The Irish Members' speeches in Ireland have not shown a
much improved tone. For instance, Mr. Lalor, one of the Mem- bers for Queen's County, and Mr. A. O'Connor addressed their constituents last Sunday, in the Market Square at Mary- borough, and the drift of what they said was that though the murder of Lord Frederick Cavendish and Mr. Burke was a very foul murder, the Irish people " should not make too much of it;" while for intimidation by boycotting, they openly stood up. Mr. Lalor declared it ridiculous to suppose that any Coercion Act " could oblige them to deal with or speak to a person, if they found him betraying his country, or injuring his neighbours in any way,"—which is the Irish euphuism for paying his rent. Further, Mr. Lalor assured his constituents that the Ministry was falling to pieces, and that they would soon have a general election,—an event to which he evidently looked forward with extreme glee. The only point of political interest in his speech was that Mr. Lalor expressed not only undiminished, but almost increased loyalty to Mr. Parnell, whose recent tone has certainly been very different from his own. Still, that is explic- able in two ways. Either Mr. Lalor may not mean exactly what he says to his constituents, or Mr. Parnell may not mean exactly what he says to the House of Commons. Time alone can show which of the two explanations is the true one.
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