sion that the bill was a benevolent device for enabling the alleged
criminals to extricate themselves was very soon dropped. The offer of a
boon to be accepted or declined at discretion was transformed into a grand
compulsory investigation into the connection of the national and land
leagues with agrarian crime, and the members of parliament were virtually
put into the dock along with all sorts of other persons who chanced to be
members of those associations. The effect was certain. Any facts showing
criminality in this or that member of the league would be taken to show
criminality in the organisation as a whole, and especially in the
political leaders. And the proceeding could only be vindicated by the
truly outrageous principle that where a counsel in a suit finds it his
duty as advocate to make grave charges against members of parliament in
court, then it becomes an obligation on the government to ask for an Act
to appoint a judicial commission to examine those charges, if only they
are grave enough.

The best chance of frustrating the device was lost when the bill was
allowed to pass its first reading unopposed. Three of the leaders of the
liberal opposition--two in the Commons, one in the Lords--were for making a
bold stand against the bill from the first. Mr. Gladstone, on the
contrary, with his lively instinct for popular feeling out of doors,
disliked any action indicative of reluctance to face inquiry; and though
holding a strong view that no case had been made out for putting aside the
constitutional and convenient organ of a committee, yet he thought that an
(M142) inquiry under thoroughly competent and impartial judges, after the
right and true method of proceeding had been refused, was still better
than no proceeding at all. This much of assent, however, was qualified. "I
think," he said, "that an inquiry under thoroughly competent and impartial
judges is better than none. But that inquiry must, I think, be put into
such a shape as shall correspond with the general law and principles of
justice." As he believed, the first and most indispensable conditions of
an effective inquiry were wanting, and without them he "certainly would
have no responsibility whatever."(250)

For the first few days politicians were much adrift. They had moments of
compunction. Whether friends or foes of the Irish, they were perplexed by
the curious double aspect of the measure. Mr. Parnell himself began to
feel misgivings, as he c