MR. GORSTasked the Secretary of State for the Home Department, Whether his attention has been called to a speech of Mr. Davitt, reported in the "Standard" of May 22nd, in which Mr. Davitt is reported to have said,
That he was at present out under the conditions of a ticket-of-leave, which conditions he treated with the same contempt as he did three years ago. In fact he had already broken them, and the last he saw of that most interesting document was to see it secured by a member of the press two hours after his discharge from Portland, and where it was now he had no knowledge;and, what steps he proposes to take to prevent other persons at liberty on ticket-of-leave from imitating the example thus set of open and contemptuous defiance of the administration of the Law?
§ SIR WILLIAM HARCOURTSir, my attention has been called to this matter. I have seen several reports of this speech, and I find that none of them correspond—at least, with regard to this particular passage. I need not point out that, before taking any serious action in cases of this kind, it is extremely necessary that we should have an authentic report of what has passed. But what ought we to look at in this matter? We ought to look a good deal more at what is done than at what is said. Now, I wish to call attention to what is alleged. Supposing this to be a correct report, what is alleged on the part of Davitt? He says that he had treated the conditions of his ticket-of-leave with the same contempt that he did three years ago—that was, when he first received the licence. Well, I was not responsible at that time. It was under the late Administration; and, therefore, what he alleges is, that he has now done what he did then, and which certainly at that time my Predecessor in Office thought did not call for interference. That is the only distinct allegation that I can find in this speech. But I wish to say that no rhodomontade of this kind in the least affects the position of a person holding a licence. Whatever he may say, he remains subject to the conditions of that licence; and if he should violate the conditions on which he is at large—that is, to respect the law and to do nothing injurious to peace and order—such a licence in any case, to any person, is revocable, and would be revoked.
MR. GORSTWould the right hon. and learned Gentleman state whether the conditions of Mr. Davitt's ticket-of-leave were the ordinary conditions; or, whether there was anything peculiar about them?
§ SIR WILLIAM HARCOURTThey are absolutely the ordinary conditions. There is nothing peculiar about them.
MR. JOSEPH COWENasked if it was not the fact that Mr. Davitt received a ticket-of-leave such as was presented to any ordinary man; but the conditions were such that it was quite impossible for Mr. Davitt or any political prisoner to fulfil them; and, whether both the present and the late Government had not recognized the impossibility of their fulfilment? For instance, there was the condition, among others, that the holder 1403 of the ticket was not to be out after 8 o'clock at night, and that he should comply with certain police regulations. The late Government absolved the Fenian prisoners from that condition, and he understood the present Government were willing to absolve Mr. Davitt from the same provision. He wished to know if Mr. Davitt had not fulfilled the same conditions that were asked from the political prisoners of three years ago and six years ago?
§ SIR WILLIAM HARCOURTSir, the hon. Member seems to know a good deal more about this matter than I know. All I know is this—that, as far as I am concerned, all that happened was that he received the ordinary ticket-of-leave; that there were no conditions of any kind made or absolved; and that the transaction was exactly the same as in the case of any other convict, and that there was no understanding of any kind as to the relaxation or duration of any condition.