Mr. Healy would not produce them ; but in England the impression will be that the prosecutors distrusted, not the Bench, but the effect of the testimony to be given. The allegation that the Stipendiaries will not do justice is, of course, only an adroit attempt to make the administration of Ireland impossible.
